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Mold help!

JohnsMyName

JohnsMyName

Hi all,

So first time ever getting mold! Does this look like kahm or something else? The ferment is 4 months old and this only developed in the past couple weeks maybe (was away on business and not checking on ferments for a few weeks).

What say you, toss or keep?





 
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i wouldn't eat that, even if i removed the mold, i will always feel there is something wrong with it.
lets say this, u got a tomato with a bit of mold, would u eat it?
Toss it away.
 
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Well that's why I ask here, certain things like kahm yeast are perfectly acceptable. I'm extremely carefull to sanitize everything to the point of OCD and this is the first time I've ever had any unintended growth. Figured I'd ask the experts I learned from on here first.
 
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Redeemer said:
I'd scoop out the mold and a little extra to be safe, test the PH and smell it. If it smells good, cook it and bottle it.
I ran into the exact same thing before I switched to a good airlock setup. I'm not sure why you have the mold since your setup looks good.
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Thanks J. Yeah I'm surprised too, this is my first ever mold issue with many ferments. I stopped watching them for a bit and this one has enough evaporation to let air in. Maybe that was the cause?

Anyone else have comments on this specific mold before I go eating it? No dark spots or fur, just the white in picture.
 
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John the first pics look very much like Kham yeast.  2nd pics are fuzzier than I'd like towards the top.  Were it mine I'd scrape the mold and process, especially with pH at 3.6.  It's a small batch yeah - pint jar?  If you're not comfortable with it there's not very much to put in the compost pile.  :)  
 
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Student of Spice said:
Since you were gone for a couple weeks as you mentioned, the air locks probably got too dry and air got in. I wonder if mineral oil would work in place of the water or if it would be to viscus for the co2 to escape? 
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That was exactly it. I've seen the airlock suck water in if the temperature changes to drastically too, so a good rule is to never put anything in there you wouldn't want in your mash. I've used distilled water, white vinegar and vodka before. I wonder if the evaporation rate of any of those is slower (I'm sure not the vodka)?
 
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HillBilly Jeff said:
Do you always leave the ferments in the light like that?  I have read that it is better to keep em dark.  
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No they're kept in a cupboard with a seedling heat mat. Dark and constant mid 70's. I had just pulled them all out for inspection after seeing the one.
 
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So just to add to this thread, I recently processed a batch that was fermented in the normal way, with airlock etc. I had too much to fit in the jar so I poured it into a mason jar, put plastic wrap over the top, and then a ring lid. It looked great right up until about a week before processing and then started developing some of the yeast. Since it was a small amount and just an experiment, I shook it up and it went away.
 
When it was time to process, the little jar smelled almost like nail polish remover (acetone?) while the large batch smelled fine. I decided to dump the small batch without even tasting it. It was only about 3 cups. Such a strange smell. Anyone else encounter anything like that? It didn't smell moldy or putrid, just, .....chemical.
 
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