In article >,
George Shirley > wrote:

>
> How much salt did you use? Generally I only use about a third of a cup
> on a one gallon crock full of mash. Depending upon heat and humidity you
> may still get some surface mold but it's easy to take off with a
> stainless spoon and about a third of a cup of vinegar will prevent it
> returning.

That's about how much salt I used. It was entirely gone within 3-4 days,
so there didn't seem to have been much of a point in layering it on top.
I used a turkey baster to take off mold.

The peppers I got this year are better than the ones I'd used
previously: both fresh (an 80:20 mix of serranos and habaneros) and
dried (a couple of habaneros, though I'm reserving them to modify
spiciness at the end, if necessary, and some nice chipotles). That is,
they're better *quality* peppers, not better varieties.

You add vinegar early on? It doesn't interfere with fermentation?


> Remember too that the salt cap used by McIlhenny is on top of a wooden
> barrel top and is in a 52F salt mine to boot. They aren't bothered by
> changes in temperature, wild mildew floating around, etc.

Yah. Wanted to try and see that when I drove cross-country last summer,
but didn't get a chance.

I'm going to try and keep the heat down as much as possible. The
basement stays pretty cool in the summer.

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