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fermenting My First Pepper Mash

patrick

patrick

After reading everyone's posts on making a pepper mash I had to give it a shot myself. It was a fun experience and if I get something edible at the end well that's a bonus. I was a little slim on fresh peppers this time of year so I had to go begging. Thankfully Silver Surfer came through for me so a huge thank you to him. On to the pics!

Here's the generous contribution from SS, a little over a pound of the hot stuff.

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There are Bhut Jolokia, Red Savina, Antillies Caribbean, 7 Pod Brain Strain, Trinidad Scorpion, Trinidad Congo, Douglah, 7 Pod Brown (I think),Dorset Naga and Fatalii peppers.

I'm one of those guys who trashes everything in the kitchen when I take on this kind of task so to make things less messier I went out and bought the right tools to do the job. A half gallon jug and one of those airlock doohickeys with a food grade cork. I could have gotten by with a quart bottle but isn't bigger usually better? These three items cost me $6 and I found them at a home brew supply store.

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Some of my pepper powders in the background.

Time to get some work done. I removed stems and seeds, trying to keep as much of the placental membranes as possible.

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The cleaned and ready to go peppers:

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More to come...
 
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Thanks again DaQatz. Been doing some reading up on Lactobacillus bacteria. I guess I'm going to either track down some unpasteurized yogurt or go with the Lactobacillus Acidophilus pills. Isn't chemistry fun?!
 
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megamoo said:
What about Yakult, I think its only in Australia

from their site:

Yakult is a fermented milk drink that contains a very high concentration of a unique, beneficial bacterium called Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain.

They are like little shot glasses of yoghurt. Because its concentrated and a very small amount I don't think you could get much separation of clear fluid. Do you think the unseparated yoghurt would alter the mash, in fermentation or flavour? @ anyone
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I think casei should work fine.

The whole yakult being added will change the flavor a little. As will adding any ingredient. Though as you don't add to much, then I don't think it will negatively affect the flavor.

You could also try culturing the casei from the yakult. Simply by using a salt brine and vegetable matter.
Example take shredded carrot ,a 5% salt brine and inoculate it with Yakult. Let the mixture start to ferment
maybe a day or to(Kept a warm temp not cold) then add the brine water from the mixture to your mash.
This affect the flavor the least and give a very good number of active bacteria. It's what I've been doing
With my recent mashes, and most start bubbling like mad in less then 36 hours. You can also maintain
the culture by draining off brine and adding fresh brine and vegetable matter.
 
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Found all kinds of organic yogurt but each one was pasteurized so then the search turned to the dietary supplement capsules. Smallest package I found was 60 capsules of Lactobacillus Acidophilus for under $5.

I have a few to spare if anyone would like some.
 
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patrick said:
Thanks again DaQatz. Been doing some reading up on Lactobacillus bacteria. I guess I'm going to either track down some unpasteurized yogurt or go with the Lactobacillus Acidophilus pills. Isn't chemistry fun?!
Click to expand...

The low cost regular plain full milk yogurt without anything added should all work fine.
 
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OK I emptied four of the capsules into the mash. About half a teaspoon or so. Shook it up to mix it up and now I'm going to stash it someplace cool and dark. I'm going to leave it be for a few days and then check on it. It's going to be in a closet so if it's working I'm sure I'll be able to smell it when I open the door. Now I'm excited!
 
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Look for Dannon yogurt P. That's what I used. 32oz container has "all natural" and "plain yogurt" in large letters. Ingredients listed are as follows: "Cultured grade A milk, Contains active yogurt cultures including L. acidophilus".

And yes you want to keep the mash in the dark. I started a small batch late this afternoon and am keeping the temp at 70F to start. I hope yours and mine works out OK. This is a first attempt for me as well, but read online for the past couple of days about bacterial fermentation until my eyes bled. ;) I'm using the dry salt method.

Good luck.
 
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Shoot SS I bet I read a dozen different yogurt labels tonight and each one had "pasteurized milk" in the ingredients. Figures I didn't read the Dannon label.

I'm confident that they will both turn out, this isn't rocket science we're dealing with. Man's been fermenting things for a long, long time.
 
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patrick said:
Shoot SS I bet I read a dozen different yogurt labels tonight and each one had "pasteurized milk" in the ingredients. Figures I didn't read the Dannon label.

I'm confident that they will both turn out, this isn't rocket science we're dealing with. Man's been fermenting things for a long, long time.
Click to expand...

pasteurized milk is fine. It's when the pasteurize the yogurt after the fact that kills off what you want. Most plain should work, generally I would look for those that advertise active cultures.
 
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Thanks DaQatz. I kept my eyes peeled for "active cultures" and struck out.

I figure with the liquid from the first yogurt that used pasteurized milk and the capsules of Lactobacillus Acidophilus the mash should get to bubbling any day. I also stuck it into a cool, dark spot. Now it's time for patience.

Thanks for the advice everyone.
 
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Time for an update. Been just about a month since I started this and I'm happy to say it's "working".

The warmest spot in the house is on top of the fridge so I wrapped a towel around it to block out the light.

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Ta da! Looking good to me.

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I was thinking about tasting it around Christmas.

Question for the experts. If I do take a taste can I seal it back up and let the process continue without any harm?

Thanks.
 
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I bet that will make a tasty and hot sauce. I'll be trying a mash sometime too. I saw something else in the pictures too. Very nice collection of powder, you really preserved the colors nicely.
 
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OK I'm getting close to finishing this off, question being is there anything special that I have to do? I still catch a bubble now and then but the time between them is getting longer.

Here's the plan: I'm going to run it through the food processor again then probably a strainer, I like my sauces smooth. Then onto the stove to get it to the right consistency then bottle it.

Am I missing anything?

Thanks all.
 
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