My buddy swore I didn't need an airlock on my first hot sauce batch

He said just burp the jar every day and it'll be fine, so I trusted him on a 3-week ferment of habaneros and garlic. By day 10, the lid was bulging and I lost half the batch to mold on top. Anyone else get bad advice from a friend that ruined a ferment?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tessa1mo ago

Your friend meant well but that's dangerous advice for a first ferment. An airlock isn't just for convenience, it creates a one-way system that keeps oxygen out while letting carbon dioxide escape. Without that seal, you're basically inviting mold spores and bacteria to settle right on top of your brine. I've been fermenting for years and I still use airlocks on every batch, even the short ones. The burping method works okay for beer or kombucha where you're drinking it fast, but hot sauce needs weeks under a proper seal. Sorry you lost that batch, habanero and garlic is a great combo when it works.

jamief671mo ago

Read somewhere that kahm yeast loves open ferments, not worth the risk.

the_susan1mo ago

Wait, does kahm yeast actually taste that bad or is it just ugly?