• If you have a question about commercial production or the hot sauce business, please post in The Food Biz.

Kahm yeast below brine surface?

For some reason I decided to ferment whole peppers instead of doing a mash. I created a 5% salt brine and submerged the peppers with a glass weight keeping them below the surface. I noticed some white yeast near the top of the fermenting jar but now I'm also seeing what looks like the same yeast on the submerged peppers!?! How is that possible? Should I keep or toss out?
IMG_0344-1_zpsi7lzx7lq.jpg
IMG_0342_zpss8kssi2d.jpg
 
I'm not speaking from a lot of experience. I made one batch of fermented sauce, and it turned out great, probably beginner's luck!

Anyhow, my ferment developed a scary looking kalm yeast growth. It started on the surface then grew down into the jar of peppers.

So, I think everything is probably fine.

There are more experienced hands here who can give you help.
 
I had the exact same thing happen to me last week. Unfortunately I can't give you any valuable information, I threw it away (with great pain) just in case. Hope someone can tell what's going on here.
 
The thing with fermented sauces is you can always let your nose be your guide. If you open the jar and it smells like something that would gag a maggot then it's picked up a bad bacteria. If not and the ph is in the safe range your probably safe. When in doubt though, dump it out. Making yourself or someone else sick isn't worth it. Even if it's the last super hits of the season and all your can get locally are Jalapeño's and Serrano's. Make a new safe sauce with them and juke it with some Pure Evil from salsalady.

Cheers,
RM
 
Back
Top