• If you have a question about commercial production or the hot sauce business, please post in Startup Help.

fermenting Fermentation question

G

gvittman

As I still have about 5 lbs of scotch bonnets in the freezer, I was thinking about trying a fermented mash. Can anyone give me a few tips on how to start this?
Reading articles, I see that some add a minimum of 15% salt, and I see others that only add a few tbsp of salt. Which works better? 15% of salt sounds like a lot to me, and I am a bit afraid that the salt will over power the chilli taste.
Will chillis that come from the freezer still ferment, or do I have to add a starter? In the jalopeno link, I read about adding sauer kraut brine. Is it possible to take this brine from a can of sauer kraut, or does it have to be fresh?

Looking forward to some tips.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
you don't EAT the kimchee or cabbage, you USE it for the lacto~~~ that occurs.

Peppers don't ferment by themselves easily, so that means you need to add lots of salt OR use a starter (aka- something that is already fermenting like kimchee or kraut), kefir, napa cabbage .... it's just an option...........


but to each their own....if you'd rather eat Borat, I guess there's now accounting for some people's tastes. :wink:

:)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I definitely would not recommend a hanna meter. I brought mine back after it stopped working and the guy said that was his 3rd hanna returned that day and that he'd decided to stop selling the crappy units
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
POTAWIE said:
I definitely would not recommend a hanna meter. I brought mine back after it stopped working and the guy said that was his 3rd hanna returned that day and that he'd decided to stop selling the crappy units
Click to expand...

Ouch, I haven't used mine in a while, I hope it still works! :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Friends,

I think I have one of the best experience in Bacteria/Fungus and Virus control in water/food and environment.
I introduced this eco friendly Biocide made of H2O2 and Colloidal silver in Food and Floriculture.
In food, it was to control fungus and bacteria in noodles and pickles followed by mineral water.
Today, almost whole of India uses this cheap and best disinfectant.

Read more here

http://www.sanosilbiotech.com/

http://sanosilglobal.com/index.html

If you guys want more info, please contact them.
In floriculture and foods, I can help.

NJA
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The Hanna is the one I saw. US indeed $30, but in f ... Europe, around $90. Also found some testers made in China (http://www.kelilong.com), but not much info available.

NJA, if you talk about silver, then you are referring to the old West knowledge that adding a silver dollar to your water bottle keeps the water from getting bad. But, what about the H2O2. Is indeed a disinfectant. Is the H2O2 added to the pepper mash in combination with the silver? H2O2 is pretty toxic I thought.
How would that work?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
gvittman said:
The Hanna is the one I saw. US indeed $30, but in f ... Europe, around $90. Also found some testers made in China (http://www.kelilong.com), but not much info available.

NJA, if you talk about silver, then you are referring to the old West knowledge that adding a silver dollar to your water bottle keeps the water from getting bad. But, what about the H2O2. Is indeed a disinfectant. Is the H2O2 added to the pepper mash in combination with the silver? H2O2 is pretty toxic I thought.
How would that work?
Click to expand...

Oh No....on the contrary, H2O2 acts with colloidal silver which is in minute quantity in synergestic way and at 100 ppm level, it disinfects water 100 percent.
H2 O2 is not toxic at that PPM level. Silver is highly toxic for Microbes only and in presence of H2O2, it is one of the most lethal and yet human and eco friendly disinfectant I have ever seen.

NJA
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I have yet to make a ferment of any kind, but I'd like try.:)

Therefore, I am a learner here and can add nothing of any real value lol.

I do have a question re: containers. Anybody ever heard of "The Picklemeister"? I stumbled across this website earlier. They sell Harsch crocks (like the one in the vid above), but they also sell "The Picklemeister" (scroll down toward the bottom).

Will this thing work for fermenting peppers? It's glass and comes with an air-lock. $20 looks pretty cheap, if it'll work.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
that picklemeister looks like a pretty simple set up and inexpensive for a beginner. IMhumbleO, I think it would work great. It addresses all the issues of keeping oxygen out, glass in contact with food. It does have an "upgrade" to a glass weight instead of a plastic weight (ie, a small glass custard dish) that you can probably find on your own. Put it under a 5-gallon bucket to keep the light out and it's a poorman's Harch crock. :)

A person could probably fab up their own fairly easily. Those bubblers are readily available at brewing supply store. The hardest part will probably be finding a plastic lid that fits on a glass jar. I have a few glass gallon jars and can never find a plastic lid to fit. But it hasn't been a priority either..........until now!



There are very few things in life that I would lust after but one of those Harsch crocks would be on my list. Right now, I haven't done enough fermenting to justify the expense. Maybe....someday.... PLEEEEASE, Santa??????
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yeah I could not justify the cost of one of those big nice crocs. The mason jars I use are up to 2 Litres and I have some larger fermentation vessels for alcohol, since my mash is not chunky if would work well in a 1 or 3 gallon carboy with standard air lock. Now only if I had that many peppers. :) We'll see this fall!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
it was a calculated decision to purchase 8 pounds of jalapeno peppers in the dead of winter at full retail price to start a batch of mash..............but I figure it's a business expense! R & D!

Would I do that for production? NEVER!
R & D???? yup, inspiration struck!


rshortt- here's wishing you a bumper crop!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I have no problems buying retail peppers for experimenting with either. Jalapenos are the most abundant and cheapest pepper in the stores here ($2 - $3 per lb) and I'd rather experiment with them than my home grown ones, of which I have none now anyways.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
That is an excellent price. The scotch bonnets go here for 7 euro/kg, which is about $5/lb. They are imported from Holland, I assume grown in green houses with plenty of water, and they are not spicy at all. You eat them like a snack.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top