Hello guys/gals, I did my first pepper sauce ferments this year and some of them have an oxidized layer on top(from best i can tell by reading). The layer is somewhat darker on the top inch or so of the jars. A fellow gardener told me to check THP out for answers. I searched on site and found in fermenting 101 that oxidization can cause darkening also but nothing saying what to do. Google searches don't bring up much, I found 2 sites that said to skim off top as oxidized food is bad for body and ncsu.edu just lists it as a reason why fruits darken but not if safe/unsafe.
My setup was:
Glass jars(quarts, pints and 1 1/2 gal)
Used Kerr white plastic lids with silicone gasket underneath and rubber gromet for airlock
4 different combinations of peppers(habs, aji limon, 7pot, jalapenos)
Possible errors on my part:
Left on closet shelf with door open(light had access)
At times it seemed the jars was pulling air in(water was about to come into jar via airlock) and i would pull the jig up to reset it
Not adding water to break a brine and just using juice the veggies produced
My main question is are they salvageable? Is it ok to just remove the layer and continue. If so should i let them continue to ferment and remove the oxidized when ready to consume or should i remove now? I have pictures i can put up if it helps(will have to find out how). Happy to find this place and apprecaite the help.
Lup
My setup was:
Glass jars(quarts, pints and 1 1/2 gal)
Used Kerr white plastic lids with silicone gasket underneath and rubber gromet for airlock
4 different combinations of peppers(habs, aji limon, 7pot, jalapenos)
Possible errors on my part:
Left on closet shelf with door open(light had access)
At times it seemed the jars was pulling air in(water was about to come into jar via airlock) and i would pull the jig up to reset it
Not adding water to break a brine and just using juice the veggies produced
My main question is are they salvageable? Is it ok to just remove the layer and continue. If so should i let them continue to ferment and remove the oxidized when ready to consume or should i remove now? I have pictures i can put up if it helps(will have to find out how). Happy to find this place and apprecaite the help.
Lup