Ok, here is my first attempt at a ferment. It is MOA yellows, garlic, and onion ran through the food processor, then jarred and glass weight on top, covered in a 2.5% brine solution, covered with airlock filled with the same brine. It was started 9/3/19 and this is what it looks like today. I wondering if it is supposed to look this cloudy or if something in there is not happy. It kinda looks like slime floating around in there. Thanks for any help.
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fermenting First ferment attempt
- Thread starter m1hagen
- Start date
CaneDog
Extreme Member
Looks OK to me. It appears to be currently active (the bubble ring at the surface) and to have been active for a while now (the cloudiness/separation). Must have gotten going pretty quickly - I suspect pulsing it in the food processor helped with that as well as the low brine salt concentration.
Curious, are you getting airlock activity? I have a bunch of those lids, but the seal is rarely good enough that the CO2 gasses out through the airlock; usually it gasses out through the incomplete seal of the lid. As a result, I don't usually use airlocks with those lids (except sometimes when I'm using the lids I already drilled) as I know they'll gas off under pressure and not need burping.
Curious, are you getting airlock activity? I have a bunch of those lids, but the seal is rarely good enough that the CO2 gasses out through the airlock; usually it gasses out through the incomplete seal of the lid. As a result, I don't usually use airlocks with those lids (except sometimes when I'm using the lids I already drilled) as I know they'll gas off under pressure and not need burping.
Thanks CaneDog, it did seem to get working quickly. I guess because of the whey added. Did you ever have trouble with nasties getting in with these lids? I'm not getting much activity in the airlock so it might be burping out the lid. Do you think it is safe to leave as is and for how long?
CaneDog
Extreme Member
m1 I think you're perfectly good as is. And if the jar's not getting disturbed, probably for as long as you want. I don't think the lids are particularly loose, I just think they're not snug enough to prevent some amount of air exchange especially under pressure, which of course moves the gasses out, not in. I consider their almost tight seal quite effective for the job.
My thinking is with CO2 being heavier than O2, as long as there isn't enough air flow to disrupt the blanket of CO2 that forms above the water line, no O2 is getting to the goods even if the seal isn't perfect. To be safe, I always put my lacto fermentations in a cupboard to minimize air movement around the jars.
I've never had any nasties when using the plastic lids. I had k-yeast twice - at the same time doing a two-jar batch for whatever reason - but that's it. Of course, I always take a pretty good look and smell when I end the fermentation anyway.
I expect that MOA/garlic/onion combo is going to be a good one!
My thinking is with CO2 being heavier than O2, as long as there isn't enough air flow to disrupt the blanket of CO2 that forms above the water line, no O2 is getting to the goods even if the seal isn't perfect. To be safe, I always put my lacto fermentations in a cupboard to minimize air movement around the jars.
I've never had any nasties when using the plastic lids. I had k-yeast twice - at the same time doing a two-jar batch for whatever reason - but that's it. Of course, I always take a pretty good look and smell when I end the fermentation anyway.
I expect that MOA/garlic/onion combo is going to be a good one!
CaneDog said:
I also found those lids leak, badly. I finally purchased some silicone rings specifically for the Ball plastic lids. Works 100%. As usual, I got them on Amazon.
