Discovered the cold water trick for my pepper mash fermentation

I kept getting kahm yeast on my hot sauce ferments (you know, that cloudy white film). Tried everything to fix it, more salt, less air exposure, even some vinegar at the start. Then a guy at a farmers market in Asheville told me to float a layer of ice cubes on top before sealing the jar. The cold water from the melting cubes creates a barrier that the yeast supposedly can't cross, and I swear it worked on my last 3 batches. Has anyone else tried this or got a better method for keeping the surface clean?

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the_nathan5d ago

Is kahm yeast really that big of a deal though?