Fermenting Pellets

[Frenchkissed]

Your problem may be too much water.

When I begin all over with fermenting feed after not saving any "starter", I barely cover my dry feed with tepid filtered water, adding a "glug" of ACV to jump start it. After about fifteen minutes, the feed has absorbed all of the water, being the consistency of cooked oatmeal. After the first twelve hours, it should be stirred. This is important as a thin film of yeast called scoby will colonize the surface. It must be mixed well into the feed for uniform distribution.

From that point, it takes around 36-48 hours to develop a pleasant yeasty odor and it will have expanded in volume with the yeast gasses, appearing lighter in both color and texture. It will be fluffy, not heavy and dense. It works best if kept in a warm place between 70-75F.

The difference in smell between merely wet feed and fermented feed is huge, the former being distinctly unpleasant and the latter being pleasant and sweet and tangy and more like sour dough.

Don't toss your batch yet. Pour off all the excess liquid, stir, and see if it turns into the light fluffy stuff I described. If it has an unpleasant smell, it's gone bad. Toss it and try again using my suggestions. It's not rocket science. Anyone can do it.

Hello

My question is do you add more water after it is soaked up in that 15 minutes or at any other time? I did it the soupy way and want to Really try it your wsy

Thanks

 

[Frenchkissed]

Also do you stir it up much after the 12 hours?