I gave up on homemade sauerkraut a while ago due to a low success rate, but decided to give it another try. I used a fermentation crock that I meticulously cleaned with bleach before adding my cabbage and beet mix. I pushed the stones down to make sure everything was fully submerged. That was 5 days ago. I left it covered until today, but when I took a peek to see how it was doing... mold everywhere.

Any tips on what to do differently next time?

Hello, I just got my hands on some horseradish straight from the soil, and looking at how to preserve/process it. I will probably grate it down for this and recipes show to add vinegar, salt, sugar. I don’t have vinegar at home right now but I have loads of leftover pickle juice which has similar ingredients. Would this work the same or is there some science behind the reaction of adding separate ingredients at the same time of adding the grated horseradish?

Started a batch of pickles 1.5 weeks ago in a clean glass jar. Small cucumbers were submerged in 5% brine with garlic and grape leaves. The cucumbers were a mix of random ones someone left at the office and from my garden. Prepped the cucumbers with a thorough wash and by cutting off the ends.

Noticed bubbling and cloudy brine immediately- normal stuff. There was some kahm yeast on the surface (not fuzzy, looked like kahm i’ve seen before). But now there is a strong earthy smell, like mildewing leaves or maybe a little like a hippie incense store. It’s pretty nasty and I think this batch is a goner. The texture of some of the pickles is also squishy like a water balloon, or some of them feel firm like they’re full of gas.

Anyone know where I went wrong here?

It was a very hot and very wet summer.

My radishes grew huge but taste way too spicy.

Will fermenting give a decent product or should I just try again next year?

Fermenting peppers onions and garlic to make a hot sauce and I’m seeing some white lines on some of the peppers and one of the glass weights. Nothing on top of the brine. Can anyone tell me what it is?

This ferment is basically a toddler at this point. We've moved house three times, and doing the math is probably four years old.

Looks and smells fine, when I cracked it open, it smelt very spicy but mellowed out quickly.

Pretty sure I added onion and garlic to the bottom.

1. Is this still safe in theory? In my head it's no different to a hot sauce that's gone on a long time.

2. Should I strain and blend? What is the next step here?

Thanks!

Freeze warning tomorrow. I now have an abundance of Hungarian and Banana peppers and a lot of green San Marzano tomatoes. What do y’all think? Just cut them up and brine them at 2.5-3%? I feel like I’m missing some opportunities by just doing that. Please share your awesome ideas or recipes.

I think my kimchi has come along nicely.

Only on day 5

Cauliflower, green bell peppers, carrots, Serrano and guajillo chillies, oregano, rosemary. 2% brine. See you in a couple of weeks