Three years of fermenting before I realized my airlock was wrong

I had been making hot sauce for a while and it always came out okay but never great. Then last month I noticed my ferment wasn't bubbling much and checked online. Turns out I had been filling the airlock with water instead of vodka like most people do. The water was letting bacteria in and messing up the flavor the whole time. Anyone else make that mistake or am I the only one who missed that detail in the instructions?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthony98919d ago

Lol three years thats rough. I did the same thing for a solid six months with my first batch of kimchi before my buddy pointed out i was basically making swamp water in a jar. At least you figured it out before you gave up on fermenting entirely. The worst part is all those mediocre batches you thought were just your recipe when it was really a bacteria party courtesy of tap water. Bet your next one is gonna slap though.

umasullivan19d ago

Ugh, three years of bad kimchi does sound like a nightmare. At least you finally cracked the code though, that's gotta feel good.