Ok so I have been making lacto-fermented hot sauce the same way for a while now and everything always goes fine no problems. I use a 6% brine over peppers chopped into quarters and smashed down into a mason jar. But i wanted to try a mash method.... So here comes my ? When making a mash do i need to use 6% salt weight to the whole mixture peppers and brine, 6% salt of the total pepper weight then cover with water, or 6% brine till the mash is covered? I have seen all three answers. I plan on marketing my hot sauces shortly and the mash method gives me more yield per jar. Any help is much appreciated and always thanks in advance.
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fermenting Salt weight in mash?
- Thread starter Dylan unknown
- Start date
Dylan unknown said:
If 6% is working for you I'd advise you to stick with it. For mash you want % by weight of finished ingredients - that's peppers stemmed, onions skinned/chopped, etc. So if you have 40oz of mash you'd need 2.4 oz of salt to hit 6% by weight.
edit: Blend it in while the mash is running in the processor to get it evenly distributed.
Jubnat said:
:golf clap:
well played Jubnat
To me the only way it makes sense for the sauce to have 6% salt weight during fermentation. Would be to make the mash cover with desired amount of water. Weigh the completed concoction say it weighs 1500g peppers, water, any spices or things you may include already added. It would need 90g of salt for the total concoction to have a salinity of 6%....... right? The other two ways only weighing the brine and adding it to X amount of grams of pepper mash would dilute the brines salinity and vise versa the other way only weighing the mash and not the water would be the same.... correct? Or am I just over thinking it.
Dylan unknown said:
You are overthinking it. Weigh your total mash ingredients prior to food processor and add the requisite amount of salt needed to achieve 6% during the time you're putting everything through the food processor.
100 oz mash = 6 oz salt. Don't use table salt - use pickling/canning salt.
I weigh everything in grams to make it easier. Yesterday I had 1800 g of finished mash, I added 126 g of salt. (I shoot for 7%). I stir mine in after processing in a big bowl since I usually process my mash in batches and then weigh it all at the end. The considering your water question, I don't factor that in. Usually after salting and packing there is enough liquid and I don't need to add any. However if I'm adding some starter juice or other adjuncts (Beer, wine, etc) I don't factor it in.