Well, some one must have yelled "Squirrel" and pointed over my shoulder, because I completely forgot about putting the weight in the jar.
I picked it up and opened it last night. as before, there was still a bunch of water at the bottom of the jar and a small amount of mold on the top. So I carefully scooped the mold out, washing the spoon between passes. Then I took about an inch more below the level of the mold, again washing the spoon in hot water and soap before putting it back in the jar.
The first thing I noted after removing the lid to the jar was the incredible aroma. It had a wonderful, intense fruity aroma. So last night before bed, I tasted a small amount on the tip of a teaspoon. It had a very intense and temporarily overpowering sense of heat, with a huge salt hit on the tongue. But for me, as with all hot things, I soon began to crave more. But I thought better of it, as I was about to go to bed.
For the most part, I wanted to report back this morning whether I got food poisoning or not. Ha ha. Seeing that mold on the top of the jar triggered a self preservation instinct to throw it out. But the wonderful smell made me want to try and preserve it.
So after getting rid of the mold, I dumped the rest of the jar out into a mesh sieve to get the water in the bottom out. I then put it into a clean jar and put it in the fridge and made a label to stick on the jar to remind me when I had started it.
As you can see, because of the mold and scooping out the top most contents, I have much less product now. But then again, the heat is so intense, I am not sure you would use much of it at a time. I am still not sure about how safe it is to eat, but I will monitor it from time to time as I use it on my food. Like most people who have had food poisoning, I will never forget the experience....
I think when I try this again, I will definitely put the glass weights on the top of the Habaneros from the start. So much water separated from this batch that it would have kept the peppers submerged safely in an anaerobic state. You would probably still get a little mold at the top, but that happens with a lot of fermenting projects anyway.
So far, our winter in Houston has been mild enough that my sole remaining pepper plant, a Serrano pepper, is still alive and has fruit on it. I am hoping we don't get another freeze like last year. In my experience, the peppers that survive winter and into the next season always produce the best crops.
And I also wanted to report that the whole Habanero's that we put in gallon freezer ziplocks and put in the freezer have been preserved wonderfully. My wife puts 4 or 5 in each batch of soup she makes each week. She just drops them in the soup pot whole and whirls them in the blender with the other ingredients. It is amazing to me how much larger our homegrown Habaneros are than what the local food stores have. They are tiny in comparison.