Guys, I am looking for some advice on what happened with a ferment that didn't turn out for me. Unfortunately I didn't snap any pictures before I processed it and then ultimately threw it away. Here are the details:
Recipe:
200g Red Scorpions
450g Red Bell Peppers
450g Carrots
290g Onion
125g Garlic
55g salt
1/4 cup sauerkraut brine
all ingredients put into blender and mashed to a fine mash. Put into a cleaned and sterilized 64oz jar with an airlock. Fermented for 116 days (note this for later questions I have)
During the time the ferment smelled fine when sniffed through the air lock. There were obvious bubbles being formed in the mash. Additionally, it smelled fine when I opened the airlock after 116 days to process the ferment. Nothing was growing on top of the mash or near the sides of the jar. The mash did separate into a more liquid level on the bottom and a more solid portion on the top, something I understand isn't unusual for finely chopped mashes. The top 2 inches of mash did have a slight darkening, but again, nothing that looked out of place compared to other mash pictures I have seen.
Here is where things went south for me, and I am looking for some opinions/advice. The mash, when opened, registered a pH of 4.6. The meter was brand new, and calibrated using a 3 point calibration. My old meter had dried out and wouldn't calibrate properly, so I literally just opened the meter right before taking the readings on these sauces. Obviously this was out of tolerance and I tossed the batch as a safety precaution.
Here is where I am confused. I processed another jar of ferment that was processed in the exact same manner, except for I substituted cranberries and ginger for the carrots and garlic. This jar had a pH of 2.9 (was processed, bottled, and tasted amazing for the record).
So my questions are as follows:
1. Any obvious reason why the ferment wouldn't have gotten down to a target pH of below 4.0? Noting that the 116day fermentation time should have been ample time for this to happen.
2. Should I have just put the airlock back on and let it ride? At this point there is oxygen introduced into the vessel, so the airlock seems useless, and if the primary fermentation is complete, I'm not going to get the pH to adjust much more, right?
3. There were no nasties growing on it, it smelled and looked fine, would you have rolled the dice? I wouldn't have, and didn't. a hundred days and $5.00 of raw material isn't worth any chance of being sick to me.
Thoughts and opinions are much appreciated.
TW
Recipe:
200g Red Scorpions
450g Red Bell Peppers
450g Carrots
290g Onion
125g Garlic
55g salt
1/4 cup sauerkraut brine
all ingredients put into blender and mashed to a fine mash. Put into a cleaned and sterilized 64oz jar with an airlock. Fermented for 116 days (note this for later questions I have)
During the time the ferment smelled fine when sniffed through the air lock. There were obvious bubbles being formed in the mash. Additionally, it smelled fine when I opened the airlock after 116 days to process the ferment. Nothing was growing on top of the mash or near the sides of the jar. The mash did separate into a more liquid level on the bottom and a more solid portion on the top, something I understand isn't unusual for finely chopped mashes. The top 2 inches of mash did have a slight darkening, but again, nothing that looked out of place compared to other mash pictures I have seen.
Here is where things went south for me, and I am looking for some opinions/advice. The mash, when opened, registered a pH of 4.6. The meter was brand new, and calibrated using a 3 point calibration. My old meter had dried out and wouldn't calibrate properly, so I literally just opened the meter right before taking the readings on these sauces. Obviously this was out of tolerance and I tossed the batch as a safety precaution.
Here is where I am confused. I processed another jar of ferment that was processed in the exact same manner, except for I substituted cranberries and ginger for the carrots and garlic. This jar had a pH of 2.9 (was processed, bottled, and tasted amazing for the record).
So my questions are as follows:
1. Any obvious reason why the ferment wouldn't have gotten down to a target pH of below 4.0? Noting that the 116day fermentation time should have been ample time for this to happen.
2. Should I have just put the airlock back on and let it ride? At this point there is oxygen introduced into the vessel, so the airlock seems useless, and if the primary fermentation is complete, I'm not going to get the pH to adjust much more, right?
3. There were no nasties growing on it, it smelled and looked fine, would you have rolled the dice? I wouldn't have, and didn't. a hundred days and $5.00 of raw material isn't worth any chance of being sick to me.
Thoughts and opinions are much appreciated.
TW
