Ferment, refrigerate, back to ferment?

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Ferment, refrigerate, back to ferment?

Postby fermentastic on Fri May 19, 2017 9:33 am

Has anyone ever put a ferment in the fridge and then decided that they wanted more time and then gotten it back out to ferment some more? If so, any caveats or issues? I would think this should work, but I guess the main possible issue is that since the top was removed, and most of the gas production is in early days, the environment isn't anaerobic any more and there's the possibility of mold? But, since the environment should be salty and acidic, that should help with that right? I'm just looking for another week or so.
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Re: Ferment, refrigerate, back to ferment?

Postby CulturedCascadian on Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:49 am

I can't say I've done this intentionally, but over the years I know I've removed jars of fermented pickles and kimchi from refrigeration and left them at room temp for a few days with no ill effect. If you're concerned, why not make up sufficient brine to top it off and then just weight down the fermenting food as you normally would? You could also put in a bit of sugar to kick-start the fermentation process.

Interestingly, I've noticed that the Bubbies brand of kosher dill pickles always forms white mold in no time if not kept refrigerated. I haven't had that happen with other store-bought fermented products. The pickled are fine, of course, but it's interesting because it's happened multiple times over the course of a couple years of buying them periodically.
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