u/ShipDit1000

I'm wanting to make my first hot sauce with Koji and would love a little input from the knowledgeable folks here. I'm fairly experienced with lacto-ferments, and with the speed that Koji interacts with peppers it seems like that will be happening regardless, and then there's going to be a several-month secondary fermentation where the koji enzymes act on the peppers. So my main questions:

- Pepper mash (aka, blender first, for more surface area)? Or should I just cut the peppers in half?

- Rice koji or barley? I love the idea of the additional umami from the protein in barley, but peppers contain almost no protein so I feel the additional protease from barley koji would be wasted. Might be better off going with rice so the enzymes have more substrate to interact with?

- How much koji? Assuming the sauce is almost entirely peppers (I will add some garlic and onion also, but that will be ~10%), is the Koji added 1:1 vs pepper weight or like 5%? I'm unfamiliar with how strong the enzymes are and how much flavor it will contribute.

- Do you brine this the same way as a traditional hot sauce ferment? 2.5-3.5% salt vs total weight of peppers, koji, water?

I'm wanting to make my first hot sauce with Koji and would love a little input from the knowledgeable folks here. I'm fairly experienced with lacto-ferments, and with the speed that Koji interacts with peppers it seems like that will be happening regardless, and then there's going to be a several-month secondary fermentation where the koji enzymes act on the peppers. So my main questions:

- Pepper mash (aka, blender first, for more surface area)? Or should I just cut the peppers in half?

- Rice koji or barley? I love the idea of the additional umami from the protein in barley, but peppers contain almost no protein so I feel the additional protease from barley koji would be wasted. Might be better off going with rice so the enzymes have more substrate to interact with?

- How much koji? Assuming the sauce is almost entirely peppers (I will add some garlic and onion also, but that will be ~10%), is the Koji added 1:1 vs pepper weight or like 5%? I'm unfamiliar with how strong the enzymes are and how much flavor it will contribute.

- Do you brine this the same way as a traditional hot sauce ferment? 2.5-3.5% salt vs total weight of peppers, koji, water?

One of the stalls at my local farmers market sell black garlic, and I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the flavor. It’s amazing to cook with, but I think it would be mind blowing in a hot sauce. Has anyone used it before and have any tips? Right now I’m thinking:

Red Jalapeños or fresnos (depending on what looks good), char about half of them for more complex flavor
Red onion, brief blast on the grill for a little char also

My main debate is if I should ferment or just do white vinegar, and if I do ferment do I add the black garlic at the beginning or after fermentation is complete?

Extremely open to any ideas/suggestions!

Just a warning to any prospective buyers. I was pulled in because Napoleon makes great grills and a lifetime warranty seems too good to be true. My grill has been having some issues and I've spent literally the last two WEEKS trying to reach someone there for help and still have not gotten through. Emails, contact forms, calling and waiting on hold for hours at a time. I even did the "contact local dealer" and literally crickets.

Idk man, doesn't feel like a warranty is very useful if you can't get ahold of a single person to diagnose problems.

Like many of you I have grown bell peppers only to be disappointed by the yield, especially considering how much space and time they take up. But, sweet peppers are fantastic to have in the kitchen for everything from snacking raw, salads to cooking in stir fries, sauces etc. So, what is everyone's favorite sweet pepper?

I've put together a list of some that interest me and I'm really curious to hear from those who have grown a few of these. A few rules: I'm interested in thick-walled sweet peppers that could theoretically replace the bell pepper (in other words: shishitos are incredible, but don't replace bell peppers in the kitchen, ya know?). A few on my list have a tiny bit of spice, but ideally we'd like these as close to zero as possible.

• Lesya
• Mad Hatter
• Aji Dulce/Cachucha
• Txorixero
• Cubanelle
• Trinidad Perfume Pepper
• Wildcat
• Ajvarski

Easy to grow, large yield, and of course great taste are all huge components here. I'm looking for the sweet pepper version of an Aji Limon plant that takes over your entire garden and shoots out 200 pods no matter what, versus something like Aji Amarillo that won't even flower if it's too hot out.

Like many of you I have grown bell peppers only to be disappointed by the yield, especially considering how much space and time they take up. But, sweet peppers are fantastic to have in the kitchen for everything from snacking raw, salads to cooking in stir fries, sauces etc. So, what is everyone's favorite sweet pepper?

I've put together a list of some that interest me and I'm really curious to hear from those who have grown a few of these. A few rules: I'm interested in thick-walled sweet peppers that could theoretically replace the bell pepper (in other words: shishitos are incredible, but don't replace bell peppers in the kitchen, ya know?). A few on my list have a tiny bit of spice, but ideally we'd like these as close to zero as possible.

• Lesya
• Mad Hatter
• Aji Dulce/Cachucha
• Txorixero
• Cubanelle
• Trinidad Perfume Pepper
• Wildcat
• Ajvarski

Easy to grow, large yield, and of course great taste are all huge components here. I'm looking for the sweet pepper version of an Aji Limon plant that takes over your entire garden and shoots out 200 pods no matter what, versus something like Aji Amarillo that won't even flower if it's too hot out.

So I love the dimensions of the MKC Stoned Goat. ~3.5" blade, short(ish) handle, and super lightweight. Plus, Magnacut. However, the company sucks and their blades are kinda meh.

Any suggestions for an ultralight fixie that's similar to that but from a company that has a good reputation?

https://preview.redd.it/7h3nlzygdo9h1.png?width=1300&format=png&auto=webp&s=3189d2c289a9c5563892db677238580e7dd6a2ea