Comments on: Dilly beans the fermented way http://awesomepickle.com/archives/320 A microbe herder's almanac Wed, 16 May 2012 17:16:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Magda @ No Food Diet http://awesomepickle.com/archives/320#comment-10210 Magda @ No Food Diet Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:54:26 +0000 http://www.awesomepickle.com/?p=320#comment-10210 WOW!!! OMG, these were amazing! They completely blew my mind. I've never made dilly beans before and never even heard of them before seeing them online, but I thought I would try them. I had no idea what to expect when I checked them after a week, but they were so delicious that I ate ten right in a row while standing at the jar. The first jar went so fast, I can't wait to make more! Thank you so much for this recipe! WOW!!! OMG, these were amazing! They completely blew my mind. I’ve never made dilly beans before and never even heard of them before seeing them online, but I thought I would try them. I had no idea what to expect when I checked them after a week, but they were so delicious that I ate ten right in a row while standing at the jar. The first jar went so fast, I can’t wait to make more! Thank you so much for this recipe!

]]> By: Eric http://awesomepickle.com/archives/320#comment-5886 Eric Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:23:20 +0000 http://www.awesomepickle.com/?p=320#comment-5886 @Kris Some mold on the surface of the brine is common. The important thing is to keep the veggies under the brine—so in that sense the veggies should be airtight, or sealed from the air. Air will always touch the top of the brine, even if you put a lid on the jar, so it's possible that mold would grow even if you used a lid on top of the jar after weighting the veggies to keep them under the brine. Using a lid would probably help keep the flies away, though. If you use a lid, I recommend screwing the lid on loosely so that carbon dioxide can escape rather than building up. Or you could screw the lid on tight and then loosen it every few days to release gas trapped inside. As for the worm/fly, was it also in the veggies or only on the lip of the jar? If the veggies were under the brine, they should be safe from bugs and worms. Also, if you're in the tropics I bet you could get away with a shorter fermentation time, which would give mold less of a chance to build up on the surface of the water. I'm in the San Francisco area and I usually let my pickles go a week to 10 days in the summer and two weeks in the winter. Taste them as you go to get them just right (which also gives you a chance to clear any mold as it starts on the surface). Another option for sealing the veggies from the air is to ferment them in a jar or crockpot that has straight sides and to find a plate or cut a disk of (untreated) wood that is just a little smaller than the diameter of the pot. To see a picture of this technique, check out my post on <a href="http://awesomepickle.com/archives/368" rel="nofollow">making sauerkraut.</a> You put the veggies in the pot, add the brine, place the plate or wooden disk on top of them, and then put a weight on top of the plate/disk. That way you get a very even pressure on your veggies and can worry less about one or two popping up out of the brine and touching the air where they might grow mold. @Kris Some mold on the surface of the brine is common. The important thing is to keep the veggies under the brine—so in that sense the veggies should be airtight, or sealed from the air. Air will always touch the top of the brine, even if you put a lid on the jar, so it’s possible that mold would grow even if you used a lid on top of the jar after weighting the veggies to keep them under the brine. Using a lid would probably help keep the flies away, though. If you use a lid, I recommend screwing the lid on loosely so that carbon dioxide can escape rather than building up. Or you could screw the lid on tight and then loosen it every few days to release gas trapped inside. As for the worm/fly, was it also in the veggies or only on the lip of the jar? If the veggies were under the brine, they should be safe from bugs and worms. Also, if you’re in the tropics I bet you could get away with a shorter fermentation time, which would give mold less of a chance to build up on the surface of the water. I’m in the San Francisco area and I usually let my pickles go a week to 10 days in the summer and two weeks in the winter. Taste them as you go to get them just right (which also gives you a chance to clear any mold as it starts on the surface).

Another option for sealing the veggies from the air is to ferment them in a jar or crockpot that has straight sides and to find a plate or cut a disk of (untreated) wood that is just a little smaller than the diameter of the pot. To see a picture of this technique, check out my post on making sauerkraut. You put the veggies in the pot, add the brine, place the plate or wooden disk on top of them, and then put a weight on top of the plate/disk. That way you get a very even pressure on your veggies and can worry less about one or two popping up out of the brine and touching the air where they might grow mold.

]]> By: Kris @ Attainable Sustainable http://awesomepickle.com/archives/320#comment-5877 Kris @ Attainable Sustainable Thu, 07 Jul 2011 06:40:45 +0000 http://www.awesomepickle.com/?p=320#comment-5877 So, I made these. After a couple of weeks I pulled them out of the cupboard. There was mold around the upper edge of the jar. The weighted glass jar plan isn't air tight, and I've heard that a little mold growth can happen with fermentation, so I wiped it off. I sampled a bean - not bad! Then I looked down and saw little wormy things crawling around the edge of the jar. I had the jar with the weight covered with a cloth and they were situated in a dark cupboard. I suspect the wormies were maggots - maybe fruit fly? (I'm in the tropics, and they are a problem here.) Is there a reason that I can't use a lid? Expansion? Explosions? I'd love to try this again, but don't want bug in the beans! So, I made these. After a couple of weeks I pulled them out of the cupboard. There was mold around the upper edge of the jar. The weighted glass jar plan isn’t air tight, and I’ve heard that a little mold growth can happen with fermentation, so I wiped it off. I sampled a bean – not bad! Then I looked down and saw little wormy things crawling around the edge of the jar.

I had the jar with the weight covered with a cloth and they were situated in a dark cupboard. I suspect the wormies were maggots – maybe fruit fly? (I’m in the tropics, and they are a problem here.)

Is there a reason that I can’t use a lid? Expansion? Explosions? I’d love to try this again, but don’t want bug in the beans!

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