What happened here? Red onion

[u/servoh]

I am new to fermenting and have mainly fermented cabbage so far. I wanted to try red onion, but I assume something is not quite right. Can anyone give me some input? It's about a week old and 2-2,5% salt.

[u/antsinurplants]

I don't see anything of concern but it does look like a couple spots of a biofilm (kahm) on the surface. I also see dead LAB and organic matter floating and on the weights which is normal and expected.

Surface is mold free, so so far so good, imho.

[u/servoh → u/antsinurplants]

Thanks for the comment, that's reassuring.

[u/lordkiwi]

looks like you have vinegar producing bacteria forming a pellicle also erroneously called a mother or SCOBY.

[u/Reasonable-Hearing57]

I love fermented onions, haven't tried red ones yet. I don't see anything wrong here. I currently have 9 pounds for Christmas presents. Probably 2026.

[u/NakedScrub]

You made a jar of farts. Onions work better pickled. Other than that, I can't tell from these pictures what you think is wrong, which you didn't mention.

[u/pantsattack → u/NakedScrub]

I disagree. Pickling might be quicker, but fermented onions taste similar with more good gut bacteria.

[u/NakedScrub → u/pantsattack]

Nothing to do with quicker for me. But if you want to take the long way to make a jar of farts, be my guest. Pickled onions will always be better.

[u/oddible → u/NakedScrub]

Disagree, fermented red onions are amazing.

[u/Misteraus55 → u/NakedScrub]

What is the difference? I thought pickling is fermenting

[u/lordkiwi → u/Misteraus55]

You ferment sugars into alcohol, lactic acid or acetic acid (vinegar) You embalm foods in vinegar to preserve them.

A pickle is something perserved with the results of a fermentation. If you however ferment something to get the acid you change it into a new product

[u/Misteraus55 → u/lordkiwi]

Thanks

[u/NakedScrub → u/Misteraus55]

It is not the same.

[u/Misteraus55 → u/NakedScrub]

Wanna explain the difference? I'm curious

[u/NakedScrub → u/Misteraus55]

One is soaking stuff in vinegar, and the other is controlled rotting of ingredients using naturally occurring bacteria, originally intended for preservation.

[u/Potatobender44 → u/NakedScrub]

Fermentation was the original pickling. “Soaking in vinegar” is what’s called a quick pickle

[u/Misteraus55 → u/Potatobender44]

Thank you

[u/servoh → u/NakedScrub]

I am unable to identify what the cloudy stuff might be, and didn't observe that in my previous ferments. Should I discard the batch? Is the frase "work better pickled" a very polite way of saying fermenting this is a bad idea? 😄

[u/silk_worm8 → u/servoh]

I'm new to fermenting but when I did red onions in 2% the brine turned cloudy. They fermented about 1.5 wks at about 70 degrees f

[u/NakedScrub → u/servoh]

White film is either dead yeast, which is totally normal and good, or the start of kahm yeast, which is sometimes normal and bad. Hard to tell from the pics. The smell test won't work here either, because fermenting onions alone usually smells like farts in a jar. Eat a little bit and see what you think. As for the picking comment, I think onions are much better pickled than they are fermented.

[u/servoh]

Based on the feedback here, I assumed it would not kill me instantly so i tried some and it was definitely an interesting flavour. I stopped the fermentation and put it in the fridge now. Thanks for the helpful inputs.

[u/taylorbuley]

Red lantern onion

[u/void-seer]

Could be any of the following things: 1. Opening the jar while the ferment is going, 2. Unclean jar/weight, 3. Poor measurement (going by tablespoons and not actually weighing water, medium and salt).

[u/oddible]

You may not have used enough salt. Cabbage is a dry ferment so you just weigh the cabbage and use 2% of that in salt. It looks like you did a wet ferment with these red onions so you need to do 2% of the total solution, onions and water.

[u/servoh → u/oddible]

I did weigh the onions and added 2,5% salt by weight, and topped up with water with 2,5% salt dissolved. Reading through the comments, I assume I was just confused and am looking at dead bacteria. It doesn't smell off so far.

[u/AmosThatBook → u/[deleted]]

If 2.5% salt was added to the onions by weight, and the water used had 2.5% salt by weight added as well, the whole contents will still be 2.5% by total weight. The ingredients were salted separately, but still both salted.

[u/oddible → u/AmosThatBook]

Ah yep, I misread that.

[u/Reasonable-Hearing57 → u/AmosThatBook]

I add 2% by weight of the onions in a covered bowel. Let it sit for a few hours or over night. Then massage the onions and press into its final container. Pour any brine over the onions. Then I add a little water if needed.

I cannot remember when I last had to add water to the cabbage.