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fermenting Oxidized layer on ferment

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
 
 
Welcome to THP.

I am pretty sure your best option is to just let it ferment and scrape off when you are ready to process. Hopefully one of the more experienced fermenters can give you a definitive answer.
 
I just finished a half gallon mix...after almost 100 days, it too developed a darker layer in the top one inch of the mash.
 
I took a spoon yesterday and removed the dark discolored layer and tossed it in the trash...tasted the mash that was under it.....it was perfect.
 
I removed the cap and vent, replaced with a solid lid and put it in the fridge.
 
I will be updating my mash thread today on the results and turn it into a sauce.
 
I think your mash will be fine...Give it a smell, it should not smell foul or taste foul. 
 
I don't see that you used any salt or ferment starter?  
 
I did not use a liquid brine cap either and am pretty sure that why i got the oxidation darkening, I also began to see the reverse vac issue.
 
I will take a ph reading on the mash before I begin the sauce making and see where it sits currently..pretty sure everything is good to go though.
 
And Welcome to THP :cheers:
 
 
Welcome to THP,Lup!

I have had this happen a few times to some hot sauce after bottling.
I've assumed it is only oxidation and should be safe to consume, but have nonetheless discarded those bottles. It is ugly - especially in light colored sauces. I wonder if this is a common occurrence with bottled sauce and how to prevent it. In my case, I have carefully followed proper bottling procedures(or at least so believe!).

I'll be interested in what you hear from some of our sauce gurus.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome guys.
 
I did use a salt content of 5-7% that i added over the course of me blending all the stuff together before jarring.
 
 
dragonsfire said:
Welcome to the Forum Justin !!! :welcome:
Possibly the PH needs to be adjusted, if the seals are all good then I would let it run its course, opening the lid will only add oxygen. :)
 

You found me DF! My pepper Mentor! :woohoo:
 
Ok few months later and I'm gonna make some sauce this weekend if they are still good to go.
 
As you can see the dark layer on some got larger than the others but each of them still has about an inch or so. Other than that i don't see anything out of ordinary all the mash underneath looks amazing. No mold except there is some floaties going on inside my airlock on a couple jars.   What you guys think?
 
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Ready to start a new pepper year! This year my garden was put in late but i got some reapers, red habs, jalapeno's, and some others in containers that survived winter.
 
 
 
 
 
I can't help but notice that the level of liquid in the airlock in that pint (?) jar looks dangerously low. There's usually a "fill line" on the air locks that you really need to keep an eye on, especially in the Winter (my house gets really dry with the heat/fireplace on) because the water will evaporate at a faster rate. The rest of them look fine, it's just that pint jar.

I had something sorta similar happen to a Strawberry/Brain Strain ferment, but I think it was a different problem. All the color leached out of the strawberries (I kinda expected that) and the top portion of the BRINE turned dark. Not the mash itself though. I ended up tossing the whole batch because it smelled absolutely awful (no mold/yeast either)

I really wish I could help you out, but I've never run into this problem. I'm very curious to see how these turn out though. Hopefully someone with some more experience will chime in.

Are you gonna spoon out the darker stuff?
How'd they smell?
Check the pH?
 
Yea the level on that pint jar is below the lock, so its gotten air in it for sure. I didn't notice it till i took it out of closet that it was so low and the others were low too but not under the lock. I'll not use the pint because its almost all brown but going to see what it smells like. This is first time for fermenting so i'm learning as i go too but having lots of fun with the peppers. I'll keep ya updated!
 
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