Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

One batch of pickles smelled good. The other two smelled off, so I threw them out. My green beans seem fine. One was moldy, one not.

Is the water supposed to be cloudy-ish? I wish I knew someone around here who did this so I could know what's normal. I am :nails to try this stuff.

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

My water is always cloudy, I've always assumed it was all the salt. Sorry the pickles didn't all turn out, I've found they are one of the trickiest things so far.

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

I think someone said cloudy means almost ready or ready...

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

I've made pickles and saurkraut now. We had the saurkraut with dinner tonight, and DH loved it. :rockon That's saying something b/c he's not always easy to please w/ food. :)

(Yes, the water is cloudy in mine. I really like Wild Fermentation. He has really great descriptions of each step that have helped me a lot.)

I started water and milk kefir a couple days ago and they seem to be doing well so far. :phew

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

Good (about Wild Fermentation) because I'm like #20 on the library wait list for that book. I can't wait till it's in!

My milk kefir has been sitting out for a long time (maybe 9 days?). :doh Totally forgot about it. I hope I didn't ruin the grains. :sigh

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

I see a pickled pepper recipe in NT but not a spicy pepper one. I'm thinking about the jars of jalepenos you can get in the store and put on nachos and stuff and wondering if I can do a lactofermented version?

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

I'm having ferment troubles. :( GAH! I had to throw out pickles last night. Didn't even get to try them. :(

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

I lacto-fermented sarano peppers. They ruled!

---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:51 AM ----------

Why did you have to throw them out?

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

Oh look I found one http://www.cookinggodsway.com/lacto-...pepper-slices/ :)

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

When I opened them at the end of the ferment, they had large, poof, white, cottony looking mold on them and they were SUPER mushy. :(

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

ugh! were they submerged? That seems to be our biggest trouble with pickles. How often did you checke them? I have found that checking things often helps me notice problems early enough to solve them without having to throw stuff out.

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

That's what happened to me before too. I finally had success when I let them ferment for a much shorter time. The directions I had say 2-4 weeks for whole picking cucumbers but mine were perfect at 7 days. Okay maybe they don't have as high of a probiotic content and such but hey they tasted good! When I did slices I only left them for 2 days (I reused the same brine though so it might have had a head start from that :think)

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

:yes I've been trying to check my stuff every day while dinner's going. I did have to throw out a pickle that didn'y stay submerged.

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

Anyone doing salsa?

I let my salsa go 3.5 days, with varying degrees of salt, as an experiment. Even the full salt ones had some mold, but just a small amount to skim off the top.

The directions said 2-3 days, and it is on the warm side in here (80+ degrees most of the time). I guess I shouldn't have tested the boundaries quite so much!

Re: Fermentation support thread :D
 

Mine was done in less than 48 hours and even then I got a bit of an alcohol smell to it (I think I should have chopped bigger pieces). I think some of those recipes are factoring in like a cellar or cool storage area rather than a kitchen in the summer.

New pickle Q: I found some more dill and pickling cukes but the only sea salt I could find is iodized sea salt - will that be okay?