Mold - Where did I go wrong

Redeemer · Feb 19, 2016

So I am hoping you guys can help me out, but I will preface this by saying I think a 3 gallon batch is gonna have to be tossed

I just looked today and found my Chocolate moruga, mango, onion, blood orange sauce has some contamination. If I had to guess I would blame either the onion, or the blood orange. I have never fermented with citrus. Here are some pics.

I was hoping to strain it, cook it, and then restart it with some more sweet veg like red peppers and mango, but nut sure how contaminated it is. Shame to toss 3 gallons, but even bigger shame to make people sick. Any opinions?

Redeemer · Feb 19, 2016

Oh and I forgot to add, this sauce was made on 2/1
The only variable that has changed from previous ferments is it has been quite hot (85 degrees) consistently where I store the ferments. Previously it had been around 72 degrees.

SmokenFire · Feb 22, 2016

Being in the carboy it's going to be real tough to spoon out the mold. Might not have been the onion or citrus, any number of things could have contributed to it. If you can get a long handled soda fountain spoon you might be able to get the bad stuff out. If you cannot it's going to be very good for your compost pile at least.

oldsalty · Mar 1, 2016

Looks like black mold chuck it better safe than sick!!!!!

pa1966stang · Mar 1, 2016

I would chuck it. Better safe than sorry. How did you clean and sterilize your vessel?

RocketMan · Mar 1, 2016

Yeah, that 3rd picture looks really suspicious for black mold and you REALLY don't want to mess with that stuff. You'll never know that you git it all and you can get the temperature up high enough to make sure it's dead. Recommend you pitch it and start over again. It sucks but better to be safe, you don't want to be or anyone else to be as sick as that can make you.

dragonsfire · Mar 1, 2016

Some of the more sensitive items I would salt/vinegar soak first. I had that problem when I used fresh tomatoes.

Redeemer · Mar 5, 2016

Well I strained it, cooked it down, added vinegar and put it in the fridge. I've been eating it, and its quite tasty, but nothing like it could have been with proper aging. This one won't be getting bottled. I just have a bunch of full mason jars in the fridge for personal consumption. I've been eating it without any problems, but holy hell is it spicy!