There is a couple of interesting questions thrown up regarding what can live in 20% saline solution. I will zip up to microbiology first thing and give them all a crash quiz and report back! As an aside, whenever I have been seeing the same white mold on the top of the mash, I simply sprinkled about a cup of cider vinegar on it all and within 2-3 days all traces of mold is gone. This happened regularly for the first3-4 months, but have not seen it since (7 months now). Don't really know what the vinegar did except raise acidity, but I knew it couldn't hurt!! Regards Mark Ellis -----Original Message----- From: Cameron Begg <begg.4@osu.edu> To: kristofer@blennow.se <kristofer@blennow.se>; chile-heads@GlobalGarden.com <chile-heads@GlobalGarden.com> Cc: mellis@gribbles.com.au <mellis@gribbles.com.au> Date: Thursday, 7 January 1999 1:41 Subject: Re: [CH] Fermented Mash Sauce Questions |Hi C-H's, | |Thank you for your interesting reply Kristofer. You wrote: | |"Actually... from a general lactic acid bacteria point of view, 2-3% |is optimum, at least for L Plantarum. Higher concentrations will |select other microorganisms." | |I think you have it right there. My source specifically stated that salt |tolerant yeasts were the desired flora and that it was a very slow process. | |"Staphylococcus can tolerate up to 10% salt brine," | |This also supports the idea that bacteria are not the desired conversion |path (in the high salt environments that I'm talking about) but it leaves |some questions. Can any yeast really survive against such phenomenal |osmotic pressure gradients? Can acetobacter take over to complete the |oxidation? | |I am at the limit of my knowledge! | | Regards, Cameron.