Choosing Peppers for Fermentation
Here’s my checklist for choosing great peppers to make the best fermented peppers at home:
- Density: The peppers should feel like they are hydrated and have good turgor pressure. It should not feel dried out, shriveled up, and floppy.
- Check for surface mold: Look for indentions and soft spots in the peppers. You do not want to buy peppers that are squishy. Peppers that are close to molding will have dark, small, circular indentions or black “pocks” on the surface and near the stem.
- Skip the bag: It’s important to note here that you should NOT use peppers that come “triple-washed” in a plastic bag. These do not wild ferment well (or at all, really) because they lack the microorganisms necessary for the fermentation process.
- Color: Peppers should have a uniform color, but some peppers do change colors as they ripen. For example, it’s fine to use a jalapeno that is green and may also have some reddish colors.
Fermented Shishito Peppers and Fermented Banana Peppers
At home, I’ve experimented with some fun pepper recipes. My favorite is a mix of banana peppers and jalapeños, but I’ve tried many kinds of peppers.
So You can use this recipe blog for just about any pepper type! I usually stay away from extremely hot peppers that are shades of orange and red, though, because I find that they taste a little soapy after fermentation.
Also, some peppers contain too much capsaicin, so no beneficial fermentation microbes can grow when fermenting those. I’m talking about peppers above 500,000 Scoville units (Trinidad Scorpion, Komodo Dragon, Carolina Reaper, Ghost Pepper, Naga Viper, etc.). I wouldn’t be surprised if there aren’t any bacteria on the surface of a Carolina Reaper pepper, for instance. At such a high concentration, capsaicin is bactericidal.
If you want to ferment extremely hot peppers, mix them in with more mild peppers and maybe some raw cabbage leaves to help initiate the fermentation process.
I suggest trying:
- Whole Shishito Peppers
- Serrano Peppers
- Poblano Peppers
- Jalapeños
- Banana Peppers
- Anaheim Peppers
How to Make the Best Fermented Peppers
When it comes to fermentation times, the longer the peppers ferment the more the flavor develops. I love peppers that have been fermented for about five weeks. After five weeks they’re perfectly tart and preserved.
I have experimented with fermentation times though! I once fermented peppers for a YEAR and wow.
The wait was long, but the flavor was so unique and good! When fermenting for this long, it’s important to make sure the pH stays low the entire time. Also, when fermenting for extended periods of time, the beneficial bacteria can die off.
When fermenting peppers it’s better to use a slightly higher salt concentration than normal, about 3.5% of the total weight in salt is a good place to start. I like peppers fermented anywhere between 3% and 6% total salt concentration. (Read more about salt concentration here).
If you’re curious about the gut health benefits of fermented vegetables, including fermented peppers, you can read more here.
Mastering Pepper Fermentation
If you’re going to master fermentation, you’ll need to use weight measurements for your fermentation ingredients. That means you need a kitchen scale.
In order to select for the best probiotic bacteria (the ones that are actually beneficial) in your ferments, you must weigh salt to create a specific salt concentration. Weighing salt is the only way to create a salt concentration that will select for only probiotic microbes to thrive. You can read more about why you must weigh your salt here.
Supplies You Need for Pepper Fermentation
How to Ferment Peppers
During the first few days of fermentation: carbon dioxide and bubbles will be produced. Sometimes jars will become very full of liquid, and this liquid can seep out. It’s important to “burp” the jar during the bubbly stage.
- If using a standard mason jar lid: remove the lid and tamper everything back down using a gloved hand, tamper, or spoon. Make sure everything is still submerged below the brine, and re-secure the lid.
- You may notice pepper seeds floating. You can scoop them out with a clean spoon.
Always Trust your sense of smell: Fermented peppers should smell pleasantly sour and spicy. Never eat anything that smells repulsive.
Never eat anything that had mold growing on it: By following directions, you should not encounter this problem. Note that most vine-growing vegetables that are wild fermented will have something called pellicle growth. This is normal for “vine-growing” vegetables as long as they do not look furry, pink, blue, black, green, or magenta.
A safe pellicle is normally opaque, off-white, and crinkly. If you have surface growth like this, it’s a harmless mixed colony of wild yeasts. It’s not “mold”…you can skim it off the top and still eat your peppers. See the two pictures below as a reference for what a normal pellicle looks like.
How to Avoid a Pellicle in Fermented Peppers
For this recipe, I used about 3.4% total (w/w) salt concentration. I’m usually able to avoid pellicle growth completely by increasing the salt concentration of the pepper fermentation.
Peppers can be fermented with up to a 10% total salt concentration, but I think that’s too high. I’ve tried a few peppers fermented at 6% and I never had pellicle growth with a total salt concentration of 6%. The yeasts simply do not tolerate such high salt concentrations.
This, of course, is a much saltier pepper ferment. However, the peppers come out more sour and this is perfect for hot sauce!
Click here to learn how to make hot sauce with fermented peppers.
What Temperature Should You Store Fermented Peppers?
Keep your fermenting peppers at a temperature between 70-80 degrees F. Keep out of direct sunlight. After fermentation you should keep fermented peppers in the fridge.
How Long Should I Ferment Peppers for?
After 4-5 weeks, remove the fermentation weight and small and taste test. Your fermented peppers should smell peppery and pleasantly sour. They should taste start, savory, and spicy.
Do I Need to Refrigerate My Wild Fermented Peppers?
Taste test at four weeks: If you prefer the peppers to be more tart and sour, let them ferment for one to two more weeks. After fermenting for 4-5 weeks, place a regular mason jar lid on the jar and refrigerate. Consume within 6 months for full probiotic benefits.
Wild Lacto-Fermented Peppers: Fermentation Timeline
We tracked our peppers throughout the fermentation process. By checking the progress of microbial stages under the microscope we have provided you with this handy timeline! If you follow our recipe and directions, your timeline of pepper fermentation should approximately match ours!
24 – 72 hours: All contents in the jar should be submerged beneath the brine. At this time there are still Gram negative bacteria and possible pathogens present.
72 hours – 9 days: After 72 hours you should start to see lots of bubbles being produced. This is the stage in which you will burp the jar (open the lid and make sure everything is submerged below the brine). This is when the ferment enters stage two of vegetable fermentation. Leuconostoc bacteria begin to thrive and produce a lot of carbon dioxide. Gram negative organisms die off. You may notice an acidic smell and color changes during this time.
9 – 14 days: The bubbles in the brine will decrease, as the ferment leaves stage two and enters stage three. The peppers will become cloudy and start to develop a pleasant sour smell. They will also start to change color from vibrant to more muted colors. Lactobacillus species are most abundant during this time period.
14 – 28 days: Lactobacillus make up the majority or all of the microbial population. They produce copious amounts of lactic acid and make the ferment smell even more pleasantly sour. This is the time in which the vegetable mixture becomes preserved.
30 days: Wait for the peppers to smell and taste as you like, and refrigerate when you find the smell and taste most pleasant! We like ours best when we refrigerate at about five weeks, but they are also good at around 30 days. The longer the peppers ferment, the more the flavors develop.
The Best Fermented Peppers
How do you make fermented peppers? What is the best salt ratio for fermenting peppers? how long to ferment peppers? With our Easy Pepper Fermentation Recipe you’ll have the best fermented peppers in just 5 weeks! Learn how to ferment any type of pepper at home.
- Prep: 15 minutes
- Ferment: 4 weeks
Ingredients
- 330 grams Peppers
- 26 Grams sea salt
- 400 grams water
Instructions
- This recipe at 1x works best with a 32-ounce jar. Please use peppers below 500,000 Scoville units. Anything higher may not ferment well.
- Wash your fermentation equipment, including the jar, weight, and lid.
- Wash your peppers and chop to your desired consistency. You can chop into pepper rings, slices or minced.
- Place your kitchen scale on the counter. Turn it on and set it to weigh in grams.
- Place a mixing bowl on your kitchen scale and tare/zero the scale.
- Add your peppers into the bowl, measuring out the designated amount.
- Remove the bowl from your scale and set it aside. Place your empty, clean mason jar on the scale, and tare/zero the scale. Make sure your scale is still set to grams, and add the designated amount of filtered water to your mason jar.
- Add the peppers from your bowl, into the mason jar with water.
- Place a small bowl on your scale and tare/zero the scale. Weigh out the sea salt. Then add the salt to the jar of peppers and water.
- Place your standard mason jar lid on the jar, and secure it. Shake the jar for 2 minutes.
- Remove the standard mason jar lid. Place your fermentation weight in the jar making sure to submerge all of the pepper pieces and weight fully in the liquid.
- Secure the jar lid to the mason jar.
- Ferment for 4 to 5 weeks at room temperature, then refrigerate.
Notes
- Peppers above 500,000 Scoville units contain an extremely high concentration of capsaicin. At those levels, capsaicin is bactericidal and can prevent natural fermentation.
- Taring/zeroing the scale with a container on it subtracts the weight of the container, allowing you to weigh only what is added to the container. After taring/zeroing the scale, the scale should read 0.0 with the container on it.
- Peppers sold in a bag are triple-washed and lack essential microbes for fermentation. If using bagged peppers, I highly suggest adding two fresh cabbage leaves to this recipe as a “starter” for fermentation. You can eat the cabbage leaves after or compost them.
- During the first few days of fermentation, carbon dioxide is produced, and you must burp the jar.
- Yes, you can turn these into hot sauce after they’re fermented. Just strain the brine into a separate jar/bowl, throw the fermented peppers in a blender. Blend on high and add a bit of the strained brine into the blender little by little until it’s the consistency you want. Store sauce in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.
Help please. I have done everything per the instructions but have run into a snag. I am unable to cover 330 grams of peppers and a weight with 400 grams of water in a 32 oz jar. It’s not even close. Is something off i.e. should there be less peppers or more water? I’m on hold until I get some clarification. Also, I have already tried twice to submerge the peppers in water. Have I now rinsed the peppers too much for them to ferment properly?
Thank you.
are you using larger whole peppers, so they are taking up more space in the jar? Try slicing them. These measurements always work for me and I’ve been making this recipe for 5 years. It shouldn’t matter if you’ve rinsed them a few times.
Ok, slicing them smaller did the trick. I had cut them into spears. All of the peppers and weight are under the brine. I’ll let you know how they turn out. Thank you!
This entire ferment is shishito peppers. It is 13 days old and seems to have developed pellicle. I skim it daily and when I do it is surprisingly dry. The peppers have reduced to about half their original size and the brine is cloudy and smells like alcohol and is peppery. The smell is pleasant and not off putting. Does this seem to be progressing normally and should I continue to allow it to ferment? Thank you.
Since it’s only 13 days in, I think all of this sounds normal. Like in the timeline above the recipe, I suggest letting peppers ferment for 4-5 weeks at least. Sometimes longer to let the flavors develop more.
Thanks for this recipe, it looks and sounds delicious! Gonna try it with my garden grown peppers. One question remains for me: after the 30 days and putting the jar in the fridge, do I still need to keep the peppers submerged all the time until I finish eating the jar? Or are they ok from then on to swim normally in the water? T
Once it’s in the fridge you can remove the fermentation weight. You don’t need to keep it submerged in the fridge.
“I like to blend the higher salt fermented peppers with fresh onion, a few different types of fresh peppers, and apple cider vinegar for a perfect hot sauce!”
Do you have a recipe for your hot sauce somewhere? How much vinegar and fresh peppers do you add?
I don’t have a written recipe for it yet; I never make it the exact same way. I do teach students in my online course a loose hot sauce tutorial. I am developing a fermented sriracha recipe that will be posted here on the blog soon though.
Do you know if I can move fermentation lids to a new jar and loosely put lids on once it’s at the stage of decreases bubbles. Currently at day 16 and want to start a new batch.
Yeah, you can take the lids off, switch lids etc. I do it all the time. As long as everything is still submerged with a fermentation weight taking the lid off is no big deal.
Hello, I have been fermenting shishito peppers for five weeks. Around the three week mark the ferment developed pellicle which I have removed on a daily basis. The peppers have a lot of sediment on them, so much so that it looks like snow. The peppers are layered and each layer has sediment in between. Also, the brine has a fruity, yeasty aroma. The PH is 4 or below. My question is while this meets the criteria of being edible it is not vey appetizing and I am concerned about the large amount of sediment; would you recommend composting this batch and starting over? On another note I have fermented two of your other recipes and both turned out great. Thank you.
Sediment within the brine is natural and normal. It’s just spent bacteria. I do not think that you need to discard the batch. I recommend scooping off the pellicle, pouring off a little brine, topping it off with a bit of raw apple cider vinegar, and placing them in the fridge to age for a few weeks.
Hi Kaitlyn, Thanks for the science-based information on how to ferment any pepper. I’m about to follow this recipe. One question I have – I may have missed it, but do you provide any guidelines on how much water to use? Luckily the batch I’m working on right now is very close in weight to the one you used in this recipe, so I’m just going to follow it. But I plan to ferment some smaller batches of other varieties of pepper, and can’t figure out how to determine how much water to use for those projects. Many thanks!
Hello!
You can simply scale this recipe down by dividing it. There isn’t a set formula or ratio of water when I develop recipes. The important part is having the correct salt concentration, which is a % of the total weight of water and vegetables.
I mostly ferment what ever is ripe in the garden, usually a mixed jar of veggies including peppers. In the past I have used 3.5% salt, because the peppers take the higher percent. Do you think that is necessary? If I do other veggies without the peppers I can cut it back to 2%. Just wondering what an expert would advise. Thank you!!
Well, it’s been 5 weeks since I packed a bunch of jalapeño slices in salt brine and set them in a dark cabinet. According to the instructions, they should be done.
Taste test: I should have deseeded them! Definitely still plenty of kick. Salty and crunchy but mostly just like a jalapeño slice.
I don’t know that they taste that sour/fermented to me though. They don’t smell bad, just not like I was expecting. I was expecting something like creme fraische or kraut.
If they don’t taste sour enough yet, then let them ferment longer. I’ve let peppers ferment for 6 months before, to achieve the flavor I wanted.
Okay so I did this and they are so salty I don’t know if I can eat them. Do you rinse them to store in refrigerator after fermenting?
Everyone experiences saltiness differently. These peppers aren’t any saltier than a brined olive . If you you personally think it’s too salty, you can remove half the brine, top it off with some vinegar and put it in the fridge. That will cut the saltiness and add a nice vinegar flavor.
Is it possible to can these peppers after fermentation? I know it kills the lacto bacteria but we have an excess of peppers and want long term storage. Wanted to know if it is safe to can then or if this is more of a “fridge pickle” recipe and unsafe for canning?
The pH is safe for canning, in theory… and it would all need to be cooked to a proper temperature, and I don’t know how that would change the texture. I’ve never tested it so I can’t tell you for sure if it’s safe or a good idea.
Designated amount of water??? I didn’t see it addressed until the directions. Which section did you cover it in?
The amount of water is listed with the peppers in the ingredients list. Right above the instructions
Love the simplicity of this!!! Can’t wait to try. Just wondering if you ever use Asian fermentation jars? I have one, but it is super hard to find recipes and I am worried that I may not do it right and stuff may go bad.
I only use the fermentation equipment listed in the blog, so just a mason jar, weight, and lid.
Ever use smoked salt, like maldon?
I haven’t, but I think it would be good.
Thank you for the step-by-step instructions and explanations! Thoughtfully and thoroughly written for beginners. The links to more info/ideas are well placed and helpful, too. I just started my peppers today and am excited to try them in 5ish weeks!
Thank you for leaving a review!
Hello, as a chemical engineer I love your blog and the detail! I am considering making a fermented version of southern chow chow that is typically pickled using vinegar and sugar. It contains green tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, and cabbage. Would you suggest a wild ferment for 3-4 weeks or a wild heirloom culture using a sauerkraut brine for 48 hours?
I would say wild ferment for 3-4 weeks! Sounds delicious!
Hi, I assembled the peppers a week or two ago and I noticed Pellicle mold is growing. I skimmed it off but it came back. I read in your post that it is still safe to eat, but I’m wondering how to help it not come back? Should I take it out and remake the brain or how can I help it from not growing?
Mold is not safe to eat. Mold and kahm yeast aren’t the same thing. Are you keeping your jars and lids clean and keeping everything submerged?
I have some beautiful Hungarian hot paprika peppers, the variety used to make Eros Pista, and I’m wondering if any of your pepper ferment recipes would work. It’s a thick and salty ground pepper paste. I don’t think you would get the same result doing a water/salt brine.
you can try this recipe! How to Make Fermented Garlic Sriracha Hot Sauce From Scratch
Hi! I tried this recipe with home grown peppers and used the scale to measure everything. It did however, produce mold. The black kind. I don’t know what went wrong. I made sure all food was submerged. Any thoughts?
what kind of jar and lid were you using? Were pepper seeds floating on the surface?
Hey there Kaitlynn!
First and foremost thanks for the recipe and your blog.
I dehydrated a slew of Thai, Fish and Paper Lantern peppers. Can I rehydrate them and use them. Use them as is?
All the best,
Don
p.s.
And remember…
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked;
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
I’ve never tried it, but yes if you want to try your dehydrated peppers, you’ll need to fully re-hydrate them first then use them in the recipe.
My only experience with fermenting dried pepper was in adding a nice Thai chili pepper to my cucumber fermentation batch. They plumped right up! Perhaps no re-hydration is required because they do that in the batch. I would wonder if the beneficial bacteria are still there though.
Kaitlynn, I love this website and just started my first batch of peppers ever, using your recipe!
Glad you’re loving the website! For this recipe the peppers need to be fresh, dried will not work. The weight of a fresh pepper is 92% water. So the weight of the peppers is used to formulate the correct salt concentration. If you use dry peppers the salt concentration will be all wrong and you won’t have enough brine to keep them submerged.
nicely authentic and authoritative.