Fermentation

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Not everything on the counter that goes bubble is toil and trouble. Quite the contrary. Fermented foods have a greater depth of flavour, are packed with probiotics and healthy enzymes for a healthier gut and digestive system. Oh and it’s fun. No two batches of anything will be the same. There are no exact time tables and taste is king. If it tastes good to you, then it’s done. It has the excitement of the science of baking, coupled with the personal flair allowed in cooking. It’s the best of both worlds. WARNING: fermentation can become a bit of an addiction. Something I can personally attest to. I started out with kombucha. Then I tried my hand at milk Kiefer. From there I started my “Sourdough Saga”. But that’s another post 😉 Most recently I made my fermented hot sauce. And that is what I want to share with you today. This recipe/process was crazy easy and sooo delicious.

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Let me just say that there are a lot of fermentation tools and kits for purchase. That said; when you are just starting out, I’m not sure that they are necessary . Start simple. Jars are whatever size you have or want to use. The weights are a good idea and can be purchased at your local supermarket or hardware store. Also, if you can find them; those plastic screw top lids work great for this. Less corrosive than the metal.

Get started by washing your jar(s) and lid(s) with hot soapy water and rinse really well.

• wash and trim off ends of peppers
• stuff them into jar(s)
• Make up as much salt brine as you need to fill your jars, covering the peppers. Salt brine consists of: 1/2 Tablespoon of salt (sea salt) per 1 cup of water (filtered), adding 1 Tablespoon of vinegar to the mix is optional (I added it). The vinegar lowers the ph level.
• add the salt brine to cover
• poke around in the jar a bit ( a long wooden skewer worked good for this)to release any air pockets and poke holes in some of those larger peppers
• place the weight in the jar and lightly put on the lid(s).
• now you wait and you watch
• when things start to “percolate” (during the first week), there can be some overflow. Just keep an eye on the brine level in the jar(s) and top it up as needed. you want to make sure the peppers are covered.
• after a week you can tighten down the lids

Just a couple of notes on the waiting part. Here’s where it gets interesting. Some people will let them ferment for months. Yup “months”. I was remiss in not marking the jars (like I do with the kombucha) with the date. I want to say I left them for about 4 weeks before processing. It is not unusual for the brine to become cloudy. It does not mean that your peppers have gone bad. When you are ready to process your brew this too is a matter of taste. I drained my peppers while reserving the brine. Place the peppers in your blender and add enough brine to get things moving. Then how much more brine you add is up to you. Do you want a thinner or thicker sauce? After blending I passed mine through a fine mesh sieve (plastic); ending up with not only my desired consistency sauce but some chilli paste as a bonus. Place your hot sauce in the fridge and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Added bonus; this sauce will continue to develop a depth of flavour as it sits.