So for your first ferment you should probable keep it as simple as possible right? That's the smart move. I apparently am not a smart man but I wanted to do it this way so damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. To brutally mix the metaphors, this might be a great sauce or it might go down like the Hindenburg.
To start, I took 2oz each chipotle (I think mecos) and arbols, rehydrated them in alkaline spring water, drained most of the water, and processed. (Why alkaline water? See below)
Then I took a few ounces of carrots, a head's worth of peeled garlic, and two ghost peppers and processed them and added them.
Sprinkled a capsule worth of Culturelle Lactobacilus probiotics (3B cfu) and a Tbsp of brown sugar, mixed, and transferred to the fermentation vessel.
Now for the rest I wanted cayenne and red serrano but I cannot find them fresh this time of year. So I bought a commercial pint of mash each.
No idea why Tinypic rotated this pic btw. The potential issue here is that they come in 10% vinegar and too much acid can stunt the Lacto growth. Especially since I wanted to use a wine brine and wine itself is also acidic. So I added about a half pint each to a bowl and stirred in a tsp of baking soda. Hey look kids, a volcano!
Add all this to the fermentation vessel and there was still way too much headspace. So I added the remainder of the cayenne and serrano mash. Final proportions were about 1 part each cayenne and serrano and 1 part arbol/chipotle/everything else.
Finally added the Moscato wine "brine" but since the mash was pretty dense I probably only added a cup.
Again no idea why Tinypic rotated the image and I can seem to fix it. Anyway headspace looks ok to me. The overall pH in there is 5 (the pH of the wine itself was 4) so I think I did a decent job getting the pH in a range where it's not too hospitable for nasties but still ok for the Lacto. The few bits stuck to the wall above the brine are a little concerning but I'm crossing my fingers that a quick start to the ferment making the headspace anaerobic coupled with the fact that the mash is somewhat acidic will keep mold at bay.
To start, I took 2oz each chipotle (I think mecos) and arbols, rehydrated them in alkaline spring water, drained most of the water, and processed. (Why alkaline water? See below)
Then I took a few ounces of carrots, a head's worth of peeled garlic, and two ghost peppers and processed them and added them.
Sprinkled a capsule worth of Culturelle Lactobacilus probiotics (3B cfu) and a Tbsp of brown sugar, mixed, and transferred to the fermentation vessel.
Now for the rest I wanted cayenne and red serrano but I cannot find them fresh this time of year. So I bought a commercial pint of mash each.
No idea why Tinypic rotated this pic btw. The potential issue here is that they come in 10% vinegar and too much acid can stunt the Lacto growth. Especially since I wanted to use a wine brine and wine itself is also acidic. So I added about a half pint each to a bowl and stirred in a tsp of baking soda. Hey look kids, a volcano!
Add all this to the fermentation vessel and there was still way too much headspace. So I added the remainder of the cayenne and serrano mash. Final proportions were about 1 part each cayenne and serrano and 1 part arbol/chipotle/everything else.
Finally added the Moscato wine "brine" but since the mash was pretty dense I probably only added a cup.
Again no idea why Tinypic rotated the image and I can seem to fix it. Anyway headspace looks ok to me. The overall pH in there is 5 (the pH of the wine itself was 4) so I think I did a decent job getting the pH in a range where it's not too hospitable for nasties but still ok for the Lacto. The few bits stuck to the wall above the brine are a little concerning but I'm crossing my fingers that a quick start to the ferment making the headspace anaerobic coupled with the fact that the mash is somewhat acidic will keep mold at bay.