Fermentation update

I broke into my spicy sauerkraut, and liked it, and started a jar of fermented mustard.

On the right, you’ll see my spicy sauerkraut with jalapeno, onion, garlic seed and cumin seed, which I broke into today. It turned out great.

Because my red cabbage was small, there was far too much head space in the jar. I vacuumed as much air out as I could with a little hand pump, but still worried about mold. I did not have any mold or kahm yeast, but there was an oxidized layer of kraut on the top — not at all dangerous, and it might have even tasted OK, but it was a kind of ugly brown color. (The same thing has happened a few times in the past with the pepper mash for my hot sauce.) I scooped it off and threw it away. What was left over was enough for two and a half of the plastic containers you see here.

On the left, you will see my next fermentation project: Mustard, with yellow and brown mustard seeds, turmeric, and garlic, plus salt, of course. The mustard seeds were cracked in a coffee grinder, as called for in the recipe, to help them absorb liquid and ferment better.

Because dry mustard seeds aren’t as likely to carry lactofermentative bacteria, the recipe called for a spoonful of brine from a previous ferment — and I had a jar of dilly beans, my last fermentation project, in…