I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with lacto fermentation. Like I do fine with my kimchi and sauerkraut, but every time I try to regular ass pickles I always end up with some kinda salt tolerant mold. And I measure out the salt with a jewelry scale accurate to very very small numbers, and put a weight on them and everything, they say to do! If I had any hair to be pulled out, I would have done so by now because of this.
Both. Like I understand the water is supposed to get cloudy from the bacillus, but this shit was like a Technicolor dream coat of “what in fucking fuck is that‽”
I’m certain there’s just something in the air cause I found an open half full gallon of distilled water I forgot about in a corner and there was black stuff floating around in it. What’s wild though is that I manage to grow mushrooms(gourmet, not the psychedelic type) which requires the utmost cleanliness.
Yeah… if you’re growing fungi, you’re up on sterilization and cleanliness.
I’ll assuming you sterilize your jars first and stuff then? You can also grab a mason jar “vacuum” sealer. It’ll pull most of the air out and help with that sort of thing… could make a difference, worth a shot anyway.
Good idea on the vacuum seal! But I don’t do a full on sterilization with my pickle jars, just Ajax and hot water. Maybe I’ll try some starsan next time. Thanks for the help Internet stranger!
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with lacto fermentation. Like I do fine with my kimchi and sauerkraut, but every time I try to regular ass pickles I always end up with some kinda salt tolerant mold. And I measure out the salt with a jewelry scale accurate to very very small numbers, and put a weight on them and everything, they say to do! If I had any hair to be pulled out, I would have done so by now because of this.
Surface scum, or actual mold on the pickles themselves?
Both. Like I understand the water is supposed to get cloudy from the bacillus, but this shit was like a Technicolor dream coat of “what in fucking fuck is that‽”
I’m certain there’s just something in the air cause I found an open half full gallon of distilled water I forgot about in a corner and there was black stuff floating around in it. What’s wild though is that I manage to grow mushrooms(gourmet, not the psychedelic type) which requires the utmost cleanliness.
Yeah… if you’re growing fungi, you’re up on sterilization and cleanliness.
I’ll assuming you sterilize your jars first and stuff then? You can also grab a mason jar “vacuum” sealer. It’ll pull most of the air out and help with that sort of thing… could make a difference, worth a shot anyway.
Good idea on the vacuum seal! But I don’t do a full on sterilization with my pickle jars, just Ajax and hot water. Maybe I’ll try some starsan next time. Thanks for the help Internet stranger!
If you have a pressure cooker or instant pot, a few minutes in there with a cup of water at the bottom will disinfect your jars and lids.
Keep in mind that the rings of mason jars are reusable, but the lids themselves are supposed to be single use.
Starsan works, but I’ve even just used a hot dishwasher with a sterilization cycle. Whatever you’ve got handy.
You’re welcome! Hope it works out for you.