PSA: I stopped burping my hot sauce ferments after a batch in my Chicago kitchen blew up.

I had a big jar of habaneros and garlic that I was burping twice a day, but it still built up too much gas and exploded all over my ceiling. Now I just use an airlock from the start and haven't had a single mess in over a year. Does anyone else think the whole 'burping' method is more trouble than it's worth for really active ferments?

4 comments

4 Comments

julias4422d ago

Have you ever noticed how many problems come from trying to save a few dollars on the right tool? I see it with kitchen gear all the time. People buy a cheap jar, skip the airlock, and then spend hours cleaning sauce off the ceiling. It feels like a lesson that applies to so many things, where the shortcut just makes more work.

mason_murray822d ago

Switched to airlocks after a similar disaster.

drew_walker22d ago

My uncle's basement still smells like vinegar from a five gallon batch that blew in 2012. The real cost isn't the airlock, it's losing all that time and good ingredients. I've even seen people use a balloon with a pinprick as a cheap fix, which works until the balloon pops. Sometimes the right tool is just about respecting the process.

paul60810d ago

What kind of airlock do you use now? I went with the three-piece S-style ones because they're way easier to clean than the twin-bubble type if you get a bad overflow. A solid bung is key too, the cheap ones can pop right out under pressure.