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fermenting 3 mashes: Haby Wasabi, Smoky Red, and Mixed Greens

Hey friends, it's been a long time since my last post but I'm back!!!  Last year I grew a ton of peppers from seeds I bought from AjiJoe.  I needed to make some room in my deep freezer so today I made three mashes for fermentation.  I used hickory smoke on the garlic and red & green peppers (the former was mostly cayenne while the latter was a mix of all kinds of random unripened peppers I picked last fall right before the first snowfall.  I didn't take any proper measurements (except for the 5+% brine*) but here's my list of ingredients:
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I didn't put much fruit in; just enough to kickstart the fermentation process.  Likewise, there's only 2 tbsp of Basalmic vinegar in the green sauce (it was a last minute decision).  I am particularly excited about the Haby-Wasabi sauce.  I put in 8 teaspoons of wasabi powder and a huge chunk of ginger.  I also put in some cumin in the red sauce.  I'll leave them in my basement for 6-12 weeks and then use lime juice/vinegar to get the ph right before bottling.  Or maybe I'll (finally) shell out the cash for a pressure canner and heating element (since I have a glass-top stove). 
 
*How well do you stir in your salt water brine?  I stirred in my whey really well but I didn't do a very good job stirring in my brine.  I just sorta poured it on top, gave it a quick stir with a spoon, inserted weights, and topped off with more brine.  I'm afraid the brine didn't really get fully stirred into the bottom of the mash.  Is this going to be a problem?
 
** I caramelized the onions using butter.  Is that OK?  Will the butter do anything bad during the fermentation process?  I just thought about this and now I'm in a panic!!
 
Stemwinder said:
 
** I caramelized the onions using butter.  Is that OK?  Will the butter do anything bad during the fermentation process?  I just thought about this and now I'm in a panic!!
 
Shouldn't affect the fermentation but fats in a sauce can cause it to go rancid faster so keep an eye on it, better yet keep it in the fridge.
 
Next time sweat down your onions with sugar, salt and water only..
 
Listen to Bill, he's the ferment guru.......since you heated up the butter, I'd put that vessel right in the fridge.
 
I infuse Olive Oil with hot peppers....and the bottles will sit at room temp, corked on my counter.
The Oil can sit   for a few months with no issues, since it was never heated up to temp.
 
Well, crap.  I don't have any room in my fridge but they are now fermenting in my basement (where it remains pretty cool).  I'll keep my fingers crossed and I'll know better next time.  Thanks for the help!
 
Stemwinder said:
Well, crap.  I don't have any room in my fridge but they are now fermenting in my basement (where it remains pretty cool).  I'll keep my fingers crossed and I'll know better next time.  Thanks for the help!
Hey do you have a good link for those mason jars , I just bought a fermentation crock with the stones today did a lot of searching and never came across those wouldn't mind having a few. I grew up in Muncie by the way! 
 
Stemwinder said:
Yes, sir.  Here is a link to the Pickl-it site.  My mother bought us a few for Christmas a couple of years ago.  http://www.pickl-it.com/products/
 
I have lived in Muncie for 6 years. I love the low cost of living but there isn't much to do here.  
 
 
Hey thanks for the link! Yea I hear you about nothing to do All we did was drink chase girls and fight not all ways in that order..  But where else can you buy a huge Victorian for penny's that's most likely haunted    :)
 
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