I drilled holes in the tops of the lids and put rubber collet(?) in it.
+1 Hot Stuff, just get a rubber gromet from your local homebrew shop or off of ebay, drill a hole and your set.
+1 to PIC 1 also, good call!
Okay, more clarity.. and thank you all! And I've read this thread a bunch of times. I'm just not very intelligent. And you'll probably think (after reading), "Doc 'sort of' gets it... but he's somewhat dense. He's close, but not really getting it".
Resolved: make a great pepper mash to use as a base for hot sauce
- I get my favorite peppers that I want to ferment (chef's choice)
- I cut off the stems, but leave the seeds and membrane intact (personal choice or is there some advantage to getting rid of "rind" or tough ends (?)
Just pop the stem off and remove any of the material surounding the stem and you good.
- I use a food processor to pulverize the peppers and add them do a mason jar (that's what I can easily buy)
- Okay, add maybe 5%-6% salt, not ionized (sp?), but kosher or, better, pickling. Thinking about that gourmet stuff, like pink Hawaiian "lava" salt... for another thread!
You can use less salt if your using a starter to get the fermentation going. I have high blood pressure and so only use 2 tablespoons of salt.
- Smash down, remove any air... stir up the salty slurry... establish a young "mash"
You'll need a little air space left in the top. As the fermentation starts the sir will be pushed out by the CO2 that is produced.
+ I bought a half-dozen air-locks, and they look really cool and well-designed... but they seem to be made for "bungs" (beer/wine). They are the size (diameter) of a.... dill pickle. Bad purchase? What the hell can I use them for?
What Hot Stuff said
- The alternative is a layer of cheese-cloth(s) and some sort of weight to assure submersion. Can I get a stone from my yard and boil it clean? A white stone... keeping the veggies under brine. I'm not clear on these "glass beads". Sounds kinky.
Go to Walmart or Target and look in the section with the fake flower stuff. They're used to make clear glass vases look nice. Also when your getting your rubber gromet pick up some hop sacks. They're perfect for putting the glass beads into.
- I will make these airlocks work, some how... so the pre-pubescent salty pepper mash will sit at room temp for... 4 days, with said "protection". Or is it 30+ days?? ROOM TEMP. Are the second through 4th-8th weeks refrigerated? Sealed?
Ideal fermentation takes place in the 80 to 90 degree F range. With an air lock on you'll close up the Mason Jar tightly and put he air lock on. I usually let mine go 45 to 90 days and if I'm letting it go longer I'll move it to the fridge.
- I'll probably also have peppercorns, allspice berries, maybe cardamom pods, lemon grass, etc. in the mash (can't see any harm there). I buy cooking spices in pod/seed form (and grind them down for cooking, NOT for this exercise).
if your using dried spices put them in when you make the final sauce as the fermentation wont reall affect them.
- I'm on-board with buying some nice Greek yogurt and using the whey... along with some distilled/Spring (non-tap) water and previously addressed "salt"... HOW would this addition coincide with the simple (Chile Pepper)/SALT starter? Is the whey starter geared to "pickled peppers" (and carrots and celery, etc)?
The starter will take care of any fresh ingredients you add. The Lactobacillius bacteris will eat all the sugars and prodece Lactic Acid in return.
- Am I mixing up pickling peppers with pepper mash?
Nope, your doing good. You can pickle peppers this way or by just soaking them in vinegar.
I also bought a PH tester... and I understand ambient temps are important... but that's too hard-core for me at this point. For another thread.
I grow some interesting heirloom peppers; I don't mind paying a little more $ to ensure their viability.
A lot of ph testers are able to adjust for the temperature within a set heat range. If your unsure about yours, test the ph when you dump the fermentation contents and then after the first blender run. put a little in a dish, let it cool for a bit and test it.
I know... over-thinking... it's a bane...
JMHO
Cheers,
RM