Reaper / Scotch Bonnet ferments

[chopsaw]

just incredible sneezing.

I did the last of my Reapers last week . All cleaned up in the the jars . I walked in the kitchen and started sneezing . Like you said , out of control . Took me awhile to realize that I had the seeds on the counter drying on a paper towel . Moved them to the garage and it stopped .
Those fumes / off gasses are potent .

 

[jcam222]

I also have my last harvest of scotch bonnets and jalapenos in the brine since Saturday 11/ 19.
Everytime I have burped a jar of peppers in the past and now, I get the sneezes like crazy. Am I the only one that has this happen?
I'm running two WM masons with bands and metal lids, two WM masons with air vents and springs (new to me this time) and jalapenos in a clasp jar. No off odors so far so that's a plus, just incredible sneezing.

I sneeze if I get a big whiff of them. Pretty common for me actually. Especially true when processing the sauce.

Man, Jeff. You're a fermenting fool for sure! I'm thinking about making a jar of that. And infuse it in vinegar for spicy vinegar. Should be interesting.

You might find that instead of infusing vinegar the brine itself could make a good substitute. The brine is sour similar to vinegar. I save my leftover brine and if not using as starter use in on and in things.

 

[Steve H]

You might find that instead of infusing vinegar the brine itself could make a good substitute. The brine is sour similar to vinegar. I save my leftover brine and if not using as starter use in on and in things.

Neat idea. What is the heat level like on the brine?

 

[jcam222]

Neat idea. What is the heat level like on the brine?

It picks up a fair amount of heat depending on the peppers used. If you have access to something like a few reaper , scorpion or ghost toss a few in with the balance habanero. Brine will have a kick for sure

 

[chopsaw]

I save my leftover brine and if not using as starter use in on and in things.

Joe told me to save it . I'm still in the " Hope this is safe " stage , so I tossed it . I'll have to say it was good . Do you just leave it in a jar and store it ? I leave bottle of the pineapple reaper on the table .

 

[normanaj]

After what the deer did to my plants I decided to dehydrate what I could salvage and make more magic dust.

 

[Steve H]

It picks up a fair amount of heat depending on the peppers used. If you have access to something like a few reaper , scorpion or ghost toss a few in with the balance habanero. Brine will have a kick for sure

I'll see what I can find. I'm thinking about a small test run on that. A pint perhaps.

 

[xray]

Like Jeff said you could save the leftover brine and use it as a vinegar replacement since it’s pretty sour.

Marinade, salad dressings etc etc. you could freeze it into ice cube trays and pop a cube into some beans or bean soup…something that could use a little acidity or heat . You add a little bit when cooking rice?

I like the leftover pulp a lot better, that can be dried and ground into flakes or into a finer powder. There’s lots of creative ways to use everything up and I have no doubt Jeff could pull off some awesome stuff with his unparalleled creativity.

Hey Steve just thought of something…do you like pickle shots? Maybe mix the brine instead?

 

[dr k]

I also have my last harvest of scotch bonnets and jalapenos in the brine since Saturday 11/ 19.
Everytime I have burped a jar of peppers in the past and now, I get the sneezes like crazy. Am I the only one that has this happen?
I'm running two WM masons with bands and metal lids, two WM masons with air vents and springs (new to me this time) and jalapenos in a clasp jar. No off odors so far so that's a plus, just incredible sneezing.

I haven't checked ferments if everything looks good over the year long ferment but smelling powders of super hots gets me sneezing everytime.

 

[Steve H]

Hey Steve just thought of something…do you like pickle shots? Maybe mix the brine instead?

I haven't pickle shots in a few years now. Forgot all about them!

When you a day off and nothing to do.

You make pickles...and things. First off 4 pints of pickles using Al's recipe with a couple changes. First difference was that I ripple cut them. Soaking for a couple hours. The other changes were I used pickle crisp instead of alum. And I vacuum sealed in the jars. Done! Now onto some...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[dr k]

Joe told me to save it . I'm still in the " Hope this is safe " stage , so I tossed it . I'll have to say it was good . Do you just leave it in a jar and store it ? I leave bottle of the pineapple reaper on the table .

I used three year old reaper hot sauce just the brine pureed with the reapers and strained as a hot sauce, starter for a dehydrated ferment of choc habs. No vinegar so lactobacillus is alive and dormant in the fridge. Kimchi can go a year staying under the brine in the fridge. Probably same with sauerkraut before the quality drops but is safe.

 

[chopsaw]

I like the leftover pulp a lot better,

Me too . I was wondering about just a puree of the fermented stuff . Dry and grind . Bottle the brine .

 

[jcam222]

Me too . I was wondering about just a puree of the fermented stuff . Dry and grind . Bottle the brine .

You can do a grind of the peppers with very little brine for a fermented hot pepper relish. Save the brine for other things.

 

[jcam222]

Har some time this evening and I had a red / orange habanero half gallon jar blend at just over 4 weeks. PH without any vinegar was already down to 3.4. I cannot believe how much sneezing I did processing it lol. I think this thread jinxed me. I like most my ferments very basic in flavor adds to let the pepper shine through. This is peppers, brine, touch of salt and Splenda and heavy garlic. I’m the frig testing. I’ll taste it tomorrow and adjust I needed prior to bottling. I’m really set on this rest before bottling. Also allows the bubbles from the high speed Vitamix to settle so the bottles don’t settle and be less than full

 

[chopsaw]

Nice color .

 

[pit 4 brains]

What are you guys using to measure pH? I have never tested any of my ferms but now I'm curious as to the exact acidity I'm reaching.

 

[jcam222]

What are you guys using to measure pH? I have never tested any of my ferms but now I'm curious as to the exact acidity I'm reaching.

I believe xray recommended this unit to me. Excellent unit once you get the calibration down. Knowing the PH is the only way to be sure you low enough for shelf stable and low enough the baddies didn’t grow is my understanding.

 

[chopsaw]

recommended this unit to me.

Jeff , does that one store with the tip wet ? I bought a cheaper one that stores dry .

 

[jcam222]

Jeff , does that one store with the tip wet ? I bought a cheaper one that stores dry .

It does. I was afraid a few weeks ago thst it had dried out but calibration and a quick check of white vinegar showed it spot in.

 

[chopsaw]

I'll need to re-cal mine , or check it .