Covering Mash With Water

[Donnie Johnson]

Hi All,

I have a quick question about covering my fermented vegies with water. Basically I have a several jars of capsicum, chilli, garlic and onion that has been lightly salted and blended into a mash. I added a starter/culture to the kick the good bacteria off however didn’t cover the mash with water. They were pretty juicy when they went into the jar and have been fermenting and producing gas for the past month.

Is it essential that the mash is covered with liquid? or is it ok for the top layer of the mash to be exposed to air? (There doesn’t appear to be any nasty mould growing on the surface)

In the future is it advisable to submerge the mash with water or is blending them into their own juices enough liquid to create a good enough environment?

Any help, ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Donnie Johnson