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Asked by somosknow1 ·September 5, 2018 ·11k readers

FAA

So I’ve been recapping my FAA with sugar every few days for a couple of months now. I don’t try to get a full packed cap like it was at first but I’ve been on top of sprinkling a fresh layer when things settle and the liquid comes up. I’ve noticed that the sugar is definitely floating/sitting on top of the liquid more when I add lately. Is there any chance I could end up super saturating to the point of depriving the microbes of available water for their digestion process? I imagine there is tons of water in the fish, so it would take a lot but I’m estimating I’m close to 15 pounds of sugar with about 7 pounds of fish in there. Thank you!

super-saturation

The answer

From the KNF library

From the KNF library Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books · Sep 2026 · 5 sources

The library does not say whether too much sugar can deprive the microbes of water.

It does give the ratio. Drake's sources say to combine between 30% and equal parts sugar to fish by weight. (KNF Demystified, p. 39) For a batch built in stages, add an equal weight of sugar each time you add more fish. (Office Hours Mar 2025, 24:15) Your 15 pounds of sugar on 7 pounds of fish is about twice the equal-weight ratio. (Office Hours Mar 2025, 24:15)

The sugar's job is to keep the batch stable. Drake says a fully sugared FAA keeps the lactobacillus dormant and safe to store. (Office Hours Ep. 19, 46:09) The recipe caps the fish with sugar, checks again in 3 days, and adds more only if it smells. (Cho's Solutions, p. 13) It says the batch will keep digesting for 3 years. (Cho's Solutions, p. 13)

  • Smell the batch. Add sugar only if it smells. (Cho's Solutions, p. 13)
  • If there is no smell and the fish heads are not floating, pour off the liquid and let the rest keep fermenting. (Office Hours Ep. 19, 41:46)
1 more answer
crazyravysmom · Sep 16, 2018
Why do you keep adding sugar? Is that in the directions? Would you please provide a link for that information?

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