This is my second attempt at lactofermentation pickling. I tried for the first time last year and it went horribly wrong, so I haven’t tried again since.
I received some self-burping jars and glass weights as a gift and have decided to give it another try.
This is 1lb of serrano peppers that I hope to turn into hot sauce when it’s all said and done. The jars were much more full initially; the glass weights have condensed the peppers considerably at this point.
Today is day 4 (of maybe a 14 day fermentation period). The brine has started to get cloudy and I can see bubbles forming beneath the surface, which seem to be good signs.
Fingers crossed. If the whole process goes well, I’d like to bring some home-made fermented hot sauce to Thanksgiving this year.
As the peppers ferment the microbes that are in there are producing Lactic Acid, which gives the sauce a vinegar like twang, and some deep funky notes that are characteristic of lactofermenting. Good for the gut microbiome, and great flavor if you like fermented things.
Nice. Thanks for the breakdown
And most importantly, fermenting takes fruit/vegetables/whatever, and turns sugars into lactic acid, reducing the pH and making it inhospitable to spoilage microbes.
That’s why cabbage spoils quickly, but sauerkraut lasts a very long time.