Fermentation Support Forum

Well... imagine my surprise when I checked on it this morning and it has what, I think, are signs of fermentation. Still smells good, still no mold, but has risen significantly and has about a 1 to 1 1/2 inch layer at the bottom that looks more liquid and some bubbles have formed. Is this good or bad?

Gentlemom wrote:Well... imagine my surprise when I checked on it this morning and it has what, I think, are signs of fermentation. Still smells good, still no mold, but has risen significantly and has about a 1 to 1 1/2 inch layer at the bottom that looks more liquid and some bubbles have formed. Is this good or bad?

[Gutted] gets out his inches to centimetres converter. That sounds very promising indeed and it now seems to be going in the right direction.

Has it taken longer than you expected based upon the instructions? You said that you made an error when you added the pepper weights together. Did that mean that you used more salt due to what you believed was a larger amount of pepper?

If so, that is probably what has delayed the fermentation. Chalk it it to experience.

Give it plenty of time to finish if there is more salt than there should of been.

Take a look at Tim Hall's post on Botulism if you haven't already
http://www.wildfermentation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3654

Sorry, didn't realize you were not in the US! Actually, I used more peppers than the recipe called for so there would have been less salt by proportion. Yes, it has taken MUCH longer to start fermenting than the recipe stated. Guess this has turned out to be much more of a learning experience than I had originally thought. I figured I would ride it out to see what happened and learn all that I could.

Thanks for the link to the botulism post, I will read it over ASAP.

Ok, so it has been a while. A week ago Saturday the sauce really started to change in the way it was acting. It became very active and rose up more strongly with lots of bubbles. By Tuesday it seemed to have slowed almost to no activity, when I stirred it I did still see a bit of bubbling. Yesterday (Wednesday) morning I think it had stopped or nearly so. I was going to have to be away all day so I put it into the refrigerator and there it sits. It has obviously stopped any activity now. It has been nearly a month since I started it on 10/24. What do you think? Should I proceed with the pureeing, straining, adding vinegar and simmering to thicken? Or should I just dispose of it and call it a learning experience? Still no mold or anything ugly that I can tell. Thank you.

I think that you should finish it off and find out what it is like after waiting so long. It sounds like it is okay. Let us know what it tastes like.
If you should keel over and die.......I'm sure that you will leave some of it for us in your will. lol