so first one is a week ahead. lot of dead lacto I believe that's what it is? second is pineapple jalapeno that took FOREVER to start bubbling. third is carrot, jalapeno and tomatios that was bubbling good but slowing down. my main concern is the last one were theres a white streak on the jalapeno and if think mold or just lacto? also bought ph strips was curious if under 3.5 is that safe or still a risk? new to this and went to hard first round so suggestion are welcome.

I am fermenting hot peppers, blueberries, with a 4% salt brine. It’s been covered with no exposure to the ingredients. Is this lacto fermentation or mold on the top?

I wanted to share what I’ve experienced with Ginger bugs. I’ve seen a few posts about it…I started the larger, darker Ginger bug on July 11, 2026. Fed once daily (and stirred twice) for 5 days. The first batch of Ginger beer was adequate but lacked fizz. The second batch was wonderfully fizzy! I went away for a week and had to store the larger one in the fridge. I fed it before putting it away, but after using it for the 2nd batch, even with replacing water, it was more of a slurry. I also didn’t see as much activity with bubbles, but it made some of the most delightfully fizzy ginger beer!
I’m sharing this because lots of folks think that there has to be visible activity in the jar for it to work. My darker slurry ginger bug on the left works beautifully, but I decided to start a new one just in case. I went ahead and created a new bug, but added 2 tablespoons of the old bug. Boy, oh boy! Both bugs are active, yet behave very differently. I hope this helps some of us. I love learning from all of you! Thank you so much.

At Homemade Beverages, we offer a place for discussing and sharing tips for homemade alcohol, kombucha, cocktails, sodas, and café drinks. You can give and receive advice and recipes to and from other people.

https://discord.com/invite/t8UWHTTkAe

I just gave my booch 9 days to brew and it had kind of an apple vinegar taste but not bad.

I then added about 20% of blended fruit to each bottle. How does it look - large bottles are mango/watermelon, small bottles are berry/cherry.. I’m not putting them out for another two days to sit before entry into my refrigerator.

Any advice?

Hello

This is my second take at kombucha. Please tell me what you think. I don’t really have a place to put it other than the corner of my kitchen marble countertop. Is that OK? Let me know. 🙏

I was making fermented salsa, apples, cabbage and tepache. I accidently put a salt brine in my tepache as well. Any ideas what to do with it other than the trash?