What Causes The Milky Sediment At The Bottom Of My Ferment?

Three weeks ago I jumped into fermenting with both feet.  I fermented 10 jars of various vegetables.  3 weeks into it they are getting tasty.  Three jars were peppers from my garden.  About a week in I noticed two of the jars of peppers have this milky sediment on the bottom.  I used the same brine and added only garlic to all three.  All three still smell and taste great so I suspect that it’s safe but it looks nasty.  Do you have any idea what’s going on here?

Thanks for your help.

Charles

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Hi Charles, 
Nice to hear from you and that you have thrown yourself into fermentation. 
The good news is this is perfectly normal, in fact all ferments have this sediment! It is actually a sign that everything has gone well. If you are curious look under the jars of Bubbies pickles in the grocery store and you will see the same sediment and the cloudy brine. 
Keep on fermenting!
Kirsten

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Embrace the sediment and the flavors of fermented peppers! Jump to some Fiery Ferment’s related blog posts , pick up a copy of Fiery or get on signed to you by us, or you can take a class from Kirsten, at your own pace and right in your own kitchen, garden, or anywhere you happen to find yourself wanting to ferment some peppers.

Learn to Make Fermented Hot Sauces

Student Reviews:

If you are looking for accurate information about making your own hot sauces, this is the class for you. Christopher and Kirsten share their wealth of knowledge in a way that is valuable for the novice as well as for those who are already experienced. - Gay DeJong

White Ring on the Bottom of a Ferment Jar

Hello Kirsten,

I've recently made a bottle of spinach kraut by following one of your recipes. And when it was done, I put it into the fridge. Only after a few days, I saw a "white ring" at the bottom of the bottle. I've attached a picture here to explain better. Do you know why that happened? And is it still safe to eat?

Thanks,

Tracy

Hi Tracy,

The white ring at the bottom of your ferment it fine and a normal part of fermentation. It is similar to the sediment at the bottom of pickles (like Bubbies brand or home fermented pickles). I am happy to report it is very normal and harmless. I believe you are seeing it because the spinach ferment is darker in color than most. If you look carefully at other ferments you will likely see a similar ring.

Cheers,

Kirsten

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Here is another troubleshooting question about sediment with the same advice, but maybe that one looks more like yours than this one.

If you would like to learn how to make sauerkraut or pickles we have a couple of courses now available at our fermentation school:

• Mastering Fermented Vegetables It covers it all. This complete vegetable fermentation course will teach you the skills and give you the confidence to ferment any vegetable safely and effectively.

• Learn to Make Fermented Hot Sauces Learn to ferment hot sauce with any pepper you love. You can choose blazing hot or super mild peppers, fresh or dry and blend in other flavors. This fermentation class will teach you everything you need to make your own safe probiotic hot sauces.

• Learn to Ferment Sauerkraut and Pickles In this class we will walk you through making your own delicious lacto-fermented sauerkraut and pickles. This class is a benefit for the displaced folks from the Sept 9, 2020 Fires in Southern Oregon. All proceeds will go to good food aid.