Syzygies wrote:I'd like to learn something here. So what side effects, aesthetic or otherwise, would one expect from bringing the initial pH down below 4.6 while fermenting vegetables? There are multiple stages to fermentation; how would meddling with the initial pH affect these stages?
Look, Syzygies, I have no problem with diverging from basics and being creative. But since you ask - by lowering the pH you are creating a more select environment, and thereby (theoretically) limiting the natural ecology of the ferment. This means you may not be getting the full flavor/aroma potential from the complete ecology.
Also by using vinegar you are altering the taste. Acetic acid has a very different taste and texture than lactic acid.
There is nothing wrong with the above. An aesthetic decision to do these things is perfectly valid. But not premised with a
need for better safety.
When you really think about the manufacture of mass-produced, mass-marketed hot sauces, here's what it boils down to: It's way easier to simply add vinegar to a product that's going to be pasteurized, in order to reduce its pH, so that when it sits on a grocery store shelf at room temperature it neither continues to ferment nor become pathogenic.
Live-culture foods are not championed by our modern food way not because they are less safe. It's because they naturally have a shorter shelf life in terms of
consistency, and they pose major issues with distribution and not having the lids pop off as they continue to ferment.
The blue cheese sitting in the deli section is literally still ripening, and despite refrigeration it will continue to become more pungent over time. The only reason it has a "best by" date is because it will no longer taste consistent with what the manufacturer believes the public will accept - not because it'll make you sick.
