Random Q&A

Question:

Sally Fallon's uses yoghurt whey for lacto-fermented recipes, but it is not to my taste. Your cabbage recipe does not require whey is it still considered lacto-fermented?

Answer:

Yes, all of the sour foods (e.g. yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, sourdough bread) contain lactic acid produced by bacteria called lactobacilli. Whey is one very easy method to get things lacto-fermenting, but most vegetables contain lactobacilli on their leaves and under the right conditions, salted and submerged under a brine, the lactobacilli will thrive and proliferate. Traditionally cabbage has simply been salted and weighted down to make kraut; using whey is effective but not necessary.

Q48

Fermentation Q&A

This is an archive of email questions I have received and my responses to them. At this point I am directing questions to a support forum bulletin board at http://www.wildfermentation.com/forum/. Other online groups of fermentation enthusiasts can be found at Microbial Nutrition (a Yahoo! group) or Wild-Fermentation (a Google group).

Latest Questions

January 02Flat sourdough

When we started sourdough, there were a few bubbles on the first day, then every bubble dissappeared. Could it be that we used non-organic flour?

I've had fine success with non-organic flour, but organic is better. Try adding a piece of organic fruit (like a grape or plum) covered with yeast to "jump start" it? That can get it going quickly. If your water heavily chlorinated try some bottled sdpring water. Keep trying, keep stirring!

January 02Moldy sourdough

Why after a couple of weeks does my good bubbly sourdough starter develop a fine grey mold on its surface, even when fed? Is this an okay ? Is it a matter of contamination or even temperature....? I usually throw it out and wait quite a while before trying again.

Mold forms on any food in contact with the air. The easiest way to prevent it is to stir the sponge (or in a more solid state knead the dough) every day or two. This way the surface is constantly renewed, and invisible surface mold is essentially drowned and never has a chance to develop. If the mold develops, start again, no need to wait.

December 25Should I supplement?

There is so much hype, and probably with good reason, about the Product "Primal Defence". If I am incorporating a regiment of fermented foods,(including kraut, kefir and kombucha) should I also take a product such a PD?

I have a preference against supplementation and strongly believe that you can always get superior nutrition from food. I think that incorporating a variety of live-culture foods into the diet is better than probiotic supplementation. Supplementation is for people who think they are too busy to spend time preparing nutritious food.