Hello!!
and welcome
Have you read fermenting 101 when I first got here it was my bible. Read it from beginning to end .
All my ferments are closed. I use a plastic lid on a half gallon ball jar with a fork in the center and a 2 piece airlock. As for holding down mash I use a cabbage leaf cut in a circle fitted into jar facing down to hold back mash. But not everybody uses weights just make sure to leave 2/3 inches from top of jar for expansion.
I don't stir I just leave on counter for anywhere from 45/90 days or longer you'll figure that out after you've done a few. It's all about taste so start tasting
I definitely wouldn't use anything that's not food safe.!!!!!!!
Finished ferments are processed in many ways by adding fruits or honey or a thousand other things hahaha. Usually processed by boiling and putting thru food mill or blender or both to desired consistency.
And the flavor profile your looking for. Here's who taught me and the only method I use. Never had any yeast problems.
CHEERS
Hi JamesN loved your post fermenting peppers, would really love some advice. I'm using 1/2 gal bell canning jars with plastic tops and airlocks right now I only have about 1 lb of super hots am using whitelab lab for starter in liquid form. Looking for amounts and mixes like carrots and onion,garlic, and Sun dried tomatoes is this a good combo what about fruit want nice clean sauce ,also is stainless steel reactive with fermenting process Thanks for any help. Grant/oldsalty
Hi oldsalty,
Thanks for your kind words, and nice to meet you.
Hi oldsalty,
Thanks for your kind words, and nice to meet you.
Quantities are a really interesting question; and there's no right answer; but let me outline some considerations / options / example processes.
The variables are:
1) How many peppers you have (weight)
2) Whether you're happy to mix different peppers in the ferment (I usually prefer to keep a single varietal)
3) How hot you like it (I'm not hugely into superhots)
4) Whether you're planning on doing a second mix (ie after ferment is it simply blender/mill then bottle; or are you planning on adding vinegars, juices etc at that point)
5) What flavour profile you're looking for
6) What ferment container sizes you have available
If it's your first ferment then you want to keep things really, really simple imo - nothing would be more frustrating that losing your first big batch of peppers because you were using an unusually complex ingredient or process; using a good starter on your first batch strikes me as a very sensible idea!
So if you're looking for an example of a hard'n'fast recipe in a half-gallon (apologies, I work in metric), the recipe for the red ferment in the photos on my thread is:
530g Pepper mash (50/50 Peruvian Aji and Turkish Sus Biberi)
450g Vine Tomatoes
300g Red Onion
50g Garlic
40g Pickling Salt
500ml White Zinfandel or Mineral Water (absolutely not tap)
I find this sauce plenty hot enough for me; but I'm not really a superhot kinda person (though I have some reapers, Butch-T and Morich in my freezer that I might do something with next week!).
Sundried tomatoes are lovely as a flavour addition, but I usually add them in after the ferment has finished, as then they retain their sweetness. During the ferment process all the sugar gets consumed and I usually want to put some back in before bottling! However, for my tastebuds (in a half-gallon ferment with 1lb of superhots!) I'm not sure I'd notice them XD
You might find some of the other recipes on the forum for superhot ferments might be closer to what you're looking for/used to. I'm probably just a bit of a wuss 
However, once you're familiar with the fermenting process (ie you've done a couple that were successful), here's a recipe-development process I'd hugely recommend and is what I always do when I get a new pepper varietal in,...
As the plants produce peppers, throw them in a freezer bag until you have enough to fill a single ferment jar (eg approx 1.5lb for a quart, 3lb for a half gallon etc; will depend on chunk size eg a course chop, or a "slurry" mash). NB. Freezing peppers changes their texture - but not their flavour or their heat - and so is absolutely fine for a ferment.
Once you have enough hot peppers, ferment them as a mash *on their own* (perhaps with just a small amount of onion and sweet wine for the sugars, plus some salt, though brine instead of wine is fine too). Depending on the pepper and your tolerance you'll probably end up with a pure pepper mash that's very often *far* too hot for your tastebuds on its own.
At the same time, though, do a number of other "pure" ferments or things you think you might want to have in the final product.
eg Also do a pure garlic ferment; some fruit ferment (eg apple, cherries, raspberries, peaches, tomatoes, whatever); another vegetable ferment (eg carrots or sweet potato or butternut squash etc), or whatever it is you might want to mix up with the hot pepper ferment to make the final sauce.
When all the different ferments have finished fermenting and it's time to blend... you can then mix and match the different parts of the different ferments to taste; choosing specifically which ferments to blend (eg pepper and garlic and fruit etc in different concentrations), and - to fit your flavour profile - adding in new ingredients (fresh lime juice, or new fruits or vinegars etc). The only rule is to keep an eye on the pH value as you add in non-fermented ingredients.
This method gives you total flexibility for trying out and experimenting with both the heat levels and the flavour profile and concentrations of each element of the final product, whilst keeping most all of it fermented and shelf-stable!
So long as you keep excellent records of the exact weights and processes each batch went through for both fermenting and ferment-blending as well as new ingredient addition, simmering, bottling... once you've found the recipe you really want you can then produce it in a single ferment rather than in different bits.
Now, doing it as a single batch (rather than a post-ferment blend) will can alter the flavour profile, but this is (imo) almost always for the better - ie the ingredients form a better consistency and entente cordiale if they ferment together in the jar. So, if you liked the "blended" tryout recipe before, you'll probably *love* them fermenting together with the same recipe quantities by weight even more.
I'd strongly recommend the method above tbh.
Hope that helps a big! Let me know how you get on and what you decide to ferment.
Best wishes,
James N
A pleasure to meet you as well, loved your advice will try doing the three ferments the way you described try to balance my heat with the addition of red and orange bells to mix for my second ferment then mix together as you suggest very excited will star Saturday will keep you posted. Should a sanitize everything before process? And should I weight the mash down sorry to be a bother just want to get it right. Thank you again for all your patience and advice.
I think that sounds awesome.
Regarding sanitization... I think (especially as you're using a starter) then you're fine without. Personally, I don't sanitize before I start a ferment (even if I'm doing a wild ferment).
It's a personal choice, though. The end goal is all about trying to keep the LAB alive and thriving until they overwhelm any competitive nasties - and there's a chance that you might nuke the LAB (as well as the nasties) if there's any starsan or bleach hanging around anywhere in the jars, lids etc.
For completeness' sake, though, I sanitize rigorously when I'm in the cooking & bottling end of the process - but that's when you're deliberately trying to ensure the entire organic end of the process is well dead - the last thing you want is a ferment restarting in an airtight, sealed bottle!
And yes, I would weigh your mash down under the surface of the liquid. Those glass discs, made specifically for mason jars, are awesome - otherwise a clean hops bag filled with food-grade glass beads works well. It's a good insurance policy, especially if you're using brine instead of wine as the liquid.
Wishing you all the luck with your ferment; please keep us posted with pics etc!
Hi again James N just wanted to thank you again for all the great advice. Used white zin for my liquid and some cabbage leaf for my wieght. Is working fantastic!
I'll take pics when I assemble it tonight.