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fermenting What to do with a big jar of 3 year old fermented peppers?

amps

amps

Hey guys!
 
So three years ago (February) I started a ferment made up of 50/50 Butch-T Scorpions and Tabasco peppers (both homegrown). I started the culture using a vial of White Labs lacto bacteria and then left it alone for 8 months in a jar covered with cheesecloth. After those 8 months, I added 3 chunks of Jack Daniels barrel stave (bought directly from the distillery on a road tip) that was soaked in JD for 2 weeks. I also added a cup of boiled vinegar and 2 tsp of salt to lock down the ferment. I then closed the air tight lid and put it in a cupboard.
 
Then we moved...
Then my son was born....
Then I started a new business, two new hobbies and switched jobs 3 times....
 
So here I am today, 38 months after I first started this project and I want to put this pepper mash to good use. The jar looks great, no mold or obvious infection. I stirred it up and tested the PH @ 3.6 so I assume it's safe. A small taste left my mouth on fire and feeling that it's actually a lot saltier and less acidic than I thought it would. Also it tastes AMAZINGGGG!
 
I have a little over a liter of pepper mash I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. My favorite sauces is good ol' Tabasco (I know, boring) and Blair's Mega Death.
 
1) What would you make if you had the chance? Multiple batches of different styles maybe?
2) I'm assuming that given the PH, mash time and salt levels, that it's safe. Could I possibly be wrong? It's never been heat processed and has been at room temperature above my washing machine for 3 years.
 
Also, it's amazing being back on these boards! It's been way too long and I really missed you hot-heads.
 
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     I recently made a bunch of Tabasco type sauces using a variety of peppers. I just added a bunch of vinegar and a little salt to each mash, boiled, hand blended and ran them through a sieve to remove seeds. Some of them turned out pretty good.
     I would guess (without looking at your mash) that it's probably OK. Usually a bad ferment will end up smelling bad and looking gross. Once lactic acid bacteria do their thing, they typically render peppers pretty well preserved and immune to colinization by other organisms. So all that extra time probably just "aged" it and mellowed out the flavor.
   
 
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Wow!  Sounds like  a pretty crazy last 2 years! New Baby, New jobs... crazy~ 
 
+what HM01 said about if it's safe.  Usually you will know if it's bad.  Fermented items have that fermented smell, but it is definitely not a bad/rotten smell and after 38 months.....if it's not crawling out of the jar on it's own, should be good.
 
I would make a couple different sauces.  Sounds like it's too salty as is.  There's a trick of putting potato pieces in something that is too salty.  THe potato will leach out the salt, but I don't know if you have to cook whatever it is or if you can just add some raw potato pieces to the mash, stick it in the fridge and let it set for a week or two.  Maybe someone else knows if this will help?  Oh, and remove the potato before processing ;)  .  :lol:
 
You could get a couple small bottles of really hot sauce just using the ferment as is.  Then take the rest of it and make a couple other sauces.  I've found that as little as 2 fatalii chiles in 2 gallons of sauce will make it about a heat level 2-3 for regular people, which would be about a 1-2 for THP members.  :lol:  Also, I don't particularly like a strong fermented taste.  I do like to make a ferment with a bunch of ingredients, and then when ready to process, add the same amount of non-fermented ingredients.  So the flavor is there, but not as fermenty-flavored.
 
 
Anyway,  You have a bit to play around with and it doesn't have to all be used up RightNow.  You can put the unused portion in the fridge or freezer and use it later when Inspiration strikes. 
 
Have Fun!  Post pics if you can.  We luv pics!  :cool:
SL
 
 
 
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