[maxk42]

It's really hard to get wrong. The salt kills most of the bad things and the capsaicin and garlic have potent anti-fungal properties which make it especially difficult to mess up. If you remember to turn your ferment once a day or so it'll go very well. (By turn I mean physically mixing the material at the top of the jar down into the depths of the jar and dredging up the stuff at the bottom for a while to sit at the top. This keeps "scum" from forming, but the scum won't kill you and can be safely scraped away without spoiling the batch if it does form.)

[maxk42]

You could also look at it this way: This technology is thousands of years old and predates refrigeration and most basic sanitation. It's that easy.

[zandl]

The pH test reads 6 however, which is out of the safe range afaik.

[mrcms]

It does not. I the camera distorts the colors a bit, but when I made the reading, I had it at somewhere between 3-4. This was also confirmed by simply tasting the brine. It is very acidic.

[cr1895]

If you look at the color of the top block, it's matching somewhere between 3 and 4. Botulism is avoided if the pH is under 4.6.

The test strip is sitting on 6 but it would have to be darker to have that high a pH.

[mrcms]

This is the correct reading. I had it at 3-4 as well. The camera also saturates the colors a bit.