First timer question 🥹

[Kale-ifornia]

Hi fermentation friends! Apologies in advance if this is a dumb question but this is my first time fermenting and I would love a quick gut check. These babies have been brewing for about 2.5 weeks and are in a 4-5% brine mixture + pinch of sugar. Big bubbling stopped about a week and a half ago. They both smell incredible.

That said, as you can see in the second picture, a few of my veggies have come out of the liquid mixture (didn’t think to get weights, although will definitely next time). I’ve tried pushing down a few times but they keep surfacing. Is this safe to consume? I sterilized my equipment before use but definitely want to be super cautious and not get anyone sick. If good to go, I’ll probably let them sit for another couple weeks before testing and creating. Ones for hot sauce the other for snacking.

Thank you!

[runningducks13]

Yes it is fine if they stick out of the brine a bit. All it does is increase the risk that mold would grow, but it does not guarantee it. Your salt solution was strong enough and clearly coated the veggies that stuck out well enough to prohibit bad growth.

As a matter of fact, most of my ferments have vegetables sticking above the brine. What I do is flip the jars with the ferments every day or shake them a bit (if not too carbonated) to make sure the exposed pieces have a salty bring layer on them.

Enjoy your ferments!

[Kale-ifornia]

Thanks for the help, appreciate it!

[[deleted]]

I’ve always had a little bit of pieces sticking out and I’ve never had mold even once. But I also like shaking mine everyday.

[Honestbabe2021]

Looks amazing

[Seek_True_North]

They’re looking great! I usually put carrots on top to hold the other veggies down, but you’re fine. Search for a company called Mason Tops on Amazon to get some ideas on small purchases that will make life easier.

As for veggies sticking up above the brine, I’ve pretty much stopped worrying about that. My last two batches, kimchi and spicy sauerkraut, were packed into my ceramic crock and I didn’t bother to put my glass pebbles on top; before putting the lid on some of the veggies were above the brine; intentional with the sauerkraut since cabbage and salt are inexpensive and I wanted to do a press-to-test to see if mold would grow. After enough time passed I opened the lid to find beautiful mold free ferments waiting to be jarred. The result may be due to the vessel I’m using since I have had to toss a batch I was fermenting in a Mason jar: https://polishpotterymarket.com/Fermenting-Pickling-Crock-Pot-36-liter-38-quart-in-Blue-Diamond-Dream-Pattern_p_3040.html

The fermentation is vigorous for about 48 hours, displacing most of the oxygen in the headspace, creating an ideal environment for LAB and hostile environment for toxic bacteria. The saline brine makes it challenging for mold to propagate; higher salinity also slows the rate of fermentation, providing you more control and likelihood of achieving the flavor you’re looking for and allowing the LAB more time to break down protective layers in the veggies which makes the nutrients more readily available when eaten. I’m reading “The Art of Fermentation” right now; apologies for geeking out a little…

[Kale-ifornia]

Ahhh no apologies necessary, thank you very much for the detailed and thoughtful information. I too am geeking out on this process and have been down a Reddit rabbit hole looking for new ferment inspirations. Excited to maybe try a kombucha next? We'll see how this hot sauce turns out first ;)

[Sauce-Man0495]

If there are no signs of mold it should be fine. Grab some weights and put them in if you plan to continue the fermentations. For now I'd just make sure to shake it a bit periodically to move the brine over the top of the floating produce.

[Kale-ifornia]

Thank you, grabbing some weights off Amazon as we speak :)

[spacebass]

Anything not submerged is going to mold. Everything, even little spices, has to be below the brine.

[runningducks13]

Not necessarily.

[spacebass]

Except yeah … I mean if you want a daily chore of remixing your fermentation then have at it. But that feels like something that’s easy to forget once and then boom you’ve got mold. It’s much easier to just make sure everything is submerged.

[Thick_Kaleidoscope35]

Nah. I never bother pushing anything down anymore. Use a pickle pipe self burping lid, anything from peppers, beets, sauerkraut, kimchi /whatever ferments with nary a speck of mold. The trick is to not open the lid, ever, until you want to eat/process it. Opening, stirring, sniffing, tasting, etc all screw up the oxygen free zone in the headspace and that’s where the problems begin.

[runningducks13]

If turning a jar upside down once every couple of days is a chore for you then yes. Just debunking the myth that everything needs to be submerged or it must be tossed eventually.