@Kate Ellery , I was just going to post here. My carrots have grey looking crud on top. Are you absolutely, positively sure they won't kill me??????????????? The carrots themselves look fine but I'm not to sure about that grey stuff.
Did you make sure that all of the carrots were covered over in brine ? If not, the ones not covered could definitely mold. You might be able to carefully remove those , and the rest still be okay, but it if tastes weird...... throw it out !
They were all covered. The brine was about ½ inch above the carrots. I wonder if it is the kefir that caused the grey stuff?
I don’t know. Have never used a kefir brine, just salt like for sauerkraut or kimchi. Maybe @Kate Ellery knows ?
That’s why I use a starter it’s much more reliable .. I had a very light grey film on my last lot of veggies it was fine, your nose is usually the best judge @Shirley Martin if it smells off bin it , Have a look at my veggies I made yesterday I have a folded cabbage leaf on top to keep veg under brine ..I’ve learned by experimenting on my self and the class I went to ..... if it’s not under brine it’s NOT FINE anything above brine should be BINNED https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/natural-fermentation/white-film-cultured-vegetables-mold/
It smells OK, Kate, just like carrots. The information you posted sounds like what is on them. Is it supposed to smell sour or fresh?
https://www.makesauerkraut.com/sauerkraut-fermentation-gone-bad-troubleshooting-tips/ Tips @Shirley Martin
Have you tasted it ? after that amount of time it should taste a little tart like mild vinegar It’s hot / warm there now isn’t it ? It should be in the fridge by now as it will continue fermenting in there 10 days should be long enough especially if it’s hot/ warm weather @Shirley Martin https://www.makesauerkraut.com/fermentation-tips-hot-weather/
Here is my latest experiment Water Kefir I was only given the grains last Sunday . I made my first ferment 3 days ago ,then I did a second ferment that’s still got a few hours to go before putting in the fridge Photo of the bottle with the lid that looks PINK is the second ferment with a few frozen strawberries added .It’s been fermenting for about 16 hours ,because it’s very cold here I won’t put in fridge till late tonight before I go to bed if it’s was warm it would only need about 24 hours on bench . Other large jar is a new lot fermenting away to maybe make a lemon flavoured drink . Notice the bubbles on top of the strawberry kefir it will get more gassy after it’s refrigerated
OK, Miss @Kate Ellery , I tasted the cultured carrots. First, I scooped the stuff off the top. Sniffed it; smells OK, sort of vinegary. I took a piece of it out, washed it, (Just in case). It looks OK. Put it in my mouth and cautiously chewed on it. Nice and crunchy. But the taste, oh, my Dog; the taste!!!!! It was horrible! I hurriedly spit it out. I could still taste it. I rinsed my mouth with water. Still tasted it. Hours later, I still have a lingering taste of it. Needless to say, I won't be making any more cultured vegetables. I guess it's like our collards and turnip salad; it's an acquired taste. As for me, I'll stick to freezing my veggies.
Think you may have left them to long @Shirley Martin especially if it’s hot there I’ve just tasted some of mine I did two weeks ago ( mixed veggies ) they are just the bees knees ..but not everyone likes cultured veggies