Gettin' Hot

Leveraging your fermentation experience and the power of microbes to melt your face off

— Drew

Alkaline

Natto, Century Eggs, Dawadawa (West Africa)

Lacto

Pickles, Sauerkraut, Yogurt, Sausages, Hot Sauce!

Acetic

Vinegar!

Alcohol

Beer, Wine, Mead, Bread, etc.

Fungal

Tempeh, Soy Sauce, Miso, Cheese

Fermentation does the following

Preserves precious food supplies
New flavors! New textures!
Increases nutrition
- Improved bioavailability
- Pre- & Pro- & Post-biotics for gut health
  - The increasingly understood connection between gut health and health-health

Good thing that Fermentation happens in spite of ourselves

No Fermentation - No Humanity!

Beyond preservation - why ferment?

Hot brine (refrigerator pickles) is quicker, but..

Fermentation transforms the flavor!

Hot brines may be sharp, bright and "fresh"
Fermentation adds complexity and depth
- less "vegetation", more roundness and character
Lactic acid is "softer" tasting than Vinegar

Why Ferment A Hot Sauce

Lactobacillus - Many different strains!

Vegetable ferments largely
- Lactiplantibacillus plantarum
- Levilactobacillus brevis
- And others....
Ferment sugars into lactic acid+.
The pH drop and sugar consumption preserve food

Other ferments favor different mixes of cultures

Our Main Actor

Make a world where our friendly critters out compete the contaminants

Sound Familiar?

The universal maxim of fermentation - promote our allies to prevent chaos

Our Job Is...

Get Hostile

In beer, we use hops and pitch gobs of yeast to create a hostile environment.

In Lacto ferments, we use salt levels to do the same.

Salinity levels of 2.0-4.0% discourage mold and yeast

Maybe?

Most "classic" recipes/procedures don't emphasize sanitizing, just cleaning
As brewers, we already have easy sanitation at hand, so why not?

Sanitizing?

As brewers, we're used to thinking "build up a big yeast starter for best results!"
LAB ferments traditionally just use the naturally occurring organisms
Again, I cheat and pitch an ounce of "live" brine (from Sauerkraut or pickle)

VROOM VROOM!

On Being Cultured

Loads of fermenting vessels.

Crocks, Jars and Vacuum Seal Bags!
Airlocks (or not) and Weights

Your fermenter needs to keep dust at bay and your veggies submerged.

Airlocks are great, but so is just burping the jar. (Careful! Exploding peppers are not fun)

The Vessel with the Pickle...

Simple Vegetable Lacto Ferment

Prep

Clean and prep the veggies (chop as necessary)

1

Brine

Pack the veggies with a brine with 2.5-3.5% salinity in a clean vessel

2

Ferment

Let burble for 3-4 weeks.

Keep the ferment "coolish"

Keep the veggies submerged in the brine.

Watch for expansion of the mash and avoid blowouts!

Refrigerate and enjoy

3

What to "Expect"

24-48 hours
- bubbles form
1 week of "active fermentation"
- lacto ferments pale to the violence of a yeast ferment
- Can still blow out the top!
2-3 weeks of "aging"
Week 4 - package!

The Schedule

Puree the sauce to desired consistency
Taste the sauce and adjust
- Does it need more salt?
- Acid?
- Sweetness?
Bottle and store in the fridge
- Room temp stability requires pH < 4.5 and pasteurization
- I sanitize the bottles because brewer

Finishing Up

Two most common contaminants

Kahm (top) - Wild Yeast with white rafts that forms on top
- mostly harmless, may smell
Mold (bottom) - green,black and multicolored fuzzy growth
- chuck the ferment - mold can indicate bad spoilage.
- not worth the risk

Use Your Nose!