S-met, that's a lot of chili and garlic! Love it. I never tired to ferment this kind of stuff - usually I cook the paste/souse for 10-15 min and keep in the fridge right after...
Could you shed some light on the "fermentation" process? Just curious... Thanks!
It's a simple lactobacillus fermentation just like fermented pickles or sauerkraut. Lactobacillus as well as other bacteria is already present on the surface of the vegetables/pepper skins. I rinse off any surface dirt and toss any damaged or bruised product.
With these, I de-stem and put in a bowl. Dust with salt 2.5% by weight and sugar 0.5% by weight. Nothing fancy about the math. I take a prewash weight of vegetables. Multiply by 16 to convert lb-oz. Multiply by 0.025 for salt and 0.005 for sugar.
Salt inhibits many of the bad bugs, but also draws moisture from the flesh.
Hot peppers also inhibit some bacteria.
Sugar also helps to pull moisture from the flesh and will ferment into ethanol. Other bacteria on the surface (acetobacter) converts the ethanol to acetic acid helping to give it the tangy vinegar flavor.
Next, pack into your sanitized fermentation vessel. If you have an active culture, add now, otherwise press down and add additional brine if not submerged.
Note on water, if you're using tap water, chlorine may prevent some fermentation or may contribute off flavors. I use bottled water for this to be safe. Some people treat their water to neutralize the chlorine, but it's easier for me to use bottled.
