6 ms·

I'm a fan of lacto-fermentation, and have a batch of peppers fermenting right now. I recommend fermenting the hot peppers in a brine, instead of as a paste. In

I'm a fan of lacto-fermentation, and have a batch of peppers fermenting right now. I recommend fermenting the hot peppers in a brine, instead of as a paste. In my experience, this reduces the likelihoods of both mold (because only saline is in contact with the air) and exploding containers (because you can leave the lid more loose, allowing air to escape). I recommend this video's technique for the fermentation step: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8UJPQ_zoU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8UJPQ_zoU Also, the salt level is incredibly important for both food safety and flavor - Noma's fermentation guide recommends using 2% of the weight of the ferment (both solids and any water). It's worth using a scale for this.

tout 3y ago
I've found mash fermentation works fantastically in a vacuum bag https://youtu.be/1IyrvH-Gexk?si=giwGdkPrLzxJc2AL https://youtu.be/1IyrvH-Gexk?si=giwGdkPrLzxJc2AL
- philip1209 3y ago
  This technique works incredibly well with berries. I've had issues with fermenting mashes in bags in the past. My suspicion is that blending ahead of time may have killed natural lactic acid bacteria on the vegetables. So, you could counter this by adding some ferment brine at the end (e.g., from store-bought kimchi). But, I now blend for the final texture after the fermentation rather than before.
tptacek 3y ago
The plastic Korean kimchi buckets (the ones that let you push all the air out) work especially well for this.
jerrysievert 3y ago
I usually have a bunch of peppers fermenting together (with garlic) for blending into hot sauce. I tend to make ~30x what I use, and give out a lot. it makes for a very fun hobby, with interesting rewards. I would highly recommend others to try it if they get a chance, but as you said, the salinity is extremely important.
- jhatax 3y ago
  If you’re in the Bay Area, please add me to the list of lucky recipients of your hot sauce!
  - jerrysievert 3y ago
    portland, but if you make it up I tend to have extras on hand.
- charred_patina 3y ago
  I have found that fermentation with garlic leads to lots of kahm yeast, do you have issues with it? It may just be an issue with my salinity. I only have success brining whole or halved peppers.
  - jerrysievert 3y ago
    it hasn't been too much of a problem, doing a very good wash of the garlic itself helps with this, and salinity helps as well. I had the worst issue with kahm in a fairly low garlic fermentation, but am happy to try different amounts and report back. editing to add: I had 2 batches side by side, jalapeño, Fresno, garlic, and one had Thai bird, the other habanero. the habanero had a yeast growth, the Thai bird did not. all other variables were as close as possible to each other.
  - slothtrop 3y ago
    Same and similarly I find onion impedes fermentation. I'm considering adding all of this after. With garlic there's the botulism concern, I'm not sure if this matters if you add acid to the mix after the fact.
    - giraffe_lady 3y ago
      "The botulism concern" isn't limited to garlic, botulism spores will be present on nearly anything you can ferment. Since lacto is also anaerobic, you're depending on the halotolerance of the lactobacteria to outcompete botulism early, and then they produce their own lactic acid to make it completely inhospitable. Botulism gives up a lot of vigor for its sporing ability and doesn't do well with salt at all. The situations where it's a problem are when you don't have a source of acidity, like when you use heat which wipes the LABs but not botulism. Which is the domain of canning and things, not fermentation. Combining them is advanced level for this reason exactly though.
smallerfish 3y ago
My twist is to ferment them in (live) kombucha, and then constantly backslop new batches, adding different vegetables or fruit as bulk. No need for salt with this approach.
kashunstva 3y ago
> you can leave the lid more loose An alternative is to use a lid with a built-in water seal apparatus that acts as one-way valve to vent the carbon dioxide. Not having to think about manual venting or ingress of oxygen makes it a more foolproof process. For thick-walled peppers, e.g jalapeño, a salt mash works as well as a brine and allows better control over the liquid content at the end. With a salt mash the thicker peppers release a lot of water that essentially becomes the brine, albeit at lower volume. For thin-walled peppers like cayenne and habanero, I usually use a brine or a combination of mash and brine. A weight can help keep the fermenting peppers submerged and compacted to make they remain anaerobic. 2% salt by weight would be the very lowest I would consider personally. Usually I use 4-5%.
- prawn 3y ago
  A winemaker once gave me a sample of his own hot sauce which was great. The next year's batch he gave me, the body of it seems to separate a lot more to the point where it ends up with the sauce settled at the bottom and then brine/oil/whatever up top. In commercial sauces, I'm sure they have additives that keep it consistent, but I doubt he's doing anything like that. What's likely caused that difference over the previous batch?
  - lproven 3y ago
    A smooth mix of dissimilar substances is an emulsion. Keeping them mixed is called emulsification. Something that does this is an emulsifier. I don't know what it is, and it could be something natural, but what was there and now isn't is some kind of emulsifier.
  - grogenaut 3y ago
    Xanthum Gum
bagels 3y ago
A few years ago, I discovered that I love making hot sauces. We grow peppers (jalapeno, serrano, habanero, bell peppers) and make gallons of fermented hot sauce each year from just 50 square feet of garden. Agree about not not turning them in to paste, to avoid mold. If you're in the bay area, Serrano are spicy and easy to grow as an annual here (they don't overwinter well).
hoseja 3y ago
Basically like sauerkraut and fermented pickles.
wil421 3y ago
You aren’t using fermenting lids??? I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone because your jars are going to explode. I have 7 pepper ferments from my garden this year. My favorite is with some sweet onions and garlic added to the peppers. If the peppers are too hot you can use carrots. The best tops are not the ones with a water lock IMHO.
- philip1209 3y ago
  I do use fermenting lids, I was just trying to make modifications to the original article's protocol with the same equipment

tout 3y ago

I've found mash fermentation works fantastically in a vacuum bag https://youtu.be/1IyrvH-Gexk?si=giwGdkPrLzxJc2AL https://youtu.be/1IyrvH-Gexk?si=giwGdkPrLzxJc2AL

philip1209 3y ago
This technique works incredibly well with berries. I've had issues with fermenting mashes in bags in the past. My suspicion is that blending ahead of time may have killed natural lactic acid bacteria on the vegetables. So, you could counter this by adding some ferment brine at the end (e.g., from store-bought kimchi). But, I now blend for the final texture after the fermentation rather than before.

tptacek 3y ago

The plastic Korean kimchi buckets (the ones that let you push all the air out) work especially well for this.

jerrysievert 3y ago

I usually have a bunch of peppers fermenting together (with garlic) for blending into hot sauce. I tend to make ~30x what I use, and give out a lot. it makes for a very fun hobby, with interesting rewards. I would highly recommend others to try it if they get a chance, but as you said, the salinity is extremely important.

jhatax 3y ago
If you’re in the Bay Area, please add me to the list of lucky recipients of your hot sauce!
- jerrysievert 3y ago
  portland, but if you make it up I tend to have extras on hand.
charred_patina 3y ago
I have found that fermentation with garlic leads to lots of kahm yeast, do you have issues with it? It may just be an issue with my salinity. I only have success brining whole or halved peppers.
- jerrysievert 3y ago
  it hasn't been too much of a problem, doing a very good wash of the garlic itself helps with this, and salinity helps as well. I had the worst issue with kahm in a fairly low garlic fermentation, but am happy to try different amounts and report back. editing to add: I had 2 batches side by side, jalapeño, Fresno, garlic, and one had Thai bird, the other habanero. the habanero had a yeast growth, the Thai bird did not. all other variables were as close as possible to each other.
- slothtrop 3y ago
  Same and similarly I find onion impedes fermentation. I'm considering adding all of this after. With garlic there's the botulism concern, I'm not sure if this matters if you add acid to the mix after the fact.
  - giraffe_lady 3y ago
    "The botulism concern" isn't limited to garlic, botulism spores will be present on nearly anything you can ferment. Since lacto is also anaerobic, you're depending on the halotolerance of the lactobacteria to outcompete botulism early, and then they produce their own lactic acid to make it completely inhospitable. Botulism gives up a lot of vigor for its sporing ability and doesn't do well with salt at all. The situations where it's a problem are when you don't have a source of acidity, like when you use heat which wipes the LABs but not botulism. Which is the domain of canning and things, not fermentation. Combining them is advanced level for this reason exactly though.

smallerfish 3y ago

My twist is to ferment them in (live) kombucha, and then constantly backslop new batches, adding different vegetables or fruit as bulk. No need for salt with this approach.

kashunstva 3y ago

> you can leave the lid more loose An alternative is to use a lid with a built-in water seal apparatus that acts as one-way valve to vent the carbon dioxide. Not having to think about manual venting or ingress of oxygen makes it a more foolproof process. For thick-walled peppers, e.g jalapeño, a salt mash works as well as a brine and allows better control over the liquid content at the end. With a salt mash the thicker peppers release a lot of water that essentially becomes the brine, albeit at lower volume. For thin-walled peppers like cayenne and habanero, I usually use a brine or a combination of mash and brine. A weight can help keep the fermenting peppers submerged and compacted to make they remain anaerobic. 2% salt by weight would be the very lowest I would consider personally. Usually I use 4-5%.

prawn 3y ago
A winemaker once gave me a sample of his own hot sauce which was great. The next year's batch he gave me, the body of it seems to separate a lot more to the point where it ends up with the sauce settled at the bottom and then brine/oil/whatever up top. In commercial sauces, I'm sure they have additives that keep it consistent, but I doubt he's doing anything like that. What's likely caused that difference over the previous batch?
- lproven 3y ago
  A smooth mix of dissimilar substances is an emulsion. Keeping them mixed is called emulsification. Something that does this is an emulsifier. I don't know what it is, and it could be something natural, but what was there and now isn't is some kind of emulsifier.
- grogenaut 3y ago
  Xanthum Gum

bagels 3y ago

A few years ago, I discovered that I love making hot sauces. We grow peppers (jalapeno, serrano, habanero, bell peppers) and make gallons of fermented hot sauce each year from just 50 square feet of garden. Agree about not not turning them in to paste, to avoid mold. If you're in the bay area, Serrano are spicy and easy to grow as an annual here (they don't overwinter well).

hoseja 3y ago

Basically like sauerkraut and fermented pickles.

wil421 3y ago

You aren’t using fermenting lids??? I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone because your jars are going to explode. I have 7 pepper ferments from my garden this year. My favorite is with some sweet onions and garlic added to the peppers. If the peppers are too hot you can use carrots. The best tops are not the ones with a water lock IMHO.

philip1209 3y ago
I do use fermenting lids, I was just trying to make modifications to the original article's protocol with the same equipment