[euge]

I've been upping the ante over time. Graduated from jalapeños to green chilies...Flirted with small amounts of habanero and now Chile de árbol. This particular chile has great heat and fantastic flavor and I bulk buy them dried out of the bin at the grocer for $5/lb.

Yesterday I blended up one pound of jalapeños with 3.5% kosher salt in the blender. Took about half a cup of water to get a nice slurry. This went into a quart mason jar and covered with some cheesecloth to ferment for a month or so. The plan is to mix with some vinegar and age for another month- then blend again and strain. Green hot sauce!

[redbeerman]

I've been upping the ante over time. Graduated from jalapeños to green chilies...Flirted with small amounts of habanero and now Chile de árbol. This particular chile has great heat and fantastic flavor and I bulk buy them dried out of the bin at the grocer for $5/lb.

Yesterday I blended up one pound of jalapeños with 3.5% kosher salt in the blender. Took about half a cup of water to get a nice slurry. This went into a quart mason jar and covered with some cheesecloth to ferment for a month or so. The plan is to mix with some vinegar and age for another month- then blend again and strain. Green hot sauce!

Nice!  I had a buch of jalpenos that I let turn red and some anchos as well.  I froze the anchos and made relish out of the jalapenos.

[weazletoe]

Two years ago, Taco Bell mild sauce was to spicy for me. Then one day something clicked in my head, and I love chili's. The hottest I've done is ghost pepper sauce. I won't lie. It killed me. Ended up inadvertently doing the milk challenge right after. I'm in the camp of "I do it for the high I get". Its addicting. Even though you know its gonna hurt, you want more.

[roguejim]

I've been upping the ante over time. Graduated from jalapeños to green chilies...Flirted with small amounts of habanero and now Chile de árbol. This particular chile has great heat and fantastic flavor and I bulk buy them dried out of the bin at the grocer for $5/lb.

Yesterday I blended up one pound of jalapeños with 3.5% kosher salt in the blender. Took about half a cup of water to get a nice slurry. This went into a quart mason jar and covered with some cheesecloth to ferment for a month or so. The plan is to mix with some vinegar and age for another month- then blend again and strain. Green hot sauce!

Don't you have to add something like yoghurt whey for the fermentation?

For those aspiring chile growers and chile sauce makers...my two favorite forums:

http://www.chiligrower.com/
http://thehotpepper.com/index/

World record chile eating:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UNJxlf5ZpE&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErPCwYs85GY&feature=player_embedded

[a10t2]

A chili pod eating competition among drunken friends will most likely take place next year if anybody's interested.

Interested in seeing the video, not in participating.

Somewhere out there there's a video of me eating a bhut jolokia... Questionable whether it was worth the $20.  The aftermath the next day was worse than the pepper.

[erockrph]

A chili pod eating competition among drunken friends will most likely take place next year if anybody's interested.

Interested in seeing the video, not in participating.

Somewhere out there there's a video of me eating a bhut jolokia... Questionable whether it was worth the $20.  The aftermath the next day was worse than the pepper.

I'm glad that those things weren't around back in my college days. Worst I ever did was a whole dried habanero, and a chicken wing slathered in Dave's Insanity Sauce. Had the hiccups for hours after the wing. Can't imagine ghost chili pain...

[tschmidlin]

A chili pod eating competition among drunken friends will most likely take place next year if anybody's interested.

Interested in seeing the video, not in participating.

Somewhere out there there's a video of me eating a bhut jolokia... Questionable whether it was worth the $20.  The aftermath the next day was worse than the pepper.

Post a link!

My bhut jolokia plants grew and flowered, but I never got any fruit.  That's probably for the best.

[tschmidlin]

Don't you have to add something like yoghurt whey for the fermentation?

You don't have to, but you can to help kick off the fermentation.

[euge]

Don't you have to add something like yoghurt whey for the fermentation?

You don't have to, but you can to help kick off the fermentation.

The slurry spontaneously kicks off and quite rapidly- by the end of 24 hours it is going strong. My problem is that mold tends to grow on top. I spooned the mold off the top the first batch before mixing in the vinegar but the second has white furry mold filling the entire 2" space above the chile slurry. I'm wondering if it should be tossed? I can post a pic if needed.

[ultravista]

I am interested in fermenting peppers - please share. I grow a lot of wild varities, tepins, pequins, etc.

The idea of a fermented hot sauce (not Tabasco) sounds cool. Although I do have a Tabasco plant ...

[tschmidlin]

Don't you have to add something like yoghurt whey for the fermentation?

You don't have to, but you can to help kick off the fermentation.

The slurry spontaneously kicks off and quite rapidly- by the end of 24 hours it is going strong. My problem is that mold tends to grow on top. I spooned the mold off the top the first batch before mixing in the vinegar but the second has white furry mold filling the entire 2" space above the chile slurry. I'm wondering if it should be tossed? I can post a pic if needed.

Please post a pic euge!

What do you mean it kicks off strongly?  Mine only ever bubble a tiny bit and get a thin whitish film on top which is not mold but a pellicle from the lacto.  You can scrape it off, I usually mix it in the first couple of times if it isn't too thick and then scrape it off after that.  I stir once or twice every day to keep the top looking nice, I've never had it go moldy on me.

[euge]

Well. I removed the mold on this batch though probably shouldn't have worried. I sanitized a spoon and the whole fuzzy mass lifted out in one piece. There was a sturdy pellicle of some sort supporting the mold. Then I poured about a 1/4 cup of vinegar on top and just left it that way and wiped the inner rim free of any visible spores. Didn't bother to document so no pic- sorry I know that is out of character for me.

The fuzzy mold looked like that furry tofu you see Zimmerman balking at in Bizzare Foods.

I've got a strong fermentation both times in short order. Enough to pick the slurry solids off the liquid and to where the jar will have to be rapped on the counter to knock the chile down. I haven't bothered to stir this yet. Also no vinegar initially- just water, salt and chile, just like they do with Tabasco. Perhaps stirring will help prevent the mold from taking hold.

The first batch sat for 30 days with a cheesecloth cover with some mold growth and this current one had the lid loose on so that gas could escape- obviously it created a better environment for rapid growth of the mold colony. Since there is plenty of the first left this current one may sit for more months until ready.

Batch #1 = Jalapeños and just tasty not much heat.
Batch #2 = Serrano and Habanero- hoping this will have some kick!

Still learning. What's next? A Carolina Reaper hot sauce...?

[tschmidlin]

Stirring should help keep the mold away, much like punching down the cap on a red wine fermentation or fruit mead.  The salt and the dropping pH will inhibit the mold.

[redbeerman]

I have some ghost pepper infused vinegar I made this summer.  A little goes a long way.

[roguejim]

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/23146-fermenting-peppers-101/