Help needed to prevent mold on my veggie ferments!

[Carissabreen]

Hello,
Lately I've been running into this mold problem on my veggie ferments. It's almost impossible to skim off and stinks. I've attached a picture of my latest batch of dill pickle cucumbers gone bad due to this mold. Has anyone seen this before or does anyone know how to prevent this?
Thank you very much!

image1.JPG (32.07 KiB) Viewed 2963 times

[Christopher Weeks]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but is it just a light white film that covers the surface of your brine? It looks like a layer of kahm which isn't a mold and is totally normal, but also usually doesn't stink.

Compare to:
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1600& ... aKpW8l3QF4

[Carissabreen]

You know, it does look like the kahm mold pictures you sent to me. So, my understanding is kahm is harmless? I can still enjoy my pickles? That would be so amazing!

[Christopher Weeks]

Yeah. I think kahm yeast is what you have instead of a mold. Some people claim it gives the ferment a bad taste and that you can skim it off. But it's totally harmless.

[Christopher Weeks]

For future reference: if you do get a mold, it'll probably be dimensional and look "fuzzy". It'll probably only grow on floaters -- bits of produce that make it above your weight and float at the surface. And even then, if I catch it early, I usually just scoop it out into the compost and then wipe the side of the jar/crock down with a towel lightly saturated in white vinegar and then carry on with the fermentation.

[Carissabreen]

Thank you so much, Chris! This is wonderful news!