My first creations

[MrGlen]

I have made my first to chili creations, one is a sauce that needs to ferment for a month, the other is pickleze. Haven't got to try either yet, but the pickleze should be ready tomorrow.
 
Here are the fermented sauce ingredients. I made a mistake and added waaaay too much salt. I thought I would increase it a bit above five percent on account of my dodgy scale. But with my dodgy scale, I got no idea how much I used. In any event, the raw sauce tasted like spicy salt. I love salt, on anything, even fruit, but this was ridiculous. Can anyone out there give me an idea what the flavor should be, in terms of saltiness?
 
These are the fermented sauce ingredients.
 

 
This is the stuff I used for Lacto b. Anyone know if it contains the right types?
 

 
Here is the fermenting sauce, should be ready on the 30th, or maybe the 2nd... I prefer 28 day months, when waiting, so the 30th.

 
Here is the pickleze. Forgot to take ingredient photos, which is a shame, since I would really like to ask what the names of some of the peppers are. My hands are still burning just a little, a day later. Will use gloves next time.

 
Couldn't figure out what the Indonesian name for green peas is, so did without. There were no peppercorns available at the market, either, so I used powder. The cool thing about the pickleze, way I hear it, is that I can just add anything I want later. Next month there might be some mango floating around in there, then a bit of apple, some water spinach, any old random thing that grows in the ground and is edible.
 
I plan to make at least one concoction a week, and will let you guys know how they turn out!

 

[charlesquik]

These are edamame beans I think

 

[Hawaiianero]

I like to put hard boiled eggs in after most of the vegetation is gone. Forget about them in the back of your fridge for a month and you'll discover an amazing treat.
also, try using a little red cabbage/radicchio. Makes a beautiful color.

 

[Hotrod64]

Looks good mrg, the waiting is the hard part!

 

[MrGlen]

So, the pickleze is theoretically finished and ready to eat. I have tried it, and found the vinegar taste to be a bit overwhelming. It is at the far edge of what I would consider palatable, after years of eating bread dipped in basalmic and having my wife complain about the smell of my salad dressings.

I used "25% (glacial) acetic acid" vinegar, and am wondering if that is a bit more acidic than is required. Perhaps I can add some water? Any advice would be appreciated. Also, I am not refrigerating, got no fridge on site and no time at home.

 

[Jubnat]

I used "25% (glacial) acetic acid" vinegar, and am wondering if that is a bit more acidic than is required. Perhaps I can add some water? Any advice would be appreciated. Also, I am not refrigerating, got no fridge on site and no time at home.

That's seems like it would be way too acidic. What do you normally use that particular vinegar for?

The most common vinegars in the U.S. are right around 5%. The highest I've seen was some 15% Korean vinegar at the local 'Asian Market'(that's acutually the name of the market).

So 25% seems like it would be really uncomfortable to consume.

 

[MrGlen]

That's seems like it would be way too acidic. What do you normally use that particular vinegar for?

The most common vinegars in the U.S. are right around 5%. The highest I've seen was some 15% Korean vinegar at the local 'Asian Market'(that's acutually the name of the market).

So 25% seems like it would be really uncomfortable to consume.
 

 

That is the universally available vinegar here. It is the only one in the local shop. If you go to a place that has vinegar to add to food, like the chicken soup stalls, they just put that bottle on the table, undiluted.
 
At home, I don't actually use it for anything other than lowering the PH of my hydroponic solutions. I cook with basalmic vinegar or some unknown, Chinese, vinegar my wife buys. 
 
PH meter is experiencing technical difficulties, so I've just randomly added water to the pickleze, and about 4 tbs sugar to what is now about 1 liter of combined stuff. Taste is a bit better, still strong. Any recommendations on a PH I should be shooting for once I get a new meter?
 
I do like the taste of the peppers with the vinegar. This will clearly be good if I get the vinegar down.

 

[Jubnat]

I'm not too sure about what PH level you should be shooting for. And I'm not really familiar with pickleze. I've seen a post on it once, but don't remember what the recipe is like.

But when I pickle vegetables, I generally use half vinegar and half water. And like I said, I'm pretty sure most of the vinegars here are around 5%(I need to check up on that, I may be wrong).

But it really depends on what vegetable I'm pickling and what it's use will be. Sometimes too much vinegar really masks the flavor of the vegetable. But then some things like onions do well with more vinegar, as I'm usually just using a small amount to flavor something with both the acidity and the pungency of the onion.

I've never used that 25% stuff before, but it seems like you would just use 1/5 of the amount. So, if you were making something with a 1 to 1 ratio of vinegar to water, you would change it to 1 to 5. At least...in theory that sounds right.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

My strongest vinegar is double strength apple cider from Korea at 10%. The next is double strength rice wine vinegar from Korea at 8%. I have several imported wine vinegars from Europe and most top out around 7%. Common food grade vinegars in the USA are 5% and specialty food grade such as Chardonnay vinegar go up to around 7% also.
 
Anything over 10% is really high and should be handled with care. 20% and above needs to be used with extreme caution.

 

[SmokenFire]

25% seems way high.  I'd likely dump about half and re-fill w water, but you've already done that and added some sugar so perhaps in a couple days or so?
 
Also anyone ever tell you that you look quite a bit like the lead singer of Joywave?
 
 

 

[MrGlen]

I'm not too sure about what PH level you should be shooting for. And I'm not really familiar with pickleze. I've seen a post on it once, but don't remember what the recipe is like.

But when I pickle vegetables, I generally use half vinegar and half water. And like I said, I'm pretty sure most of the vinegars here are around 5%(I need to check up on that, I may be wrong).

But it really depends on what vegetable I'm pickling and what it's use will be. Sometimes too much vinegar really masks the flavor of the vegetable. But then some things like onions do well with more vinegar, as I'm usually just using a small amount to flavor something with both the acidity and the pungency of the onion.

I've never used that 25% stuff before, but it seems like you would just use 1/5 of the amount. So, if you were making something with a 1 to 1 ratio of vinegar to water, you would change it to 1 to 5. At least...in theory that sounds right.

 
 

My strongest vinegar is double strength apple cider from Korea at 10%. The next is double strength rice wine vinegar from Korea at 8%. I have several imported wine vinegars from Europe and most top out around 7%. Common food grade vinegars in the USA are 5% and specialty food grade such as Chardonnay vinegar go up to around 7% also.
 
Anything over 10% is really high and should be handled with care. 20% and above needs to be used with extreme caution.

 
 

25% seems way high.  I'd likely dump about half and re-fill w water, but you've already done that and added some sugar so perhaps in a couple days or so?
 
Also anyone ever tell you that you look quite a bit like the lead singer of Joywave?
 
 

There were two of these jars. I was pretty random with the first one, removing a bit of vinegar and adding more water repeatedly. The second one, I removed about two thirds of the liquid and then replaced with one and a half times that much water. So, That one should be at about 1/4 vinegar now. I also added some salt, rather than sugar, to the second one. The taste now reminds me of those bagged pickles they sell/used to sell in convenience stores. I loved those pickles.   
 
I lost a bit of the heat with the vinegar I trashed, but from what I read in the pickleze thread, the chilies will continue to disseminate capsaicin for a while, so the heat should come back. I am pretty pleased, all told, as the only two possibilities I had in mind were "absolute failure" and "not perfect, but maybe if I add this...".
 
Thanks for all the input you guys. It inspires confidence, being able to get feedback from those with actual experience.
 
 
SF, no, I was not aware that there was a man out there using my face to publicize his music. My lawyers will be in contact with him regarding this copyright infringement. Let's hope he is both rich and famous.     

 

[Hawaiianero]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Obviously have to water it down but then you also need to add salt and/or sugar to help neutralize the acidity a little more. Even at 1/4 the strength your vinegar would still be pretty strong but no worries about not having refrigeration.

 

[MrGlen]

So, I've opened the fermented sauce a bit early. Closed it too tight a couple of days ago and came back to find the lid had come off. There was kham yeast growing on top. I hate waiting... Am now cooking down the sauce.

It was both too runny and too salty. I saw something on the ferment 101 thread that I took to mean boiling potatoes in the sauce will reduce saltiness, so am doing that.

After about 40 minutes of low boil, the saltiness hasn't changed much, but the thickness has. Bit runnier than those jars of tomato salsa they sell for tortilla chips.

I will be using the bottle type shown. Hope they will take being boiled and filled with boiling liquid.

 

[MrGlen]

After when I finished cooking it down there was less than a liter. It is still salty as heck. With the combination of salt and the fermented flavors, I am put in mind of a specific type of salt fish (jambal roti- salmon catfish) sold locally. It could easily overpower most foods eaten with it. The potatoes boiled with the sauce turned out delicious, if over salty.

 

[MrGlen]

I made two more sauces today. They are both mango (more unripe ones than ripe ones), pineapple(ripe), garlic and "curly chilies".

The one on the left is going to ferment, if it wants to. The one on the right was hot filled. I'm not sure there will be much of a ferment possible, ph is at 3.

 

[dragonsfire]

Looking good

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

Daikon radish will pull some of the salt out. Slice it up and and pour the mash/sauce over it. Let it set a few days. It will have pretty much no effect on the flavor..Remove the radish, add about a tsp of sugar and let it ferment a few days on the counter and another week in the fridge.....Its delicious fermented.

 

[MrGlen]

Daikon radish will pull some of the salt out. Slice it up and and pour the mash/sauce over it. Let it set a few days. It will have pretty much no effect on the flavor..Remove the radish, add about a tsp of sugar and let it ferment a few days on the counter and another week in the fridge.....Its delicious fermented.

 

I'll try that. If I still have too much salt, the stuff will just become an ingredient instead of a sauce.
On the plus side, wife likes the fermented flavor, wants to see if she can hawk a few bottles to her friends. Either way, I'll be making more of the sauce, with less salt!

 

[MrGlen]

I had a bit of that mango pineapple sauce leftover after filling the bottles, put it in a normal jar and left it out on the counter for three days. It was apparently a yeast paradise, covered in a white film ans smelling like a brewery. Suppose I should have tasted it to satisfy my curiosity, but it has already gone down the drain.
 
The ph was well below 4, somewhere around 3, where I don't trust my ph meter to tell the truth. Salt was low, one tablespoon for 1.3 liters. Sugar content was very high. Sauce was cooked.
 
Is there anything I could have done differently or added to that sauce to keep it from getting yeasty so quickly? 

 

[MrGlen]

Made some more mango sauce, this time without the pineapple. So, ingredients:
 
Green Mango .5 Kilos (before processing)
Ripe Mango 1.5 Kilos (before processing)
Curly Chilies .1 kilos
Thai Chilies .1 kilo
Garlic 1/2 bulb
Unknown Iodine Free Brown Salt 1 heaped tbs
 
Cooked for appx 25 minutes, adding a bit of water to offset evaporation.
 
Added LactoB for the fermenting bottle.
PH came out at 3.5
Made two 600ml bottles and one 300ml-ish jar.
 
Gotta say, there is very little difference in taste between mango only and mango and pineapple. Mostly I taste the chilies. As both this sauce and the previous one are a bit of a let down, heat wise, next batch of mango will use a chili with less flavor and more heat. I'm going to need a much, much, hotter pepper.