Habanero / Scorpion Ferment

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Jeff, ordering my fermenting stuff today, do you like those visucs disks better than the plastic cups Steve H Steve H uses? is it possible to over ferment the peppers ie leave them in the brine too long?
I LOVE the cups, Steve turned me on to those too. They are straight genius. Just order the right size.
 
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I LOVE the cups, Steve turned me on to those too. They are straight genius. Just order the right size.
yeah, just annoying that Amazon is charging shipping even though I am prime. Also 4 days to come in...I am spoiled...lol

also - is it possible to over ferment the peppers ie leave them in the brine too long?
 
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It's been awhile since I've started any new batches. I'm getting low on amy processed sauces so time to get in gear. This early in Ohio it's still commercially secured peppers. Grabbed about 3 lbs of habanero at Kroger. Sometimes they are huge and likely much less spicy hybrids. These are pretty hot. View attachment 668203I have had these dehydrated scorpions I got on eBay for awhile. Time to put them to use. View attachment 668204Before I start prepping the peppers I put all the jars ,airlocks etc into a steramine bath. I've found I get far less Kahm yeast since I started doing this. View attachment 668205I stem and halve the peppers. I'm careful to remove any black seed cores and throw out any peppers that may have some spoilage. Always seems to be a fair amount regardless of where I buy. Into the jar with a 3.5% sea salt and distilled water brine. Two viscodiscs and a glass weight in each half gallon mason jar. I use a small sieve strainer spoon to remove as many seed floaters as possible. Airlock filled with white vinegar. These will go 3-4 weeks if they get a good fast ferment going. View attachment 668206Hoping that next batches will be from my own little pepper farm! Here is a little update video on it. Plants are finally starting to grow upwards. Herbs are going nuts. The ghost, red habanero's , chocolate habanero and scorpions have all grown a lot since we got some sustained rain. Tomatoes as well. Not sure what flavor profile Iay go with when processing. My fav is just a little garlic for a true pepper flavor sauce. That said so many folks that get my sauces like other variants. Thanks for looking!

Thats a nice set up you have. Question...are you growing plants "inside" bales of hay?
 
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Hey Jeff, Do you like the disk better than the glass weights? Dealing with some life issues so I'm still in the planning process of starting my ferments.

Jim
 
Hey Jeff, Do you like the disk better than the glass weights? Dealing with some life issues so I'm still in the planning process of starting my ferments.

Jim
I like th cup style Steve uses. I used to use the vaso disk with a glass weight. The cups are far easier and effective. Hope life straightens out!
 
This vendor has always done this. It's worth it though. I'm spoiled too!!
I almost didn't order because of that but I did and will again. I intend to order more next month when I kick off a bunch of new ferments.
 
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Jeff, ordering my fermenting stuff today, do you like those visucs disks better than the plastic cups Steve H Steve H uses? is it possible to over ferment the peppers ie leave them in the brine too long?
No! I did a one year ferment. McIhenny's Tabasco is a three year ferment but then they added vinegar that kills the probiotic plus cooking kills. I always keep the probiotic alive for the gut benefit and keep in the fridge years since the PH is room temp stable below 4.2, USDA says 4.6. Mostly 3.7 like ketchup, mustard, bbq sauces, commercial hot sauces, brines of pickles, olives and vinegar herb bottles and mayo is engineered to 3.6-4 ph, but it's an emulsion so isn't stable at room temp and separates so in the fridge we keep it. If you leave it out over night that is 8 hours or less you put mayo back in the fridge per USDA. Jelly, jams, sugar is acidic and artificial sweeteners are even more acidic. Search the ph of condiments. Like Chef Jimmy j said, we are throwing away more good food. If in doubt, throw it out is not our policy. Ask and we'll get you the answer in food safety forum.
 
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No! I did a one year ferment. McIhenny's Tabasco is a three year ferment but then they added vinegar that kills the probiotic plus cooking kills. I always keep the probiotic alive for the gut benefit and keep in the fridge years since the PH is room temp stable below 4.2, USDA says 4.6. Mostly 3.7 like ketchup, mustard, bbq sauces, commercial hot sauces, brines of pickles, olives and vinegar herb bottles and mayo is engineered to 3.6-4 ph, but it's an emulsion so isn't stable at room temp and separates so in the fridge we keep it. If you leave it out over night that is 8 hours or less you put mayo back in the fridge per USDA. Jelly, jams, sugar is acidic and artificial sweeteners are even more acidic. Search the ph of condiments. Like Chef Jimmy j said, we are throwing away more good food. If in doubt, throw it out is not our policy. Ask and we'll get you the answer in food safety forum.
No doubt cooking / pasteurizing kills probiotics. Whether or not vinegar does is a topic of debate. I've been trying to get an conclusive answer on it. Here is an article that says in lower amounts it not only doesn't kill them but in some cases can speed up fermentation. Not saying it's right but there are a lot of networking comments that would agree and others that don't. I'm continue my to look for more detail. https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/does-vinegar-stop-fermentation/
 
Yes. Lots of debate out there on it but that's the method I use and it works well. Nice quick guide here noView attachment 668215
jcam222 jcam222

I probably missed something reading through as many of these fermented hot sauces posts that I could find but I am getting ready to start a ghost pepper ferment tomorrow and want to understand as much as I can.

Typically I've made stove top hot sauces, and simmered the ingredients (hot peppers, onions, carrots and garlic) and then put that in the food processor. I am guessing you add any extras after fermenting your peppers? Do you do anything to any extras (simmer them) or just add them to the food processor?
 
jcam222 jcam222

I probably missed something reading through as many of these fermented hot sauces posts that I could find but I am getting ready to start a ghost pepper ferment tomorrow and want to understand as much as I can.

Typically I've made stove top hot sauces, and simmered the ingredients (hot peppers, onions, carrots and garlic) and then put that in the food processor. I am guessing you add any extras after fermenting your peppers? Do you do anything to any extras (simmer them) or just add them to the food processor?
I add my extras to the food processor. I add some , taste, rinse repeat until I'm happy on new blends. I do not simmer or pasteurize my sauces.
 
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Will a dish wash sanitize everything sufficiently or do I need something like starsan.
I personally think dishwasher on sanitize cycle is fine. I'm a pinch I've just hand washed and had no issues. I do usually soak in a sterilizer solution though.
 
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I personally think dishwasher on sanitize cycle is fine. I'm a pinch I've just hand washed and had no issues. I do usually soak in a sterilizer solution though.
I am going to have to buy store bought habs to temper down the ghost peppers....really had to cut down my garden and move it in planters around my fenced in pool this year. Deer have been killing my plants last year,
 
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OK - first ferment - we'll see how it goes! Super hard to take photos today my back is out to lunch. About 40 ghost peppers worth in a quart Kerr mason jar with a Nourished Essentials fermentation lid and glass weight. Washed everything in hot soapy water, sterilized everything in Steramine. Stemmed and seeded, cut away every imperfection, 3.5% sea salt spring water brine - hope I did everything correctly - now we wait...

IMG_1960.JPG
 
OK - first ferment - we'll see how it goes! Super hard to take photos today my back is out to lunch. About 40 ghost peppers worth in a quart Kerr mason jar with a Nourished Essentials fermentation lid and glass weight. Washed everything in hot soapy water, sterilized everything in Steramine. Stemmed and seeded, cut away every imperfection, 3.5% sea salt spring water brine - hope I did everything correctly - now we wait...

View attachment 676699
Looks great and you nailed it! I don't deseed but that is personal preference.
 
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Looks great and you nailed it! I don't deseed but that is personal preference.
Do you make a ghost pepper hot sauce that you leave the seeds in? If so you are a bigger man than me.
🫡🫡🫡

I love the stove top ghost pepper hot sauce I usually make but I always remove the seeds - it is still hot but the flavor comes through better, in my opinion.
 
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Do you make a ghost pepper hot sauce that you leave the seeds in? If so you are a bigger man than me.
🫡🫡🫡

I love the stove top ghost pepper hot sauce I usually make but I always remove the seeds - it is still hot but the flavor comes through better, in my opinion.
I usually use my hottest peppers in smaller amounts along with others like habs, bonnets or even jalapeno. I do leave seeds in all those.
 
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No doubt cooking / pasteurizing kills probiotics. Whether or not vinegar does is a topic of debate. I've been trying to get an conclusive answer on it. Here is an article that says in lower amounts it not only doesn't kill them but in some cases can speed up fermentation. Not saying it's right but there are a lot of networking comments that would agree and others that don't. I'm continue my to look for more detail. https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/does-vinegar-stop-fermentation/
I'll look to. 5% acetic acid white distilled vinegar is 2.4ph but when blended, then the acidity increases so that is intriguing. Every whole number is ten fold acidity on the ph scale so if your batch is 4.2ph without vinegar, then a batch at 3.2ph without vinegar is ten times more acidic but then add vinegar to further drop the batch ph. . I guess what ph lactobacillus die with added acid other than what lactobacillus maxes on their own. Kinda like fermenting yeast in beer maximizes yeast spores at a certain density. Straight vinegar to clean fermenters anything of spoilage bacteria, yeasts, molds and fungus is in the same class as probiotics that fall on everything constantly as well. I'd like to find this out to.
 
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I'll look to. 5% acetic acid white distilled vinegar is 2.4ph but when blended, then the acidity increases so that is intriguing. Every whole number is ten fold acidity on the ph scale so if your batch is 4.2ph without vinegar, then a batch at 3.2ph without vinegar is ten times more acidic but then add vinegar to further drop the batch ph. . I guess what ph lactobacillus die with added acid other than what lactobacillus maxes on their own. Kinda like fermenting yeast in beer maximizes yeast spores at a certain density. Straight vinegar to clean fermenters anything of spoilage bacteria, yeasts, molds and fungus is in the same class as probiotics that fall on everything constantly as well. I'd like to find this out to.
As I think through this I can say I have had ferments got as low as 2.9 on my PH meter. White vinegar usually reads between 2.5 and 2.7. If the probiotics are alive in the natural ferment at 2.9 I really wonder if the vinegar addition changes that. I also will keep searching. I only add small amounts in some of my blends for flavor or occasionally to bump pH down a little.
 
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