SCUBApix wrote:
> "George Shirley" > wrote in message
> .. .
>
>>Ran the fermented chiles through the blender and then the food mill
>>today. Three gallons of red and one gallon of yellow. I ended up with 96
>>ounces of red pulp and juice and 64 ounces of the yellow.
>>
>>Sitting in their respective non-reactive pots and mixed with 40% white
>>vinegar. Will get stirred four times a day for the next week or two to
>>ensure the mix "melds" properly and will then bottle it. A taste of each
>>says this will be a good batch of hot sauce, not so hot you can't enjoy
>>it and mild enough you can taste the chiles.
>>
>>George
>
> HeyGeorge,
> I just tried to make some hot sauce with Jalapenos. Since this was an
> experiment (I've made some before but never 'fermented'), I chopped up about
> 1.5 pints of Jalapenos and layered them in a jar with kosher salt. After
> just a day or so, the full jar looked only about 2/3 full. But a week or so
> later, there was mold on top and when I stuck a spoon in to scrap it off, it
> was down in also. I tossed it all into the disposal.
>
> What went wrong? Too little salt? How much do you use? It was sitting in our
> pantry so it was dark and the jar ahd a rubber gasket on the lid. Any
> thoughts?
>
>
Happened to me a time or two. I usually get about a gallon of processed
chiles down and then put about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of pickling salt on them,
covering the entire exposed area. Then you need to keep them in a cool
area, preferably below 60F. I think the salt mines on Avery Island where
Tabasco keeps theirs is about 52F. That's the reason I do mine in the
winter here. I check them daily and scoop any mold off when spotted.
Most of the time I will then put about a half cup of 5% vinegar over the
mash and continue on. The best I've done was about 3 months on fermentation.

McIlhenny puts the mash in wooden barrels, bang up full, put the lid on
then layer the salt about 2 or 3 inches deep on top. the salt then forms
a hard crust that allows fermentation gases to escape but, supposedly,
keeps out the mold. Their mash ages for three years before being
converted into Tabasco sauce.

Final note: Ain't no easy way to keep the mold out, you need to check
daily if you're going for fermented mash. Lots of folks just make it
that day, whiz up the chiles, strain out the seeds and skins, turn it
into sauce right then and there. Doesn't have the body of flavor
fermented mash does but ain't bad. YMMV

George