Mold on fermented pickles

When fermenting vegetables it is common to notice a white layer forming on top of the liquid after a few days. Process the pickled products for the length of time specified in the recipe.

There are some pictures of mold growing on pickles in this article by the Fermentation Podcast.

Mold on fermented pickles. If you taste mold or anything feels off than I would say compost that batch. If it is fine then you can refrigerate the pickles. You will likely have to add a fresh bit of salt brine to make sure that they are fully submerged again.

Oh and one last thought I personally only ferment cucumbers for 6 days. This will push out the oxygen as the CO2 the ferment created is heavier an it will now blanket the pickles to keep them from growing mold. As far as do you need different equipment.

It is possible that there are some spores that have taken up residence in your older crock and they are what is giving you grief. Mold is a rare occurrence but there are some factors you can control to lessen the chance of mold formation. For the best-finished product use only fresh produce in your ferments.

Unsprayed homegrown or organic vegetables are best if you have access to them. Old or heavily sprayed vegetables may not ferment. If it is a mother culture like milk kefir grains or sourdough starter scrape off the mold and reculture it in fresh milk or with another feeding of flour and water.

If the film is white and fairly flat it is most likely kahm yeast which is a common occurrence and can be skimmed off or shaken in to the ferment. Mold on Cucumber Pickles. By lollygator on Thu Sep 04 2008 848 pm.

Ive made successful cucumber ferments before and wasnt afraid of a little scum forming on top. This latest batch has some white mold which according to Sandors website is okay to just scoop out. Thats fine but there is also a very small amount of grey mold.

Mold can be airborne so this helps immensely to cut down on the amount that can enter the ferment. Dont use table salt or pickling salt. These have preservatives that may hinder the good bacteria from growing introducing mold in its place.

Contributing factors for mold growing on ferments. Keep it below the brine level vegetables arent submerged in their anaerobic environment and are now in an aerobic oxygen environment that mold likes. Using glass fermentation weights or fermentation lids with air locks helps.

Fermentation mold appears as fuzzy spots that may be a variety of colors. Blue green black pink or even red. The spots typically adhere to the food that is above the liquid level inside the fermentation crock.

The spots may even appear on the culture itself as in the case of kombucha. This white layer is sometimes referred to as being mold white scum or bloom. This post on making sauerkraut at Wild Fermentation mentions this phenomenon.

A few weeks after beginning these pickles I noticed that each one was coated with a white layer. When fermenting vegetables it is common to notice a white layer forming on top of the liquid after a few days. Often this white film is mistaken for mold and the entire ferment is discarded.

However the white film is usually a type of yeast known as kahm yeast. Kahm yeast is not harmful although it. It can form when the ferment is exposed to air if the salt ratio is wrong if the vegetables and tools arent clean if you use chlorinated water and other things.

There are some pictures of mold growing on pickles in this article by the Fermentation Podcast. Dont get mold confused with kahm yeast which looks like a. The pickles do seem to have more surface mold than sauerkraut.

However is there any real advantage to skimming the mold off of the top. It seems that if the mold is aerobic and restricted to the surface then any skimming especially if combined with removing the stone weight on top of the pickles would simultaneously mix both mold and air in. You can see the mold above is a slightly younger that was just beginning to form and still had white areas that were beginning to turn green.

This mold was a bit older and more mature forming more of a solid carpet on the entire surface and all dark green. Mold on fermented pickles. Taste after 5 days soggy cabbage or vegetables for your ferments leading to faster acid production and a more acidic product Canning Fermented Pickles If it is fine then you can refrigerate the pickles meat if the mold is a fuzzy pink and smells offensive In general Yeast is colorless There are many variables that can cause mold Remove weight and plastic.

Mold is a fuzzy fungus that can grow on the surface of a fermented food and can be green blue black even orange. It grows from mold spores present in the air and in the presence of water nutrients and oxygen it proliferates. In case Gregg does not respond- you can ferment without a lid here just make sure the fermentation weight sinks down far enough that a little layer of water is at the top of the jar and that no seeds.

Processing is necessary for all pickles and relishes to destroy the yeasts molds and bacteria that may cause the product to spoil and inactivate enzymes that could affect color flavor and texture of the pickled product. Process the pickled products for the length of time specified in the recipe. Mold growing on the surface of your fermentation crock doesnt necessarily mean it will have affected the pickles but its definitely a risk.

Using a crock allows you to make a HUGE batch of pickles.