fermenting Fermentation Gone Wild !

[rmardis]

Ok people, i finally got enough from my garden to start me the fermentation process It has begun! I tried a little fermenting last year, but the white stuff worried me. I will fear no longer, for it was only yeast. Anycow, these are just small batches, so much more to come. I mixed 3 different bottles up to ferment. I did a bottle of 2 different types of cayennes 558 grams with 8% salt by weight, 1 bottle of small thai peppers 117 grams with 8% salt and mixed it with my peter peppers 269 grams. Then the last jar i added my orange habs with 6% salt. With each jar i added about 2 TBL of whey from my kefir to kick start it and i added airlocks. I figured what i would do is when more of my peppers start to mature, to just add them to already existing mashes going on.

These are the four or so types that came from my garden that i am using

These are them after the process. In them include canning salt, whey from my kefir, and in my mason jars with the airlocks.

I will glady take any advice on what i am doing. Also, GLADY take what i should mix with these to make hot sauces after the process.

Another thing i am not sure of. After i get finished fermenting this, how do i get it to keep? I understand having the right ph. But, can i just put it in a jar, top kind of lose, and leave in the fridge until i get ready to use. Just not sure how the best way to get it to keep before i make sauces with it.
THANKS

 

[Hammerfall]

i made a 6% salt per volume and i have found that way too much salt. hope that you wont find that with your 2 8% jar !

Nice setup. where do you get jar like that with a grommet for airlock?

Thanks

 

[rmardis]

I got the airlocks and gromments off of leeners. Bought some plastic leds from wally world and drilled holes in them with regular quart size mason jars.
I read where peppers can go with a 3.5% brine ratio, but since i was not adding water i thought doing it by weight i may need more. I read other places where they use a 6% ratio with their mashes. However, if i can use less, thats what i want. I am not a fan of salt, but i wanted to be on the sae side making the mash.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

I got the airlocks and gromments off of leeners. Bought some plastic leds from wally world and drilled holes in them with regular quart size mason jars.
I read where peppers can go with a 3.5% brine ratio, but since i was not adding water i thought doing it by weight i may need more. I read other places where they use a 6% ratio with their mashes. However, if i can use less, thats what i want. I am not a fan of salt, but i wanted to be on the sae side making the mash.

I like 6% because I tend to dillute with vinegar or some sort of juice at the end. No problems with being safe, chili brethren.

 

[Chili Monsta]

Nice looking set-up's you've got there my friend!
And from the looks of the airlock in the jar on the right end of your photo...it might already be getting started.
Based upon your comments, it appears you located an affordable digital scale...sure makes life easier...huh?
(Question: Did you happen to check the pH before you sealed the jars?)

I figured what i would do is when more of my peppers start to mature, to just add them to already existing mashes going on.


After i get finished fermenting this, how do i get it to keep? I understand having the right ph. But, can i just put it in a jar, top kind of lose, and leave in the fridge until i get ready to use. Just not sure how the best way to get it to keep before i make sauces with it.
THANKS

Be aware that after the fermentation begins, by opening your "oxygen free" container to add more peppers, you are also introducing the contents to a new crop of "bad" bacteria which needs oxygen to survive. Therefore the potential for spoilage issues increases.
If your ferment in still in the first stage at that time, then it may generate enough CO2 to displace the oxygen and allow the "good" bacteria to dominate. It might be a good idea to consider including some additional carbs and/or sugar along with a little more kefir starter when you add the extra peppers.

As for how to store/use the mash....
I currently have a half gallon of habanero mash (12%) that is close to a year old.
It is stored in the fridge with a tight cap and measured at less than 3.6 when it was refrigerated initially.
I have consumed approximately one half gallon of it since that time and it still measured below 3.6 last week when I made three different flavors of hot sauce.
The acid from the fermentation process combined with the salt creates an environment which preserves the produce.
The fermenting still continues even in the fridge,but the reduced temperature slows it down tremendously.

I use straight fermented mash in both "cooked" sauces, which I water bath or pressure can and in "blended" sauces that are stored in the fridge.
Personally, I prefer the fresher more natural flavors of the blended approach, and for the health benefits associated with cultured foods.

I do 99% of the cooking around my homestead, and use salt in very-very limited quantities.

And while a salt ratio of 6%-8%-12% might seem high at first glance, in reality it has never been a problem for me because I use the mash as an additive, not as a sauce.

When I make a sauce, the mash is blended with other ingredients and flavorings and I never need to include any additional salt.
I seldom use any vinegar(and if so it's only minimal) but choose to use fresh lime juice instead, and just enough to maintain less than a 4.0-pH level.

Hope this helps you out...looking forward to the "topless" progress updates in Fermentation Gone Wild Part II.
Enjoy!
CM

 

[rmardis]

Great, great, great info, as always. To answer your question on the ph check. I did not. I do not have any ph strips yet. I will make an order to leeners tomorrow for some strips.

About adding more peppers. I figured i would add more whey from my kefir. I was hoping if it was already fermenting, it would work. I guess i will rethink that. I just had a lot of extra room with my habs and did not want it to go to waste. I was reading that Bob Hurt, and he would add his fermenting peppers as a starter for new peppers. That is where i came up with that idea.

Also, i am having a ton of jalapenos. Would that be a good mash? Do you recommend anything else to ferment with jalapenos?

Do you always go by weight when adding salt or a brine? I am not sure when it is best to use one or the other.
thanks again