Comments on: Pickled asparagus recipe

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:30:24 +0000

@MikeRoBrew You're right, there's no homebrewing-like sanitation, and that's because keeping the veggies under the brine already assures that the lactobacillus will triumph--other yeasts and molds need oxygen to grow. Sanitizing wouldn't hurt if you use the airlock system to protect your pickles, though. Once you start the pickles, I'm curious if and how quickly CO2 will force all the oxygen out of the jar. And will the airlock actually bubble? I'll have to give it a try. I have been using the Harsch fermenting crock, which also makes an airlock, to make sauerkraut and so far I have had no mold.

By: MikeRoBrew

MikeRoBrew — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:28:44 +0000

Thanks a lot, I am already a homebrewer (thus the name) and I will try this out ASAP and report back. I was surprised when my instructions for pickling did not include the same rigorous sanitation as for brewing. I will now apply those techniques and see if I can ferment ‘bloom’ free. I can’t help but think the bloom is wild yeast after seeing a few failed brews where the fermentation bucket was not sanitized correctly. Usually though, the beer has too much off-taste to enjoy and must be discarded, unlike pickling. Thanks again~!

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:09:44 +0000

@MikeRoBrew, Yes, mold and scum are common on the surface of your fermenting pickles. Here's an example picture of mold on the surface of sauerkraut from a nice recipe for making kraut. One option is to spoon the mold out as it occurs. If you want to avoid mold in the first place, check out this post about using an airlock.