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tutorial Fermenting Peppers 101
- Thread starter RocketMan
- Start date
That was a swedish book by some food professor that had caught interest in fermenting. I'm pretty sure it isn't available in other languages, but she had studied lots of traditional and industrial way of making fermented foods. She has also been involved in professional food making for quite some time.
Leuconostoc mesenteroides is the bacteria that will "win" the war during the first two days. It will quickly create lots of acid and lower the pH to about 6, which kills most other bacteria before they can do any harm. It will give way to Lactobacillus plantarum after that, and it will then do the rest of the job.
I can imagine that a higher percentage of salt will be beneficial for further preservation after the ferment, but I will go for about 1.5-2% while fermenting in the future
/Philip
Leuconostoc mesenteroides is the bacteria that will "win" the war during the first two days. It will quickly create lots of acid and lower the pH to about 6, which kills most other bacteria before they can do any harm. It will give way to Lactobacillus plantarum after that, and it will then do the rest of the job.
I can imagine that a higher percentage of salt will be beneficial for further preservation after the ferment, but I will go for about 1.5-2% while fermenting in the future
/Philip
CB,Did you cook the final Hab product down ? "The Ferment" for me is a base or cushion to the final sauce. There are many varieties of the Habaneros available to grow or purchase. I use all kinds especially the Caribbean Reds and the Trinidad Congos. I now have a Jamaican Red which I've been searching for some time now. I like to use lower acid fruits within the hot sauce making such as the Papaya. Also when it comes to adding vinegar I always have a few gallons on cane vinegar with different peppers infusing inside. A sauce should have a complex flavor and scent........like a nose to a glass of fine wine. I give a batch of hot sauce a good month before opening the bottles to let the flavors dance. I made a few cases of my "Hot Papaya"...a combo of red and orange habs with other ingredients. Right out of the gate the sauce seemed bright and acidic....ha they all do (ph 3.7) but after bottling them and letting time do its thing the sauce became mellow tasting with the Papaya and Tamarind shining through. I bought a bag of "pork rinds"...the fried whatcha-macallit-things today a vending machine...yikes. I opened up a bottle of that sauce (1 month old) and the flavor kicked the arse on the rinds.Bottom line...don't give up on a hab based sauce ...give it time to gel Greg
Took me a while to read this whole thread! Kinda skipped through some of the micro-biological PHD thesis dissertations and some of the beer stuff.
I've been fermenting kimchee and kefir for a couple of years and have greatly benefited health-wise from the crazy amount of probiotics in this stuff. Fermenting peppers just seems like a great and delicious idea! Especially for an old Cajun.
Anyway, if I add sweetening fruit or vegetables after the fermenting process, will the pH of the already fermented stuff render the sauce safe? Or, will I need to keep it refrigerated? I'm assuming y'all add these sweetening ingredients before the last "cooking" of the mash?
Beth over at Peppermania just told me how she dehydrated many pounds of peppers recently. I have a sorta large dehydrator and can easily dehydrate all of my extra peppers. Can I re-hydrate and then use the dehydrated peppers in a ferment? I don't have enough freezer room to hang on to all of these peppers.
Is there some place online that has the best prices on airlocks?
I've been fermenting kimchee and kefir for a couple of years and have greatly benefited health-wise from the crazy amount of probiotics in this stuff. Fermenting peppers just seems like a great and delicious idea! Especially for an old Cajun.
Anyway, if I add sweetening fruit or vegetables after the fermenting process, will the pH of the already fermented stuff render the sauce safe? Or, will I need to keep it refrigerated? I'm assuming y'all add these sweetening ingredients before the last "cooking" of the mash?
Beth over at Peppermania just told me how she dehydrated many pounds of peppers recently. I have a sorta large dehydrator and can easily dehydrate all of my extra peppers. Can I re-hydrate and then use the dehydrated peppers in a ferment? I don't have enough freezer room to hang on to all of these peppers.
Is there some place online that has the best prices on airlocks?
Hi Dude,
So far as adding sweet ingredients to it yes, after the fermentation is over and your cooking down your sauce is when to add them. Usually my Ph is low enough that what ever I add doesn't change it much and I'm still below 4.0. Once you open a bottle though it should be refrigerated. Never hurts to err to the safe side.
I have never tried or heard of anyone trying to ferment rehydrated peppers. I ca t think of a reason why it shouldn't work but... Give it a shot and let us k ow how it goes.
As for a good source for airlocks, if you don't have a local Homebrew shop try searching for one near where you are or eBay.
So far as adding sweet ingredients to it yes, after the fermentation is over and your cooking down your sauce is when to add them. Usually my Ph is low enough that what ever I add doesn't change it much and I'm still below 4.0. Once you open a bottle though it should be refrigerated. Never hurts to err to the safe side.
I have never tried or heard of anyone trying to ferment rehydrated peppers. I ca t think of a reason why it shouldn't work but... Give it a shot and let us k ow how it goes.
As for a good source for airlocks, if you don't have a local Homebrew shop try searching for one near where you are or eBay.
I have 3 samples of my mashes with airlocks fermenting. 2 look fine but one looks weird with green and white fuzz on it. Its in my gallery called "foxtrot foxtrot"
I simply blended peppers, carrot or squash and salt into a pupl and put it in a glass with a few spoonfulls of whey (yogurt) i extracted.
Airlocked with vodka and thats it. Did i miss anythig? It's airtight and have a black sock over them and kept at 72 degrees constant in a cupboard at work.
Should i have put vinegar in there as well?
I simply blended peppers, carrot or squash and salt into a pupl and put it in a glass with a few spoonfulls of whey (yogurt) i extracted.
Airlocked with vodka and thats it. Did i miss anythig? It's airtight and have a black sock over them and kept at 72 degrees constant in a cupboard at work.
Should i have put vinegar in there as well?
Hi Kalitarios and welcome to THP!
I took a look at the pic in your gallery. That white stuff growing on top looks like a kahm yeast. It is one of the things that can creep into a fermentation jar and won't hurt anything. When your ready to process the mash into a sauce just scrape it off and throw it away. Otherwise looks good.
I took a look at the pic in your gallery. That white stuff growing on top looks like a kahm yeast. It is one of the things that can creep into a fermentation jar and won't hurt anything. When your ready to process the mash into a sauce just scrape it off and throw it away. Otherwise looks good.
Is it possible that no white stuff appears on the top during fermentation? One of my mashes looks the same as the day I put it in there. I'll get pictures soon. I was worried that I had missed a step. Thanks for the information!
Yes, Kahm yeast is a natural yeast and it could have been on the surface of the peppers just as natural lacto would be. There could be several reasons it took hold in one and not the other. There could have been a difference in the amount of salt in the mash, who knows. You could go ahead and scrape it off and close the jar back up but I'm the type that I don't believe in opening the jar before it's time to process unless there's darn good reason. The co2 at the top of the jar is developed during the strong fermentation cycle at the begining of the fermentation. once fermentation has slowed down it's probably not going to be recreated and that layer is your protection.
Edit: I meant to tell you also that the temperature you have it at could be to blame in part also. Lacto really love it in the 85 yo 95 degree range. At 72 they are going to be sluggish getting started and that's probably where it was able to get a hold in your mash.
Edit: I meant to tell you also that the temperature you have it at could be to blame in part also. Lacto really love it in the 85 yo 95 degree range. At 72 they are going to be sluggish getting started and that's probably where it was able to get a hold in your mash.
I like!
Holypoopoo, i'm drooling.
Magic in the making and yes
You can ferment smoked pods. These went 4 hours at 110 degreesF over Apple wood. Now, they're going in to the fermentation jar with some onion, garlic and carrots for about 45 days.
How dried out were the pods after the smoker treatment? Did they still retain any residual moisture, or were they completely dried out? Did you add extra brine to the mix, or did you just press out the moisture from the pods/vegetables?
I'm curious how well fermenting a completely dried pod would work (assuming you'd have to add the brine and/or reconstitute the peppers).
Love this thread have been trying to finish reading it for days. Thanks RM and CM for making it and others for making it lively! I have a couple of questions;
I have a lot of peppers in my freezer and would love to utilize them for fermentation to clean out the freezer for this season. I will probably smoke some of the pod varieties for flavor and the moisture content (from the freezer) will be reduced. I did not want to smoke all of the pods though.
1. Is the excess moisture content from frozen pods at more risk for introducing mold?
2. Should I cook some of it off before puting in the jar?
My family absolutely can not stand being in the house when I do any deseeding, cutting up quantities of hot peppers, boiling for puree's, or making jams. I hear lots of grumbling all the time. Of course I try to do these things with an empty house and fans on to clear it out.
3. Does the fermintation process produce a smell in anyway comparable, either on the counter or in the fridge later on?
Thanks Mike
I have a lot of peppers in my freezer and would love to utilize them for fermentation to clean out the freezer for this season. I will probably smoke some of the pod varieties for flavor and the moisture content (from the freezer) will be reduced. I did not want to smoke all of the pods though.
1. Is the excess moisture content from frozen pods at more risk for introducing mold?
2. Should I cook some of it off before puting in the jar?
My family absolutely can not stand being in the house when I do any deseeding, cutting up quantities of hot peppers, boiling for puree's, or making jams. I hear lots of grumbling all the time. Of course I try to do these things with an empty house and fans on to clear it out.
3. Does the fermintation process produce a smell in anyway comparable, either on the counter or in the fridge later on?
Thanks Mike
Go for it Mike, your gonna love it!!!
Thanks Rm for the quick reply! I will post some pics once I gather all my stuff.
Later
Later
I have a mash of peppers I have been fermenting for about 4.5 months (a little longer than I expected) and the top 2 inches or so of mash is turning brown? I am ready to make it into sauce but not sure if it is safe. I am having problems posting pictures because the files are too large, any help would be greatly appreciated.
There's a tutorial on posting picture and you can edit your picture to get them down to size.
The easiest way to tell is smell, if it smells good then chances are it's a good mash. Was the mash well covered with water? If not then the brown color was most likely caused by it not being covered. I haven't personally let a mash go that long but ChiliMonsta, who helped in putting this sticky together had some that had gone for over a year so you should be good so long and no bad bacteria got in hence the smell test.
The easiest way to tell is smell, if it smells good then chances are it's a good mash. Was the mash well covered with water? If not then the brown color was most likely caused by it not being covered. I haven't personally let a mash go that long but ChiliMonsta, who helped in putting this sticky together had some that had gone for over a year so you should be good so long and no bad bacteria got in hence the smell test.