I intend to try fermented version at some point, but the ECA did get pretty close. The I got a decent tanginess with ECA, but the real fermented stuff has a somewhat "deeper" tang, if that makes any sense. Not necessarily stronger, but the fermented tang has more, depth to it's flavor profile? At any rate, I won't have any problem eating what I made in this first run, and close enough to call Taylor Ham, for sure.Not sure how close you want to get but I am of the opinion that ECA is not really a sub for the flavor you get by fermenting with a lacto culture. Beats nothing tho