Project "A"

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 00:40

Remember that water vapor is lighter than air and warm air is lighter than cold air. Therefore a vent in the top of the chamber will allow the humidity to escape and will confine the cold air. A vent in the bottom of the chamber would spill cold air and the temperature would rise.

uwanna61 · Post by **uwanna61** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 01:56

Remember that water vapor is lighter than air and warm air is lighter than cold air. Therefore a vent in the top of the chamber will allow the humidity to escape and will confine the cold air. A vent in the bottom of the chamber would spill cold air and the temperature would rise.

Well if try to vent my chamber (fridge), I will have to go through the freezer, and then everything will go south! I will have to rely on the fan and open the fridge door once a day for ventilation.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 17:20

How about checking in folks? The fermentation period should be winding down as we drop the temperature to 60°; and slowly bring it down to about 54°; in about two and a half months. We`ll also lighten up the humidity to about 80% and even more after drying, to about 75% for storage. How was your fermentation success? How many hours? What is the RH currently? What is the current temp? Have you achieved "equilibrium"?

I know some of you folks have had to work forty plus hours a week and have a life with responsibilities outside the fermentation chamber. Some of you are just a bit behind in getting started. Don`t fret. Just continue with the project as your time permits. We`ll all still be here. Just let us know what is happening. For those of you who are grindin` and stuffin` this weekend, don`t forget to weigh and record the weight in your notebook. When we achieve a loss of about 30%, we`ll slice one open to test it. Of course, it may take several slices and a couple of cold suds to make a good determination. Shucks pards, sometimes it takes all day long to make such a dutiful determination of lucid exactitude with infallible, precise, and conclusive judgement!

Just one of the hazards of this hobby.

It can really make a person thirsty eh? Better stock up on plenty of refreshment!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 17:41

Cut a hole in the top of my chamber last night. I made the hole tapered and saved the plug. I just made a check after changing the ice bottles and removing the wet towels. I seem to be at 60 degrees and still about 80% RH. I may take the salt marsh out.

partycook · Post by **partycook** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 01:18

Hi fellow sausage makers,
I managed to get the salami stuffed and into the fermenter on Monday . No problem holding 68 degrees and 90% humidity. Applied mold culture on Thursday and began to drop the
temperature and humidity, it is now at 60 degrees and 80% humidity. Fan speed is still on
slow. Still no sign of mold formation.

John

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 01:42

Sound great Partycook. The mold will start showing up in another day if you applied it on Thursday. Did you remember to mix it with distilled water? For the next six weeks, don't allow the RH to drop any further. During the last week, it won't hurt to let it come down to about 75%. You may wish to spray the mold again if you don't start getting a nice fluffy, white mold after this weekend. Just be sure to keep away any colored or "fuzzy" mold. Sounds like your project is doing just fine. Congrats John.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Dave Zac · Post by **Dave Zac** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 16:04

57 degree and humidity at 83%. The smell when I open the chamber is becoming incredible to me.

The Spanish Chorizo seems to be firming up quite well. As I realize it has only been 1 week, I can hardly wait 1 month for the chorizo and 2 months or more for the salami

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 17:03

I read that some of you were having problems with controlling air flows, after talking to my son about cooling systems on PC's he told me about a product similar to the on on this site.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/3-fan-cool ... r-pc-13987
Not sure if it is of use to any one just a thought.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 20:59

Serious question. What is the drying rate curve for various sausage diameters?
My 2 inch diameter sausages have a circunference to cross sectional ratio of 2:1, a 3 inch sausage has a ratio of 3:2 and a 4 inch sausage has a ratio of 1:1. Obviously the smaller sausage will dry more quickly than the larger.
My question stems from the weight loss on one of my subjects. 10% in 5 days.

uwanna61 · Post by **uwanna61** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 14:21

CW
I dipped the salami Alessanddra (project A) in the mold 600 on 6/22. The salamis have minimal coverage, nothing like the pepperoni (project P) which I sprayed, and are covered from top to bottom with white mold. I moved project P from the smoker to the curing fridge last night, after the 72 fermentation process.
Long story short: I dipped project A after the 72 hr fermentation step and sprayed project P before the fermentation step. Should this matter, I`m thinking temperature and humidity plays a role in this?
I guess my burning question here is do I spray another application of mold 600 to the project A? Is it critical to have the white mold on the salami? I have seen a few recipes I have read, suggest if mold is objectionable wipe it off with a clean cloth and vinegar.
Below is an example.
Thanks.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 02:58

Uwanna, smoke inhibits mold growth.
I sprayed my sausages as soon as they were stuffed with a spore mix only minutes old. The spores didn't seem to care and have grown as they should.

Edit to add. Are there any signs of mold growth? pinhead size white dots? if there is any sign of life then you are good to go but like planting any crop it won't hurt to plant again.

I read an interesting paper yesterday fron Clemson University College of Applied Microbiology.
That is presicely what we are doing here. This is applied microbiology at its best.

uwanna61 · Post by **uwanna61** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 03:38

Uwanna, smoke inhibits mold growth.

SSorllih
Yes there is some white mold growth on the Salami di Alessanddra. The pepperoni which I fermented in the smoker with no smoke, are fully covered with white mold. No biggie just wondering if I should reapply the mold 600 to the salami Alessanddra. I`m sure it will be fine. Thanks.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 04:43

In this project we are applying all of the science we studied in high school and wondered why.
We are using molds and bacteria to our benefit. Remembering wet bulb, dry bulb, dew point, relative humidity, grams, kilograms to ounces and pounds conversions. Celcius to Farenheit temperature conversions. We are using math that we thought was a complete waste of time. We can find a recipe for one Kg of meat but we have three pounds, now what do we do? apply our education and have fun. The list of ways that we can use our heads is long and wonderful. ENJOY!

uwanna61 · Post by **uwanna61** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 22:10

ssorllih

In this project we are applying all of the science we studied in high school and wondered why.

Science class

I think I was sleeping in that one. I remember gym class, but science was a blur

On a serious note, the alessanddra "project A" the salamis are finally covering with white mold. It looks the pepperonis from "project P" are sharing the mold with project A. The pepperonis are so white; they look camouflaged with the walls of the fridge

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 22:28

I'm chuckling because you won't believe your eyes about a month from now!

The mold is actually performing a couple of jobs for our benefit.

Many thanks to Ross for helping out while I had to go blind for a day.

That ol' doctor has no sense of humor whatsoever. The first time he ever put a needle in my eye, I guess I jumped about a foot in the air then did the "electric bugaloo" on the ceiling, while screaming like a banshee! He just looked at me and said, "Do you think you could kindly refrain from thrashing about".
Thrashing about indeed! Thrashing about my butt! I thought about giving the dude a size 12 cowboy boot 'leather enema' for the afternoon... just to see if he "thrashed about".

Ross, thanks again for your help in answering some very good questions that were posted.
Oh, and yes... Ross wrote:

I think a cooked sausage would be a good guided project for filling the space during the finishing times for the dry sausages.

I couldn't agree more. Let's do it. Got any preferences?

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Project "A"

Everything you learned in school & never thought of sinc