First try to ferment hot peppers

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pushok2018

Master of the Pit
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Oct 12, 2017
2,517
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San Francisco East Bay area, CA
This season I grew up two plants of Scotch Bonnet Hot peppers, three plants of Thai Dragon Hot peppers and only one plant of Habanero.
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I expected to have more peppers from my plants but so far I was able to get only three pounds all together… but more is coming. I never fermented hot peppers before (well, I never knew about fermenting hot peppers) but after reading several posts on this forum I was eager to try…. So, a week ago I prepared three 2 Q mason jars (once again, just looking at my plants, I expected to have more peppers by eight that’s why I prepared larger jars) and Plastic Fermenter Lids with Airlock. Yesterday, early morning while the wife still sleeping I wear on the gloves, washed all peppers I had, some garlic and packed two mason jars tightly – one with one pound of Scotch Bonnet and one with one pound of Thai Dragon. Dissolved six Tbs of sea salt in four quarters of water and filled jars with this solution. I used a zip lock bags filled with the same solution as a weight to keep all peppers submerged in the brine. I am sorry for not having more picks – didn’t want to touch my cell phone while dealing with peppers… Here is how they look now:
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I still have one pound of peppers left so when I have some more peppers later (in a month?) I will ferment a mix of peppers mentioned above plus Habanero – all together, just to try how that mix tastes.
 

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Looks good. I did these Carolina Reapers last 11.22.19 and wanted to go a year. The little Kahm yeast that formed has since stuck to the jar wall as brine went down a little and not worth removing letting out CO2. The brine is transparent but slightly darker than when first made. I want to not add vinegar so the Lactobacillus stays alive and keep in the fridge. I guess when ready puree the mash and add back brine to the consistency of Tabasco sauce the filter through cheese cloth. I think the fermenting mellows the capsaicin but I have no clue what to expect if this is edible or not based on heat. I cut round plastic disks to push down the mash an weighted with a couple shot glasses. Those clear 20191122_103812.jpg glass gem decorative beads at the dollar tree will be my next weight to spread over the disk next time. I believe this was a 4% brine 9gm kosher salt per cup of distilled water. Been adding distilled water to airlock over the months. Need to get a recent pick. The one above is from day one.
 
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Those look great , and hot . Be watching .
Thank you, chopsaw. I will definitely provide the progress on this. Thank you for the like!

Looks good. I did these Carolina Reapers last 11.22.19 and wanted to go a year. The little Kahm yeast that formed has since stuck to the jar wall as brine went down a little and not worth removing letting out CO2. The brine is transparent but slightly darker than when first made. I want to not add vinegar so the Lactobacillus stays alive and keep in the fridge. I guess when ready puree the mash and add back brine to the consistency of Tabasco sauce the filter through cheese cloth. I think the fermenting mellows the capsaicin but I have no clue what to expect if this is edible or not based on heat. I cut round plastic disks to push down the mash an weighted with a couple shot glasses. Those clear glass gem decorative beads at the dollar tree will be my next weight to spread over the disk next time. I believe this was a 4% brine 9gm kosher salt per cup of distilled water. Been adding distilled water to airlock over the months. Need to get a recent pick. The one above is from day one.
Thank you, Kurt. Before I started this I was trying to find Caroline Reapers either plants or seeds - with not success. All online retailers didn't have seeds in stock and my local nurseries didn't have them as plants. Home depot had plants but price was $50 plus tax for one plant so I decided I can leave without CR this season! :emoji_laughing: Question for you: you said you cut plastic discs to push down the mash... I am pretty sure you used food grade plastic. Where did you get that plastic? I was looking for things like that all around but couldn't find it... Thank you for the tip on "clear glass gem decorative beads"at the dollar tree. I was going t buy them on Amazon but at dollar tree they will be less expensive, I guess... I appreciate your like!
 
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Thank you, chopsaw. I will definitely provide the progress on this. Thank you for the like!


Thank you, Kurt. Before I started this I was trying to find Caroline Reapers either plants or seeds - with not success. All online retailers didn't have seeds in stock and my local nurseries didn't have them as plants. Home depot had plants but price was $50 plus tax for one plant so I decided I can leave without CR this season! :emoji_laughing: Question for you: you said you cut plastic discs to push down the mash... I am pretty sure you used food grade plastic. Where did you get that plastic? I was looking for things like that all around but couldn't find it... Thank you for the tip on "clear glass gem decorative beads"at the dollar tree. I was going t buy them on Amazon but at dollar tree they will be less expensive, I guess... I appreciate your like!
I cut the round disks the size of the bottom of the mason jar so it has to be slightly bent to get into the mouth of the jar. I used a paper punch in the center so there's a hole to grab the disk when done fermenting and let CO2 rise. Disks are made out of plastic food chopping mats for countertops or just to keep cutting boards clean and to take the chopped food to a pot etc. Also at $ Tree. Just put it all in the jar to soak and clean with vinegar before removing and rinsing.
 
Thank you, Sir!
And that's all I know, all from here on SMF. I just wanted a simple way to pour in brine without disturbing the situated mash. The brine clears over time and a little liquid is a great starter for the next one when your done fermenting. I still don't know what to expect from this CR fermented hot sauce heat wise vs. Unfermented if anyone knows or if it's basically weaponized water to use in a spray bottle for insect control on plants or intruders? If anyone has done this is it a one drop hot sauce?
 
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And that's all I know, all from here on SMF. I just wanted a simple way to pour in brine without disturbing the situated mash. The brine clears over time and a little liquid is a great starter for the next one when your done fermenting. I still don't know what to expect from this CR fermented hot sauce heat wise vs. Unfermented if anyone knows or if it's basically weaponized water to use in a spray bottle for insect control on plants or intruders? If anyone has done this is it a one drop hot sauce?
I wouldn't recommend re-using your CR fermenting liquid again unless you are going to ferment more CR. That fermenting liquid is serious fire water. I fermented a batch of jalapenos, chocolate habaneros, and scotch bonnets (along with some onion and garlic in both jars) and threw in 2 small reapers in one of the jars and left the other just the original mix. I let it ferment for roughly 4 months and then made some hot sauce. The water in the jar containing the reapers was straight fire when I dipped in a spoon for taste. I of course made the hot sauce and one was labeled as XXXX and the other just as X. Fermenting makes the hot sauce, IMO, so much better tasting than just cooking down fresh peppers and bottling. The taste was really good on both, just the one with the CR was numbing hot and the fermentation nor the cook down after made it lose any heat.
Stick a spoon in there and give it a little try, I am curious on how hot the fermentation liquid is after a year.
 
I can probably set you up with some Free Carolina Reaper seeds for next growing season.
I appreciate that, Mike! I would absolutely use those seeds next season. I'll PM you on this....
I had Peppers coming out of my ears this Summer. I plant a wide Variety of Chili Peppers every year.
I just visualized those peppers sticking out of your years!!! :emoji_laughing::emoji_laughing::emoji_laughing:
 
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I have a question: how long I can keep fermented peppers in the fridge, sealed? I found pretty controversial information online that's why I need more information from you, who has more experience with this....
 
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I have a question: how long I can keep fermented peppers in the fridge, sealed? I found pretty controversial information online that's why I need more information from you, who has more experience with this....
Are you wanting to just put a lid on your counter fermented peppers and put them in the fridge? As long as you had let it ferment for a few weeks or so on the counter it shouldn’t be that active any longer and putting it in the fridge will cause that bacteria to become dormant and not produce carbon dioxide so rapidly or at all. You should be able to keep them in the fridge for quite a long period of time as I have fermented peppers in my outside fridge I have had for well over a year that are sliced and they taste amazing. Fermenting still takes place at the cold temp just slower but still continues to make that tangy sour taste but I love the taste. Some suggest burping jars in the fridge but I always ferment on the counter for a few weeks then put them in the fridge when the CO2 had chilled out and never had to burp or a busted exploded jar. I know the real hardcore fermenters will talk Ph and make sure it is below a certain number. But I never have had any issues, peppers always tastes great, and never had any funk. Hope this helps.
 
I can probably set you up with some Free Carolina Reaper seeds for next growing season. I had Peppers coming out of my ears this Summer. I plant a wide Variety of Chili Peppers every year.

I found a Red Ghost at Home Depot. I think it got set back because of the heat this year. It is finally getting hundreds of blossoms now.
Maybe do a swap after the season?
I am going to try to cross the Red Ghost with Poblano.
 
I appreciate that, Mike! I would absolutely use those seeds next season. I'll PM you on this....

I just visualized those peppers sticking out of your years!!! :emoji_laughing::emoji_laughing::emoji_laughing:
I literally felt like I had Peppers Growing Out of my Ears every time I went to harvest Peppers. I easily got a 2 gallon bucket of Ripe Chili's every other day. Of course I plant around 15-20 Chili Pepper Plants per Season. At least a minimum of 2 Plants of each Variety up to 6 Plants per Variety.
 
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Anyone tried fermenting green chili?
I gave away all of my red ripe Korean this year. Lots of green and frost is forecast on Thursday.

My few ripe Thai will get dried.
They Sell a black 4" inch deep, 4' wide by 6' long trough at lowes and 10 Gallon Grow Bags. Dig them up, bring them inside and with a Grow Light or A Couple of Heat Lamps with Grow Light Bulbs and a Fan to Circulate the Air you can Save your Plants and replant it next year using the Grow bags.
 
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phanman, thanks for the info. This is exactly what I was looking for....
It's basically the same Principle as Fermenting Mash, except that you're not adding Yeast and Yeast Nutrients and Yeast Energizer. As long as it's above 50° Degrees Fahrenheit it's going to Ferment. Once it's placed in a Refrigerator and brought down below 50° degrees Fahrenheit Fermentation stops or is so Slow that it doesn't build up enough pressure to cause it to explode the jar. Kinda like Kimchi. I've had it Keep for close to a year. If you notice that it's getting Hotter than it Originally was after a few months in the Refrigerator, it's a clear indication that it might be getting close to spoilage. At least that's what I was told by a Master Sriracha Sauce maker when I was in Thailand.
 
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