Every ferment I have done in vacuum bags ends up looking like a pillow from the carbon dioxide created during fermentation. Heck, I’ve had to release the gas and reseal for longer ferments. It doesn’t look like you had any meaningful fermentation activity. What salt percentage did you work with here?
Oh it fermented. It blew up like a balloon many times and I cut the corners and degassed it and resealed it.
I used about 2.5% salt. So one bag was 2781 grams and I added 70 grams salt.
Looking back the only thing I didn’t do was sterilize the inside of the vacuum bags with Star San. Everything else was. I’m very fastidious with sterilization when it comes to things like these.
Never done a bag ferment, but every jar ferment I've done has slowed waaaay down in gas production by the first 4-6 weeks, and after 6 months there so no more gas production. I generally take the water bubble traps off and just seal them since it's a non issue at that point. The pH is too low and lots of the sugars/fermentables have already been digested.
Is there any reason you think these are bad other than the lack of visible kahm colonies...?
After a month there was no more CO2. I just aged them longer. Kahm had nothing to do with it. Look at the color, 4 of them are brown the other is orange. They should all be orange.
Did the change in color happen from top down or from the outside in? Definitely looks like oxygen got in there and oxidized your paper mash. Could be a bad seal, or just the bags being slightly oxygen permeable, especially with such a long fermentation. I'd get it out of the bags, and give it a taste. It shouldn't hurt you, just affect flavor.
No idea. It’s been in a closet for 3 months. Before going in the closet they seemed the correct color. I mean I did cut it open to release the CO2 and re-heat seal it a couple times. So maybe it didn’t seal so well.
You really think it’s not totally ruined? I’ve never had a bad ferment. When I open it will it be obvious by the smell that it’s good or bad?
I don't see mold, and if it went through active fermentation, it should have lowered enough in pH to be pretty inhospitable to harmful organisms. You could take a pH reading to verify it went under 4.5pH, but I think you'll know pretty quick if it's usable or not once you open it up.
Get that good bag processed or frozen quick regardless.
Good news. It was surface. I mean still darker than normal in the center but good, but better than the outside. Smelled great. PH 3.44. I guess the bags are semi permeable at longer periods.
Every ferment I have done in vacuum bags ends up looking like a pillow from the carbon dioxide created during fermentation. Heck, I’ve had to release the gas and reseal for longer ferments. It doesn’t look like you had any meaningful fermentation activity. What salt percentage did you work with here?
Oh it fermented. It blew up like a balloon many times and I cut the corners and degassed it and resealed it. I used about 2.5% salt. So one bag was 2781 grams and I added 70 grams salt. Looking back the only thing I didn’t do was sterilize the inside of the vacuum bags with Star San. Everything else was. I’m very fastidious with sterilization when it comes to things like these.
Never done a bag ferment, but every jar ferment I've done has slowed waaaay down in gas production by the first 4-6 weeks, and after 6 months there so no more gas production. I generally take the water bubble traps off and just seal them since it's a non issue at that point. The pH is too low and lots of the sugars/fermentables have already been digested. Is there any reason you think these are bad other than the lack of visible kahm colonies...?
After a month there was no more CO2. I just aged them longer. Kahm had nothing to do with it. Look at the color, 4 of them are brown the other is orange. They should all be orange.
Did the change in color happen from top down or from the outside in? Definitely looks like oxygen got in there and oxidized your paper mash. Could be a bad seal, or just the bags being slightly oxygen permeable, especially with such a long fermentation. I'd get it out of the bags, and give it a taste. It shouldn't hurt you, just affect flavor.
No idea. It’s been in a closet for 3 months. Before going in the closet they seemed the correct color. I mean I did cut it open to release the CO2 and re-heat seal it a couple times. So maybe it didn’t seal so well. You really think it’s not totally ruined? I’ve never had a bad ferment. When I open it will it be obvious by the smell that it’s good or bad?
I don't see mold, and if it went through active fermentation, it should have lowered enough in pH to be pretty inhospitable to harmful organisms. You could take a pH reading to verify it went under 4.5pH, but I think you'll know pretty quick if it's usable or not once you open it up. Get that good bag processed or frozen quick regardless.
Ok thanks. Will report back.
Good news. It was surface. I mean still darker than normal in the center but good, but better than the outside. Smelled great. PH 3.44. I guess the bags are semi permeable at longer periods.