fermenting applesauce

[thesmarties]

a little advice please - about 3 weeks ago I made applesauce and fermented it by adding whey and leaving it on the counter for about 3 days to ferment. I've had it in the fridge since. Now it appears as if mold is forming on the tops of many of the jars. What do you think happened? It did not ferment properly? What should I do to try and preserve it? Add more whey to try and ferment again/more; freeze what I have; throw it away? I'd be really sad if I cannot keep these jars - it's 12 big jars... Thx

[Tim Hall]

Scoop the mold out and keep the applesauce relatively sealed to keep molds spores out. You didn't do anything "wrong." It's just a part of the natural cycle of things, molds being fermentative too.

What happened is this: Molds grow very fast, especially on the surface of things where there's plenty of oxygen. They're growing fast enough to compete with the bacteria in the whey. You simply had some mold spores drop on your applesauce and not enough "competition" to keep it at bay.

FYI the bacteria from the whey will grow in your applesauce, but it's also a good environment for yeasts. Don't be surprised if your applesauce is a little alcoholic tasting after a while.

[Cosmic Frog]

Perhaps stirring it periodically can help, too.