fermenting Wahoo Ferment #2

[chiefmanywrenches]

So, riding on the coat tails of my first successful ferment I am venturing into number 2. My parents gave me a pepper plant called basket of fire. It was loaded with ripe and near ripe pods and in the past couple weeks I have gotten quite the bounty. That mixed with some tiny Datil peppers from my juvenile plant I had enough to take another stab at it. 
 
This time I learned from my prior experience and the tips I have read from many of your helpful posts. Along with my peppers I added pineapple and carrot. This let me fill up the empty space in my jar while at the same time providing some sweetness and depth to the mash. The only place where I slacked was on the salt. I didn't use a brine this time, I just added kosher salt to the mash. I used ~2 tablespoons for the whole jar along with some kimchi juice to provide some active bacteria. This may seem like a lot of salt but one I like salty things and two better safe than sorry. I will keep you posted, my goal is to let this ferment go at least 60 days and/or until I get so impatient that I just can't wait anymore.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

[chiefmanywrenches]

So, update time. It has been a month since I started this ferment and it has moved along at a rapid pace. Every other day or so I have been giving the jar gentle taps and swirls to bring the bubbles to the top and settle the mash down. It is always nice and bubbly. Now over the past few days I have noticed that it has slowed down dramatically and only small amounts of bubbles are visible every couple days. I know that this is a sign of everything getting done but does that mean it is almost time to process? Should I let it go another month or so just because or am I good to go when the bubbling has stopped? Any reason to let it keep going? There was a lot of sugars in this batch so I expected it to go on and on for a while. Thanks for any input. 

 

[SmokenFire]

I know that this is a sign of everything getting done but does that mean it is almost time to process? Should I let it go another month or so just because or am I good to go when the bubbling has stopped? Any reason to let it keep going? There was a lot of sugars in this batch so I expected it to go on and on for a while. Thanks for any input. 

 
Yes it means you can process.  Does not mean you have to process though - the mash will continue aging for as long as you want it to.  Up to you CMW - just post pics when you process ok?    

 

[chiefmanywrenches]

Thanks Smoken for the help. Let me ask you this though, what would aging do for the sauce? Should I leave it in the cabinet to do its thing or put it in the fridge? I am too eager to let it go much longer than it needs to so when I stop seeing bubbles altogether I will probably process it. I will be sure to take pics and post them up.

 

[SmokenFire]

Some say aging puts a bit more depth of flavor and/or complexity into a sauce.  Based on several that I have aged they're right about half the time.  If you really want to age some of that ferment to see how it takes a couple more weeks or months spoon out some to a dish with an air tight lid and toss it in the cooler.  Then you can process the rest of the ferment and get it bottled/jarred/in yo mouf. 
 

 

[chiefmanywrenches]

I processed the sauce today and I think it came out nice. The flavor is definitely unique, not sweet at all but has deep pineapple undertones. I blended it, cooked it and reblended it. During the cook I added a few tablespoons of honey to sweeten it up some and mellow out the fermented flavor. I also added a little bit of white vinegar to thin it out a little bit. The medium size pickle jar turned out 3 bottles of sauce.
 

 

 

 

 

[SmokenFire]

VERY good looking sauce CMW!  Nice rubik's cube too

 

[chiefmanywrenches]

Smoken - Thank you, I made my wife try it on a cracker to see if it needed (in her not so professional opinion) anything added to it. Lets set the stage here...
 
Me: hey babe, come try this sauce
 
Her: the kitchen smells really strong, how hot is is it? (she doesn't like really spicy things)
 
Me: it isn't near as hot as last time and it is kind of sweet.
 
Her: just give me a tiny bit on a cracker.
 
Me: ok here you go... what do you think?
 
Her: it tastes funny, OMG, this is really hot.
 
Me: It's not that bad, how is the flavor?
 
Her: pour me a glass of milk, it tastes like pineapple.
 
Me: awesome, that is what I think too, does it need anything?
 
Her: I don't want to try anymore of your sauces.
 
Me: thank you for tasting it lol
 
Her: my throat hurts but it wasn't terrible.
 
At the end of the day it was officially "not terrible" but I don't think she will try anymore. This will make a great addition to marinades and such but not something I would pour over cooked chicken. I have another big bag of hotter peppers to get going but will take them in a different direction... details to come.
 
 
 
Yes, the infamous rubiks cube... They make for a good time killer. I can solve a regular one in about 5 minutes or so with my cheat sheet that has the different algorithms for different situations. Nowhere near the 10-20 second times that some people can do, which is crap. I got the one in the background as a "here ya go" gift from my wife, she is such a trooper with things like that. I have not been able to solve it though because the colors are similar on some sides and hard to tell what goes where. Maybe one day.

 

[chiefmanywrenches]

So it has been not quite 2 months since I made this sauce. I let the bottles hang out in the fridge for a while to mellow out. I took it out the other day to put on some beans and it has really transformed since day 1. The flavors are a lot smoother and more distinguishable. The heat is pretty hot but I like it. I have been using it pretty often on different things and am really happy with the turn out.

 

[SmokenFire]

Yeah the aging really does help mellow almost every sauce I've made.  Stuff that's fresh from processing might be too hot or kinda harsh with different flavors will taste much better 2-3 months down the line.  Glad that it keeps getting better CMW!