r/fermentation May 28 '19

Reminder of the Rules

365 Upvotes

As the sub continues to grow and new people start joining the sub as beginners in the world of fermentation, we'd like to remind people of the subs rules. If you're a newcomer and have questions about one of your first ferments, it's always a good idea to check not only the sub Wiki for tips and troubleshooting, but also past posts to see if anyone's ever posted a similar question. We gladly provide guidance to additional resources to help improve your ferments, so be sure to use all resources at your disposal.

For those that have been here or are joining the sub as those seasoned in the world of fermentation, we'd like to remind you of Rule #3: Don't Be Rotten. If a newcomer asks a question that's already been answered or doesn't provide enough information for their question, this does not mean that it's an appropriate time to belittle those with less knowledge than you. There's nice ways to ask for clarifying information or give corrected information, and any unnecessary aggression or condescension will not be tolerated. Additionally, racism, sexism, or any other sort of discrimination or shaming is not acceptable. No matter how experienced you may be, the community does not need a bad attitude souring everything for the rest of us, and multiple infractions will result in a permanent ban.


r/fermentation 2d ago

Weekly "Is this safe" Megathread

4 Upvotes

Welcome to this week’s dedicated space for all your questions and concerns regarding questionable ferments.

Fermentation can sometimes look a little strange, and it is not always easy to tell what is safe, and what needs to be tossed and started over. To help keep the subreddit clean and avoid repeat posts, please use this thread for:

  • Sharing photos of surface growth you’re unsure about.
  • Asking if your ferment has gone wrong.
  • Getting second opinions from experienced fermenters regarding questionable ferments.

‼️Tips Before Posting‼️:

  • Mention what you’re fermenting (e.g., kraut, kimchi, kombucha, pickles, etc.).
  • Note how long it has been fermenting, and at what temperature.
  • Describe any smells, textures, or off flavors.

Remember that community members can offer advice, but ultimately you are responsible for deciding if your ferment is safe to eat or discard. When in doubt, trust your senses.

Happy fermenting!


r/fermentation 1h ago

First time Day 3. How am I looking?

Post image
Upvotes

Yes I know I need to get some rubber bands


r/fermentation 12h ago

Jalapeños

Post image
26 Upvotes

2% salt for one week on a windowsill - jalapeños from my own greenhouse, 86 in total. Great snack!


r/fermentation 12h ago

Educational Experiment with fermentation in a jar under vacuum

Post image
16 Upvotes

I thrifted a Foodsaver Jar Sealer that pulls a vacuum from a widemouth jar with a metal lid. I purposely left two cucumbers above the brine. I let them ferment for four weeks. I manually burped it several times. There was no mold or kahm. The two that were out of the brine were mushy, so I tossed them out.

Vacuuming the air away keeps the mold away.


r/fermentation 21h ago

Beer/Wine/Mead/Cider/Tepache/Kombucha My first fermented soda.

Post image
76 Upvotes

Hibiscus flower, cinnamon, lemon and star anise.


r/fermentation 11h ago

Hot Sauce Bubbling like a fine champagne

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

8 Upvotes

Jalapeño, Serrano, habanero, peaches and red onion in a 3.5% brine. One week in and they are just ripping!


r/fermentation 6h ago

Floating

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

Is this ok ,some of the cabbage is floating in the brim


r/fermentation 1d ago

Hot Sauce First mash hot sauce ferment

Post image
46 Upvotes

Wish me good fortune in the bubbles to come. My friend and I are starting a business, so I'm testing out a mash ferment. Cutting everything by hand will take too long at this scale, so food processor it is. Dried arbol chile, tomato, onion, garlic, no water added. I grew a jalapeño plant last year and researched how to preserve the peppers. Fast forward to this year: I have multiple stable recipes and I'm aiming to produce a 100% locally sourced produce fermented hot sauce product. Lots and lots of requests to buy from so many kind people. This is a 1.5 gallon fermenter. Next will be 5gal, and up and away.


r/fermentation 1d ago

Hot Sauce Closet fermentation lab

Post image
16 Upvotes

My new closet fermentation lab is cooking right along. Two one gallon batches of mango habanero hot sauce, and a 5 gallon batch of apfelwein.


r/fermentation 9h ago

Cheong question

0 Upvotes

I've had a kiwi cheong going for a couple of months and it looks ready now.

I'm not sure the storage process is now? Do I strain the fruit pieces? Do I need more sterilised containers to keep things in if I separate the fruit and syrup? How long do things keep for once you start using?


r/fermentation 10h ago

Kefir Water Kefir crumbling away

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

What's wrong with them? They are covered in a white mush and aren't reproducing. On the contrary, they seem to be crumbling. The instructions that came with them said to use 80 g of brown sugar per 1 L of water. I reduced that a long time ago to less than 40. Currently, it's 10 g of brown sugar and 15 g of white sugar with about five raisins and a pinch of natural salt. The water temperature is rather on the higher end at 22 to 24 °C. The water itself is quite soft.

I am changing the water every day.

What can I do?


r/fermentation 1d ago

If using an airlock and weights to keep the ingredients submerged, am I correct in assuming the carbon dioxide at some point makes those weights unnecessary?

9 Upvotes

The whole purpose of keeping everything submerged is to prevent mold and oxygen. But if it's a closed lid with just a water air lock, carbon dioxide will displace all the air. If for some reason the ingredients rise up above the liquid because bubbles beneath, there is no worry about having to resubmerge them, correct?


r/fermentation 1d ago

Hot sauce recipe ideas?

Post image
26 Upvotes

Have a few different breeds of jalapeños but these yellow ones are supposed to be citrusy, I was thinking of doing a fermented mango jalapeño hot sauce . Never made one before, any have any recipes they’ve liked?


r/fermentation 22h ago

Pickles/Vegetables in brine What are the key safety tips to keep in mind (so I don’t lose mine)?

2 Upvotes

I tried my first batch of cucumbers, but after 8 days the pH is 5.5. I gained the courage to start because I told myself botulism can’t grow at pH levels below 4.6, but clearly I did not achieve an environment for that. So I’m not going to try them, or allow anyone else to.

What other things do you keep in mind to be able to do this?

I tried ginger beer years ago and it was a total loss. 15 years later, my cucumber crop is likely gone. Are you all just magical herbalists? Any help would be appreciated!


r/fermentation 1d ago

New to Fermenting

Post image
9 Upvotes

Its been about a week and the middle jar .. I think its a half gallon has stopped fermenting when i pop the lid there arent any bubbles anymore.... Do bubbles stop after a week?


r/fermentation 1d ago

Cabbage cutting size

Post image
15 Upvotes

Hi all, is this ok for sauerkraut


r/fermentation 1d ago

Beer/Wine/Mead/Cider/Tepache/Kombucha So I'm brewing my first ever wine! First ever alcohol actually! However I made the mistake of placing my hydro meter in hot (almost boiling) water for about half a minute before realising that it was not meant to be placed in hot water, is it still usable? I think it looks the same as when it went i

2 Upvotes

r/fermentation 1d ago

Spicy/Garlic Honey I tried fermenting garlic from my garden and I think I did it wrong but also maybe not?

3 Upvotes

Pulled the last of my hardneck garlic from my backyard plot a few weeks ago and decided to do a garlic honey ferment because I kept seeing it come up and it looked low effort enough for me to not destroy it. Famous last words honestly.

I used raw local honey and fresh garlic cloves, flipped it daily, saw bubbles by day three which felt promising. But around week two the honey got so thin and watery looking I genuinely panicked and convinced myself I had ruined it. I did not throw it out this time, which is growth for me, and it has been sitting for about six weeks now

It smells incredible. The garlic is soft and a little golden and the honey has this savory almost umami thing going on that I was not expecting. I have been eating the cloves on sourdough toast and feel like I discovered something

My question is whether the very thin consistency is just normal or if my honey ratio was off. I used a pretty generous amount of garlic relative to honey because I had so much garlic and eyeballed it more than I should have. Also curious how long people actually age this stuff before it peaks because mine is good now but I wonder if I pulled it too early.


r/fermentation 2d ago

Spicy/Garlic Honey Honey garlic!

Post image
50 Upvotes

First time making it, a nervous because I left it sorta long, the jar was full of garlic at some point. Super excited to try


r/fermentation 1d ago

Where's my water?

3 Upvotes

So im making sauerkraut and half the water has like disapered even though it was full a week ago. So what do i do and where's my water? I have been opening my jar slightly everyday to burp it but not lifting the lid just screwing it open does that have something to do with it?


r/fermentation 1d ago

What to do with a tree-full of plums? No-to-low alchohol

14 Upvotes

Hi! I have a tree full of plums wanting to be used up, and I'm looking for some suggestions! Some considerations:

unfortunately I'm on a medication where I can't really drink alcohol or I'd totally make something in that realm. A little bit is fine though, maybe ~ 3% ABV would be okay.

I'm open to some version of a soda, but I'm not a big fan of sweet sodas - I do enjoy some of the store bought kefir sodas that I've tried, I'd say something like that if it could even lean more hard into that probiotic taste would be good.

I've been doing some internet searches and mostly I'm just finding more standard style soda, or brined plums. I'm open to doing something a la a brine plum, but I feel like a beverage might be better to use use a larger amount of plums (I imagine I'd drink more plum *something* than I'd eat brined plums). Now, I'm open to some weird fermented plum/beverage plum hybrid situation...

Any ideas?


r/fermentation 2d ago

Beer/Wine/Mead/Cider/Tepache/Kombucha Life is good!

Thumbnail
gallery
28 Upvotes

I've been a lurker here for a while but wanted to share with glee my current bubbly babies and how they have made life so much better. On the left is the first ferment of the Kombucha and then in the little jars is the second, where I add whatever fruit I grow/find for 48hrs for a quick second fermentation. I grew these delicious little grapes, last few weeks I've used pears I found on the street, apples and plums I grew!

I have water kefir, fermented grapes, fermented radishes and dabble in kimchi/kraut. I suffered from various inflammatory diseases including gout and psoriasis. I started growing my own veg and fermenting and my gut just feels so happy. Much love to everyone else enjoying their fermentation stations and thanks to all the Reddit posts that inspired me to try different things!


r/fermentation 1d ago

Is this some kind of black magic?

Thumbnail
gallery
12 Upvotes

New to fermenting. So you throw some vegetables in a jar with some salt water and in a week it’s awesome!

I may be addicted to this for a while!

Did a simple kimchi and jalapeño hot sauce. Fun and tasty!


r/fermentation 1d ago

Pickles/Vegetables in brine Vacuum bag picked help

Thumbnail
gallery
4 Upvotes

I had a few cucumbers that got bigger than I would have liked so I decided to try a couple vacuum bag ferments. Since they were bigger I cut them into spears.

I'm at 14 days today. Temps have been 69-70 degrees F. One bag (3% salt) has puffed up some and there is signs of white bacterial growth. The other (2.5%) has not created much gas.

I'm thinking about giving the 3% ones a taste. Any help from experienced baggers on how long they should take, plus any other observations you've got, would be appreciated.