• If you have a question about commercial production or the hot sauce business, please post in The Food Biz.

fermenting lacto fermentation bubbles, brine, sediment

Hi,

i've been making hot sauce from home grown peppers and i think i've finally got my brine salinity working well at 3 to 3.5% based on weight of water plus peppers. my issue: after about 2 weeks my brine is pretty clear, there isn't much sediment (probably why the brine is relatively clear) and there are (lots of) big bubbles not small fizzy bubbles. i'm used to more cloudiness, sediment and smaller bubbles. Video attached.....what do you all think?

Details:
1. using mason jars with inexpensive airlock lids with a suction pump
2. contents: filtered water (probably chlorinated), a variety of mostly thick walled hot peppers, onion, garlic, mint
3. i burp daily (agitate contents, release and re-create vacuum with the pump)
4. lots of big bubbles (like seltzer water) started after a day or 2
5. some small fizzy bubbles get pulled out of solution due to lower pressure when i create a new vacuum, but only briefly
6. it smells very good

thanks in advance!
SSH
 

Attachments

  • Pepper ferment 1.mp4
    15.2 MB
Looks like a healthy, VERY active ferment. With that much activity, I'm surprised it 2 weeks old. That's a little odd. Also, don't know why you're burping daily. I don't have that exact vacuum lid, but they usually have built-in exhaust - no burping necessary. Remember, you don't want to introduce oxygen back into the jar. That's how bad things happen.

I'd let it ride and see where it goes.
 
Absolutely, not an expert here. I ground up some mixed peppers about two weeks ago and let them ferment. My intent was to experiment in preparation for bunch of Kate season habanero peppers I have coming ripe. They’re not in a brine like yours, but formed a little liquid. Except for one small spot that formed a small white spot I think they’re good. My intent is to spoon away that spot and see what the rest do, probably soon, as they were a mix pepper experiment.
 
Late to the party but, the bubbles in 99% of my ferments look exactly like your video. I’d say you’re doing just fine. Looks very healthy 👍🏻 I also wholeheartedly agree with @Downriver. Don’t burp the jar. All you’re gonna do by doing that is let oxygen in :cheers:
 
Back
Top