Fermenting.

[gardeninglee]

I thought I read somewhere in this thread about pickling carrots. If so, could someone help me find the recipe? Is it still the same - 2 tablespoon per quart of water then stick in the carrots and allow to sit for a week?

Also, how does everyone ferment peppers? I usually do cup of vinegar with a cup of water then about a teaspoon of salt and throw the peppers in. Can you ferment with just salt and allow acidity to develop later?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by gardeninglee

I thought I read somewhere in this thread about pickling carrots. If so, could someone help me find the recipe? Is it still the same - 2 tablespoon per quart of water then stick in the carrots and allow to sit for a week?

Also, how does everyone ferment peppers? I usually do cup of vinegar with a cup of water then about a teaspoon of salt and throw the peppers in. Can you ferment with just salt and allow acidity to develop later?

Yes on both accounts but stuff needs to ferment for way more than a week to builds up enough acid.
More like three or at least two.
Stuff like carrots are hard and need to ferment more.
Worth

[gardeninglee]

Do you ferment beans? I really want to try it. There's a salted soy bean I used to buy until one day I read the ingredients and there was some weird preservative added that I never noticed before. I miss the taste of fermented soy beans! So good... It doesn't sound too difficult. http://www.wikihow.com/Ferment-Beans

[Worth1]

Never have fermented a bean in any way.
Worth

[recruiterg]

I started a hot pepper mash ferment yesterday. Peppers are mostly Habaneros with some Fish peppers thrown in. I did one jar with a brine solution and one with a vinegar & salt mixture. I'll ferment for a couple of months and test to see which one tastes better. I tasted the mixture yesterday and it is hot. Does the heat level mellow as the ferment goes forward?

[Worth1]

Not that I have noticed.

Worth

[clspie]

Started a ferment of Aji Amarillo peppers and onions.

[Worth1]

I have one cucumber vine out of all the vines I planted due to the deer.
The other day it gave me a cucumber a Boston Picking cucumber.
Well three they are by far the best cucumber I have ever grown.
I sliced up one and put it in a 1/2 pint jar with some salt water and dill seeds, it has taken about 3 days for it ti start to do anything.'
Yesterday it started to kick off really good.
In about 5 days I am going to put it in the refrigerator to cool off and eat.
Worth

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by clspie

Started a ferment of Aji Amarillo peppers and onions.

They look good let us know how they turn out.

[Shrinkrap]

I am starting a new batch with these in a few days, and wanted to make sure I shared this article I used last year. It describes a salt-brine formula for fermenting, based on the weight of the peppers ;

"take the weight of your chilies and weigh out 2% of that amount in salt, preferably sea salt (thanks Jim!). Add this to the jar/crock, along with enough white wine (prefereably a high-sugar Reisling or Gewürstraminer that is free of sulfites) to cover by a half inch or so"

Once you've strained the fermented mash, add half the volume in vinegar.

"Now that the pepper mash is fermented to your liking, patience-level, or whim, all you need to do is run it through a food mill. Place the food mill over a bowl, pour the pepper mash and brine into the mill, and work the flesh and seeds, rotating the handle in both directions to push as much juice from the mash as possible (discard whatever is left). Measure the volume of the brine liquid and add half that amount of vinegar."


http://www.thejoykitchen.com/recipe/...tyle-hot-sauce.

Some notes from the comment section;

"...Jim's fully-fermented pepper mash has a surprisingly low pH level even before he adds brown rice vinegar (some of his latest batches are below 3.5......canned goods and pickles are generally considered shelf-stable at or below pH 4.6. It is also worth noting that most vinegars have a pH between 2.4-3.4.....This style of hot sauce definitely requires an acidic component to give it that characteristic Louisiana twang......, if you're determined to make a live, fermented pepper sauce, try modifying our newly-posted sriracha recipe (http://www.thejoykitchen.com/recipe/...ha-chile-sauce). We actually tested a fermented version of it that was quite delicious (but not significantly better-tasting than the easier, fresh version). Just ferment the peppers in some water with the salt, sugar, and garlic and wait a week or three, using the guidelines given above. If you're still worried about the vinegar destroying all of the mash's probiotic goodness, add sparingly when the ferment is done (lactobacillus thrives in the 3.7-4.3 range, and since they get destroyed by heat, don't bother simmering everything together). Needless to say, this is not shelf-stable and you will need to refrigerate it afterward. "
"

[Shrinkrap]

Serious eats version of homemade sriracha, with a comparison of Fresno and red jalapeño chilies. I noticed Kenji mentions leaving the green tops, which I've seen elsewhere as well.

"Using a new set of tasting spoons (a Christmas gift from my wife—thanks, dear!), I went back and forth between the samples and the real Sriracha bottle, noting observations for each.

First off, none of my from-scratch samples tasted exactly like the bottled Sriracha. All of mine had a brighter, fresher flavor compared to Huy Fong's, which has an earthier undertone I couldn't match. The homemade stuff wasn't bad, just different. That being said, there were some discernible similarities that helped me get to the final recipe.

Chilies: Red jalapeños. I had no doubt this would be the pepper for the job, and it was. The jalapeño really delivered on the right flavor more so than the fresnos, which were hotter and brighter-tasting. Also, snipping off just the stem but leaving the rest of the green tops in place resulted in a flavor that was closer to the bottled version. Letting the peppers sit longer after fermentation seemed to make no difference.
Garlic: While the blanched garlic had a smoother taste, it was the larger chunks of raw garlic that packed the garlic bite you want in Sriracha.
Sugar: This was the hardest to discern of all the variables, but the palm sugar seemed a little weaker in flavor and sweetness, while brown sugar added more depth with its heavier hit of molasses. This is what edged out the others in the sugar department, so that's what I put in the final recipe (though you won't go wrong with palm or white sugar here)."

http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/02/h...ch-sauces.html

[Shrinkrap]

This is the other reference to leaving the green tops on the peppers when making fermented hot sauce.

http://www.ourhappyacres.com/2012/09...ted-hot-sauce/

And

http://www.ourhappyacres.com/2014/08...ted-hot-sauce/

[Worth1]

Pulled two Boston pickling cucumbers the day before yesterday and they were just big enough to fill one quart jar.
In a matter of minutes they were rinsed and put in the brine something like 10 minutes at the most.
for one wide mouthed quart jar it took almost one pint of brine the mix was 1 1/2 half table spoons of canning salt to a pint of water.
In with the cucumbers I put in about a teaspoon of dill seeds and about the same if not more of powdered garlic.

Over night they started to build pressure and in two days they are really building pressure.
They are in the garage at around 78 degrees right now but the temperature has been dropping at night into the 60's.
Today I let off some pressure and got a taste of the brine.
These should be ready in a week how I can tell they are ready for me is if I cant smell cucumber anymore.
These may very well be the best I have made so far.
Here is what they look like today.
Worth

20161011_115615.jpg

[Worth1]

Ran across a jar of experimental fermenting peppers and carrots I had aging in the refrigerator.
Tried some.
Worth

[Father'sDaughter]

Took the plunge (or at least the peppers did) and am trying fermenting. I have a large jar of stemmed and cored peppers now sitting in a jar of brine with Italian seasonings.

These were from a Franchi seed pack labeled "Calabrese" and were supposed to be hot cherry peppers. What I got were short, fat peppers with a pointed tip. Fresh they are very thick walled and crunchy so I figured they would be a good candidate for fermenting.