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First contamination

It looks like a little mold being and some slime mold - those smooth yellow dome-bumps.
Possibly because it is a pepper mash and I used only 2% salt and/or not enough cleaning.
Also can't remember if inoculated it with dill pickle juice.
 

 

 
A gallon ziplock of peps down the drain :*{
 
My suggestion:
 
Open the vessel and skim off the mold and bumps with a clean spoon.  Then salt the top of the mash generously with pickling salt.  Cap it back up and let it roll.  There looks to be good fermentation action in the suspended bubbles.  Can't really tell if there is more yellow bumps under the surface, if so then I'd probably throw it in the compost heap.
 
For future ferments I'd bump your salt to at least 4%.  Good luck!  :) 
 
Well I skimmed the top 0.5" off.  It smelled normal.  Hopefully wont die trying it.  Sprinkled a good 1/8" of salt and stuck it up against the sides of the glass where there was sauce residue.  Lets see what happens now!  There was good activity in it so we'll see.
 
If it smells good then that is your best indicator of it being okay. You'll definitely be able to tell of it's off by the smell.

But for the time, don't add any vinegar. Vinegar is an acid and can kill the lacto acid that is building up causing the fermentation.

As Dru said, if there are more yellow bumps throughout, I'd prob toss it though.

Edit: that's crazy looking. Look like little corn nodules.
 
Fermentation is such a simple and natural process.  And yet, it can be so frustrating when, in spite of be practices, things go wrong.  I made wine almost yearly for nearly 20 years.  Even though doing everything "right" I would still encounter a spoiled primary fermentation from time to time and painfully discard a lot of labor and valuable resources (lovingly grow the fruit and then throw it away!).   TN, I feel your pain.
 
I enjoy making hot sauces and would like to try a fermented sauce but as yet have not ventured in that direction.  Having failed three times at making sauerkraut, I'm a bit gun-shy.  A BS in biology, a doctorate in dentistry and twenty years wine-making experience and I can't make sauerkraut!  Good God, what a doofus!
 
My point on Vinegar is that when you see Mold, its like an iceberk, you only see the top and not the roots. Salt is fine on the surface but if its not mixed in then the "Roots" will not be affected. Natural ACV will start its own "Roots" by metabolizing and spread and can deal with the mold, its a race between the bad and good.
 
cone9 said:
Having failed three times at making sauerkraut, I'm a bit gun-shy.  A BS in biology, a doctorate in dentistry and twenty years wine-making experience and I can't make sauerkraut!  Good God, what a doofus!
 
Dave try this sauerkraut recipe.  If you have an airlock that will fit a mason jar then it's super easy and I've not had a batch fail ever in the 3 or so years we've been making it.  I use a food processor to chop everything fine, add the salt, press it down with a mortar and then let it roll for 10-15 days.  Besides, if it does fail then at least cabbage and salt are cheap.  :)  
 
@ DF - speaking only from my experience molds grow on the surface because that's what is exposed to oxygen - so the growths would not be like an iceberg.  Adding vinegar would be adding acid that could interfere w the lab from the ferment.  Knowing you though - you're speaking of using a 'live' vinegar right?  In which case I don't know how that would affect the ferment.  
 
@ TN - if you're ever in doubt pitch it.  Better safe than botulism.  The tiny spot of mold worries me a lot less than the weird corn looking things.  If any of those are suspended in the mash I'd say good bye.  
 
SmokenFire said:
@ DF - speaking only from my experience molds grow on the surface because that's what is exposed to oxygen - so the growths would not be like an iceberg.  Adding vinegar would be adding acid that could interfere w the lab from the ferment.  Knowing you though - you're speaking of using a 'live' vinegar right?  In which case I don't know how that would affect the ferment.  
 
Correct the chemical version is just adding acid and could interfere with the natural process, the "Live" vinegar will combat the bad stuff and add good enzymes.
Their is a BBC documentary on mold, really good, need to dig that up again, "Food Unwrapped" series has one on mold as well.
 
I ran into that with a batch currently in progress, on day 16; today. There were no weird looking little nodules, Those look like some kind of mycelium growth. I had what appeared to be kalm yeast. I scraped it out with some sterilized utensils and packed the top with sea salt. This was a thick mash so I don't think I will have a sinking issue. I took a test sample and it measured 3.88 PH so I think the process is coming along. I just don't like growth like that, of the fuzzy variety. Will keep everyone posted.
 
Just tossed it, it was probably fine, but don't want to deal with it.  Luckily just a mash too. 
 
Does anyone know if that white fuzzy thing in my pic is kahm yeast or not?
From what I can see, Kahm yeast appears slimy, but I can't tell if it too is fuzzy sometimes/some ways.
 
Safe or not, any kind of growth, even the kalm / kahm yeast creeps me out. For smaller batches, I've found a good method us using the ball jars with a thick mash and about a tablespoon of salt on top, leaving about 3/4 inch of head space. Then plastic wrap over the top, secured with the ring lid (and not the insert).
 
That said, I have been wanting to do bigger and bigger batches, so I went to my local brew / wine hobby store and picked up a few (3) gallon carboys, with the rubber stopper and glass airlocks. Easy to clean, easy to sanitize in the oven and life is great. I have two batches going right now. One of them is so active, I am noting 2 bubbles per second on the airlock. Its hypnotic watching it. I don't want to move them right now as they are quite heavy, but when I do, I will post pics in my long running thread.
 
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