Papaya Fermented Fruit Juice
Hello! I did the Papaya Ferment Fruit Juice and at the end some black or brown and white mold appeared on top of it
This is good or bad ? the FFJ still smells like papaya and sorry for the newbie question, if you care to elaborate more it will help a lot.
Top answer
From the KNF library
The library says nothing about black or brown mold, and nothing on whether this batch is safe.
Cho's notes on plant juice say white mold can appear when material soaks too long. Fermentation then runs abnormally fast. (Cho, Recipe, p. 36) That note covers bamboo shoots, not papaya. (Cho, Recipe, p. 36)
Smell is the other check. Drake says finished fermented fruit juice should not smell or taste like alcohol or vinegar. (Office Hours Ep. 14, 35:45) That line is about year-old stored juice. It differs from the human answer, which treats a slight alcohol smell as a sign the ferment is done. (Office Hours Ep. 14, 35:45)
Cho's method puts enough black sugar on the top surface and covers the pot with paper. Compare your top layer to that. (Cho, Theory, p. 77)
Sources
- 35:45 Office Hours Ep. 14 (Jan 2022) — JADAM Sulfur, Humic Acid From Compost, C90 Seawater Ratio · “it should not smell or taste like alcohol or vinegar”
- p. 77 Cho, Theory · “Put enough black sugar on the uppermost surface and make a cover with Chinese paper to finish the process.”
- p. 36 Cho, Recipe · “When bamboo shoots are soaked too long, white molds may occur due to the abnormally fast fermentation.”
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