Feuer wrote:
>
> Brian Mailman wrote:
> >
> > Feuer wrote:
> >
> > > The pickles are starting to foam a bit. Is that the "scum" the
> > > directions are talking about?
> >
> > Sort of a whitish froth? yeah.
>
> Cool. What is that?

Stuff. If one really needs a technical word to impress friends and
relatives that it's more complicated than just putting cukes in brine
and letting them sit then "detritus" should do. "Fermentation detritus"
adds four more syllables.

> Why must it be removed?

Because it's nasty-looking. Because it's not needed. Perhaps because
that way if something truly awful is happening you can see it more
quickly.

> Also, I'm seeing only the tiniest bit of it. Does that mean the fermentation's going slowly?

Maybe. I've had many batches that haven't formed it at all. What's the
ambient temperature?

Next batch, you might want to put them in a glass jar. That way you can
watch the bubbles, if you have nothing else to do.

B/