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fermenting First Fermenting Mess Up

frjeff

frjeff

Two days ago I mad a mash of primarily habs and gypsys to ferment in salt brine for hot sauce.

No fermentation bubbles have yet been seen. I have it all submerged in a quart jar. Today I removed the cheesecloth and replaced with a water airlock.

I now know I made two mistakes: I used approx 50% frozen peppers and I made the brine with my tap water (chlorine).

Am I completely shot in this first attempt? Or, is there any way to salvage this from my stupidity?

Jeff
 
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did you use any of the whey from a yogurt cup? that helps things kick off. 
did you add some salt brine on top of everything? that helps keep things from growing.
 
only time will tell the rest
 
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frjeff said:
Two days ago I mad a mash of primarily habs and gypsys to ferment in salt brine for hot sauce.

No fermentation bubbles have yet been seen. I have it all submerged in a quart jar. Today I removed the cheesecloth and replaced with a water airlock.

I now know I made two mistakes: I used approx 50% frozen peppers and I made the brine with my tap water (chlorine).

Am I completely shot in this first attempt? Or, is there any way to salvage this from my stupidity?

Jeff
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Hey Jeff,
 
Using frozen peppers (assuming they're defrosted / mashed to remove the airbubbles?) is fine; frozen peppers have, in my experience, no noticable difference from fresh either in heat or LAB-fermentation.
 
Tap-water made brine may be an issue - the chlorine/fluorine is going to inhibit the LAB.  I gather the best water to use is mineral water, rather than distilled; although I couldn't explain why this appears to be current thinking.  Myself, I ferment exclusively with sweet wines instead of brine (but still add salt); and you can see my posts about this if you want to look at it further.
 
Whilst it really differs from batch to batch, my average time from sealing the container to clear ferment start is 4 days (this is possibly due to the wine and/or sulfites inhibiting my process).
 
I've had one batch that refused to start - but wasn't rotting or mouldy in any visible or nasal way - and after 11 days I broke (the only time I've done it) my cardinal rule to never open the airlock, and stuffed in a LAB-capsule (Ultimate Flora brand).  The ferment started just fine within 24 hrs, and it made an amazing 3-month fermented sauce.
 
One thing I have noticed in my recipes is that *any* supermarket-bought produce (even if it's labelled "organic" etc) will inhibit fermentation due to whatever god-forsaken preservation techniques the bulk producers use.  Nowadays, if I can't find what I need at the local farmers' market and have to buy some out-of-season produce from the supermarket, I make sure I put a triple-dose of starter in there just to make sure it happens.  Way back in days, I had a ferment made from supermarket-bought Serrano peppers just sit there for 27 days without either fermenting *or rotting* - and that's not natural (I binned it).
 
So, I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think you've made a mistake with frozen peppers (unless they were whole, and had lots of air in them), and I agree that tap-water's not going to help, but...   go to your supermarket and grab some live LAB capsule cultures from the "Stomach Remedy" section, and dump a couple of tabs in there... it's not over yet!
 
Hope that helps,
 
Best,
 
James N
 
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Welcome Padre Jeff!  
 
Using frozen peppers was not a mistake.  I've never fermented with an entire batch of frozen peppers, but I frequently use frozen pods to 'top off' my quantities when putting a new batch of mash together.  If you did not gas off your tap water before mixing the brine it will likely inhibit the lacto - perhaps not stop it - but slow it.  Next time draw off some tap water, let it sit for a few hours (or overnight) and then make your brine the next day.  It's pretty normal for pepper ferments to take some time, so I would advise you to let this ride until you see LAB activity (bubbles) or evidence of the ferment going south (mold).  The airlock was a good thing imo.
 
Is everything going to be ok?  Hard to say.  Don't know what else is in the mash and/or salt percentage and/or starter if any.  No pics to judge.  If you're afraid of possible issues you can always process this now.  Pour it out into a sauce pan and bring it to a simmer, then put it through a food mill or a fine mesh strainer.  Adjust taste with vinegar if you like, maybe some honey, bring it back to a simmer and bottle.  
 
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Thought I'd add a few specifics about this batch to better enlighten all of you great responders:
 
The pic does not show it too well, but my mash is floating about 1.5 inches above the bottom of the quart jar.
 
Peppers were approx 50/50, frozen/fresh.
 
White thing on top of mash is an upside down jar lid to help keep mash submerged in brine.
 
The brine is the juice from one small can of sauerkraut (not much) and chlorinated tap water (straight from tap) with a rounded TBS of pickling salt. Five cloves of garlic are also in the mash. I also added about a level TSP of raw sugar.
 
I let sit covered with cheesecloth for two days then covered with the airlock lid yesterday.
 
I have seen no bubbles and have no mold on top.
 
Great advice offered thus far. I believe I'll give it a couple or more days before any action. But if I see no bubbles by then I'll try the addition of one or two live LAB cultures capsules as suggested.
 
If this post gives you cause to offer additional suggestions, please do. And, thanks to all the "helpers" out there thus far!
 
 
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Added one capsule of live LAB capsule contents yesterday afternoon and this morning the mash is really floating. Need to weigh it down totally submerged, correct?
I do have an airlock on my quart jar, so unsure about the floating being a problem.
 
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Sounds like it mite be working any change in the water level in airlock if so your getting co2 production. Good luck. :)
Oh by the way one of my ferments took about 5 days to start be patient and you will be rewarded with a fantastic sauce yeeehhhaaa.
 
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Floating solids suggest fermentation is happening, so you might be ok. Instead of weighing the solids down, you can rotate the jar back-an-forth (clockwise-counterclockwise) quickly, and solids will eventually sink.
 
No bubbles through the airlock could be caused by an air-leak. Those plastic lids are notorious for leaks. Be sure to use a gasket with them.
 
Best of luck Padre. Keep us posted.
 
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Your doing fine Padre! As DownRiver said floating mash means action and I have done mashes with nothing but frozen and thawed out pods. They're not going to give you any problems. As for the tap water, I usually fill a pitcher and let it gas off for a couple of hours or over night however I have used water right from the tap also. It's not going to stop the fermentation from happening. If anything it will only slow it down a bit from taking off.
 
RM
 
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RocketMan said:
Your doing fine Padre! As DownRiver said floating mash means action and I have done mashes with nothing but frozen and thawed out pods. They're not going to give you any problems. As for the tap water, I usually fill a pitcher and let it gas off for a couple of hours or over night however I have used water right from the tap also. It's not going to stop the fermentation from happening. If anything it will only slow it down a bit from taking off.
 
RM
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Surely glad all you pepper heads are out there. Helps ease my anxiety and gives me confidence that this might all work just fine in time. Patience is what I need!
 
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