Caldwell Starter Culture for Fresh Vegetables

Questions on Caldwell Starter Culture for Fresh Vegetables

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• From kristy at 2/11/13 8:51 PM
  • Can you tell me how much culture is in each packet? 1/4 tsp. etc.? This would make it easier for measuring out for small batches.
  • Each box contains six 5-gram packets, so you can make six batches of vegetables. Each batch could be anywhere from a pint upward. The primary purpose of the starter culture is just what its name implies: it "starts" the culturing process faster, and inoculates the vegetables with probiotic bacteria as they ferment.
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• From Amy at 12/6/12 3:15 PM
  • How long will Caldwell's vegetable starter culture keep in the refrigerator after receipt? Thank you!
  • Caldwell's Starter Culture will keep in the refrigerator or freezer for 12 months.
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• From David at 12/3/12 12:59 PM
  • What temperature is required during fermentation for this starter culture?
  • According to the enclosed instructions: The ideal temperature for fermenting vegetables is a constant 70ºF (20ºC).
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• From Jane at 9/3/12 4:47 PM
  • Can I use the freeze-dried kefir starter instead of the vegetable starter. Is there any difference?
  • We have a great article on our website that discusses the different choices for culturing vegetables. Check it out! http://www.culturesforhealth.com/compare-salt-whey-starter-culture-ferment-vegetables-fruits-condiments
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• From John Hauser at 7/30/12 11:44 PM
  • Some people recommend using Caldwell vegetable starter for vegies and Body Ecology starter for dairy. What do you think?
  • They are both very similar. One uses dairy as a carrier; the other uses sugar. In either case, the amount is negligible and really doesn't have anything to do with how the culture works.
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• From rmnc at 7/23/12 11:05 AM
  • how long do the organisms live in the refrigerator ( average life span ?
  • The vegetable starter is good for about 12 months in the refrigerator. Cultured vegetables should be good in the refrigerator for about a month.
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• From Shari at 3/23/12 7:51 PM
  • How long will this starter store for in the fridge and still be okay? How about 6 mos? a year? Would it store even better in the freezer? Why or why not?
  • The starter will keep for about 12 months in the refrigerator or freezer.
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• From Micah at 2/25/12 9:37 AM
  • This says it's veggie starter- but will it work for fruits, too, like for chutneys, etc?
  • This should work just fine for fruits. In fact, here is a recipe for fruit leather from our website: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/cultured-fermented-fruit-leather-recipe Enjoy!
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• From Justin at 2/7/12 11:58 PM
  • What kind of sugar do you use? I don't want non-organic processed sugar in my ferments, nor do I want non-organic skim milk (which is a highly processed waste product, by the way.)
  • There is a very small amount of sugar and skim milk powder in the starter culture, basically to provide a carrier for the bacteria as it is stored in the packets. (Bacteria alone are too small to even be seen and could not be transported without a carrier.) Neither the sugar nor the skim milk is organic. We are not aware of a starter culture that uses organic products as carriers.
    
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• From Tom at 12/19/11 12:54 PM
  • What is the source of the sugar in the starter? Is it corn, beet, cane, etc.
  • From Caldwell's:
    
    The sugar in our vegetable starter is sucrose. Its role is to provide energy for the bacteria to proliferate. It's all metabolized during the fermentation process.
    
    Even before it's used up during the fermentation, the amount of sucrose in the final product (fermented vegetables) is tiny. Consider that each pouch contains 2 grams of powder in total, including bacteria, milk powder, and sucrose. That is enough to ferment 4.5lbs (2 kg) of vegetables, so less than 0.1% in total, and actually even less than that when the added water is taken into account.
    
    By comparison, fresh cabbage itself contains about 3% sugars...
    
    Not really sure of the exact origin, but most likely sugar cane or sugar beet.
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