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Random Q&A
Question:
I made 6 gallons of sauerkraut. Four days the top 2" layer was dry, limp cabbage which I threw out, then added brine. Should I continue to ferment this batch or start over. I don't want to get botulism.
Answer:
Your kraut should be fine if the vegetables stay submerged under a brine. Top it up with salt water if it dries out. Botulism is only a concern with canned foods as it needs vacuum conditions to proliferate, and especially does not like acidic environments like sauerkraut.
Fields of Plenty
The following are some interesting links to sources of further information on fermentation. This list is by no means comprehensive
Should you encounter other interesting websites relevant to fermentation, please email them to Sandorkraut.
"Cultivating their fascination with fermentation"
June 7, 2009 article in the San Francisco Chronicle
"In Live Bacteria, Food Makers See a Bonanza"
New York Times article, January 22, 2007
A Brief History of Fermentation, East and West
By William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi from their unpublished manuscript, History of Soybeans and Soyfoods: 1100 B.C. to the 1980s
A Brief Study of Plastic Food Containers
By mycologist and food investigator Alan Muskat
A cultured response to HIV
From Nature Medicine June 2009
City Farmer
Vancouver BC Fermentation Workshops with Tomas Hicks
Fermentation and Jewish Culture
From a blog called Old Growth Yiddishkeit
Fermenting Culture
A 3-minute video, featuring Sandorkraut (among others), produced by Lisa Biagiotti and Lizzie Stark.
Fermenting is Fun
From The Healing Crow.
G.E.M. Cultures
A small, family-run business in Fort Bragg, California, with the best variety of food fermentation cultures available in the U.S., including kefir grains, koji, kombucha mothers, tempeh starter, and more obscure cultures such as Viili and Fil Mjolk.
Gut Microflora: The Inside Story
From the European Food Information Council
Institute for Urban Homesteading
Bay Area classes in gardening, permaculture, kitchen arts, herbal medicines, creative arts and the body. "A gathering place to research, ferment and learn together. We feature small class sizes and experiential learning."
Lacto-Fermentation
From the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Lactobacillus
Information on this health-promoting microorganism from the Virtual Bacteria Museum.
MicroAngela
Gallery of electron microscopy images, including bacteria and other fermentation organisms.
Microbes.info
"The microbiology information portal" including food microbiology links.
Microbial Nutrition
Yahoo group devoted to "fermented foods, probiotics, and gut health."
Questions and Answers about Lead in Ceramic Tableware
From Contra Costa (CA) Health Services / Lead Poisoning Prevention Project
The Economics of Fermentation
An essay by Charles Eisenstein, which originally appeared in Wise Traditions Magazine.
The Gordon Lab
The home page of Jeffrey Gordon, Director of Wasington University's Center for Genome Sciences, who begins the page: "Symbiotic or mutually beneficial relationships between microbes and animals are a dominant theme of life on our microbe-dominated planet.
The Sounds of Yeast
An NPR report on new research which has yielded recordings of the sounds of yeast reproducing at different temperatures.
Tribe.net Fermentation Tribes
Other related tribes include Food Traditions and Food Rituals tribe http://tribes.tribe.net/foodtraditions; Food geeks http://foodgeeks.tribe.net; Sauerkraut http://sauerkrautsluts.tribe.net/.
USDA Culture Collection
The Collection is one of the largest public collections of microorganisms in the world, currently containing approximately 95,000 strains of actinomycetes, bacteria, molds, and yeasts.
Wild Fermentation Google Group
A web-based group about wild fermentation, started by Jay Bazuzi
Making Simple Fermented Beverages
By E. Chris Garrison, very simple and straightforward.
Planet Beer Recipes
Links, Recipes, and an online beer and wine supply store
Beer
Bathtub Brewers
Virtual homebrew club, with lots of links.
Beer or Bread
Was Beer the First Great Cereal Food? Article by Andrew Webber.
Beertown
Homebrew information and resources from the Association of Brewers.
Brew Rats
Another virtual homebrew club, with recipes and chatroom.
Cyberbrau
Beer recipes and forums.
Google Web Directory for Home Brewing
North American Homebrew Clubs Directory
From Beerdude.com.
Tasty Brew
Home beermaking recipes and lots of links.
Mead
Google Web Directory for Mead
Got Mead?
Recipes and incredible mead links.
Mead Made Easy
A book of mead-making instructions and recipes by Dave Polaschek available in its entirety free online.
The Bee's Lees
Mead recipes.
Sake
How to Homebrew Saké
Sake Beginner's Recipe
Sake World Homepage
Wine
Army Worm Wine
I swear you can make wine out of anything.
Google Web Directory for Home Winemaking
Making Table Wine at Home
A 1988 book by George M. Cooke and James T. Lapsley, available online in its entirety.
Origins and Ancient History of Wine
From the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
The Home Winemaker's Manual
Extensive information free online from Lum Eisenman.
The Winemaking Homepage
By Texan Jack Keller. Lots of recipes and links.
Betsy’s Tempeh Foundation
A former commercial tempeh producer details incubation chamber technology.
Central Soyfoods
Lawrence, Kansas producer of tempeh from local beans and grains.
Dom's Cultured Foods of Asia in-site
Dominic Anfiteatro, of Adelaide, Australia, has posted a wealth of information about tempeh, miso, amazake, and other traditional Asian ferments.
Efficient Tempeh Making with Manfred
Detailed tempeh-making instructions.
How I Make Tempeh
Tempeh-making explained and photographed by a fellow named Peter Vachuska
In Praise of Idli and Dosa
Padma Ramchandran waxing poetic on these ferments on littleindia.com.
Natto King
Great natto-making directions and info.
Rhapsody Tempeh
Montpelier, VT producer of tempeh and amazake.
South River Miso Company
A good source for koji (rice inoculated with spores of the fungus Aspergillus oryzae).
Tempeh Info
Good online tempeh-making instructions from a Belgian firm selling tempeh starter.
Tempeh: The Soyfood With Culture
Lagusta's Excellent Tempeh-Making Details with Clear Photos
The Tempeh Shop
Fresh tempeh made in Gainesville, FL.
American Cheese Society
Raw cheese advocacy.
Campaign for Raw Milk
A state-by-state listing compiled by the Campaign for Raw Milk, a project of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
Cheesemaking
Detailed instructions for basic cheesemaking, as well as yogurt, buttermilk, and various other ferments, posted by Clermont College Biology and Chemistry Professor David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D.
Dom's Kefir in-site
Dominic Anfiteatro, of Adelaide, Australia, is a veritable kefir encyclopedia.
Fankhauser's Cheese Page
Detailed instructions for basic cheesemaking, as well as yogurt, buttermilk, and various other ferments, posted by Clermont College Biology and Chemistry Professor David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D.
Google Web Directory for Cheesemaking
Greg's Grains
Another kefir-making e-group.
Kefir Grain Trading Post
A registry of kefir enthusiasts with extra grains to share.
Kefir-Kombucha Google Group
A discussion group for the ancient probiotic cultures made up of assorted yeasts and bacterium known as 'kefir' and 'kombucha'.
New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
A good source for rennet, specific cheese cultures, cheesemaking books, equipment, supplies, and links.
NY Times: "They Do the Work, You Reap the Yogurt"
Harold McGee on yogurt in the New York Times, April 2009
POST-PASTEURIAN CULTURES: The Microbiopolitics of Raw-Milk Cheese in the United States
A 2008 article by Heather Paxson from the journal Cultural Anthropology.
Surprising Uses and Benefits of Yogurt
From Dr. Greene.com.
Why You Don’t Want to Drink Pasteurized Milk
By nutrition author Dr. Joseph Mercola.
Yahoo Kefir-Making E-group
The internet has brought together this e-group of kefir enthusiasts. Lots of great ideas for ways to use kefir cultures. I got my first kefir grains by posting a notice here.
YOGURT FOREVER : The Yogurt Encyclopaedia
By Roberto Flora, Translated into English by Fiammetta Cestaro
Yogurt-Making in Detail
From Ricki Carroll of New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
Chang Making
A 5-minute video about making and drinking chang, a Nepalese fermented grain beverage.
DanLepard.Com
A breadbaking portal site from Britain. "This web site is provided as an information resource for baker's large and small. Its aim is to encourage excellence in bread-making, and to provide a forum for expert debate."
Farm and Sparrow
Western NC Artisan Baker Dave Bauer's Website
Fermented Cereals: A Global Perspective
Agricultural Services Bulletin Number 138 from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Describes grain ferments from Africia, Asia, and Latin America.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sourdough Starter
FAQ about Sourdough Starters was compiled and written by Brian Dixon
Gluten Intolerance & Lactobacilli
Data confirming the idea that lactobacilli reduce gluten in bread.
Google Web Directory for Sourdough
Making Injera (Ethiopian Sourdough Pancakes)
Great recipe and discussion on Culinaria Eugenius.
Ovencrafters
Alan and Nick Scott's site for wood-fired brick oven builders & D.I.Y. oven plans
Rye Sourdough
A clear and concise method for all-rye sourdough.
Samartha's Sourdough Page
"This page has been started in order to provide a platform for easy access to my natural sourdough obsessions." (I can relate.)
Sourdough FAQs
From rec.food.sourdough.
Sourdough Home
Great resources and links.
The Fresh Loaf
An online community for amateur artisan bakers and bread enthusiasts.
Wild Sourdough
A website and book by Yoke Mardewi
How to make home made pastrami and corned beef
Great documentation including photos.
Making Salami
A non-commercial informational site posted by Len Poli of Sonoma, California.
SausageMaking.org Forum
Subcategories: Kombucha | Soft Drinks
Kombucha
My Adventures with "the Blob"
A dissenting view on Kombucha from a prominent mycologist
Gunther Frank's Kombucha Site
A comprehensive multi-lingual kombucha information site, including an international kombucha mother trading post.
Kombucha Center
A Kombucha portal.
Kombucha Mother Trading Post
Another listing people willing to share kombucha mothers.
The Happy Herbalist's Kombucha Brewing Guide
Soft Drinks
Ginger Ale
Root Beer
Instructions posted by Clermont College Biology and Chemistry Professor David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D.
Subcategories: Small Scale Producers
City Picklers
"Reviving local food, one pickle at a time."
Comparison of Vegetable Fermentation Methods
A look at the pros and cons of several different methods of fermenting vegetables.
Fascinating Pickle Facts
From The Science of Cooking at the Exploritorium.
FERMENTED FRUTIS AND VEGETABLES: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
1998 Report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
Fermenting Vegetables is Extremely Safe!
Audio interview with Sandorkraut explaining why botulism and other forms of food poisoning are not a concern when fermenting vegetables.
Get Cultured!
Probiotic Foods From the Nourished Kitchen
Handmade Ceramic Crocks
My friend and neighbor Amy Potter makes these with an inner lid to sit on kraut and outer lid to keep out flies. Excellent design. Beautiful too.
Handmade Stoneware Fermentation Vessels
From Canadian artist Isidora Spielmann
Home pickles made easy—and delicious
April McGreger of Farmer's Daughter shares techniques for brining.
KrautPounder.com
A wooden tamping tool created by the Eugene, OR chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, as well as other related resources.
Pickle Primer
A Glossary of Pickles and Pickled Peppers from ilovepickles.org.
Pickle Wing
Posted by the New York Food Museum.
Pickling and Kimchi Club
A discussion group of Kitchen Gardeners International
Raw Cultured Vegetables
An article by Evan Richards, from the Rejuvenative Foods website.
Sauerkraut the Greek Whey
An instructional how-to-make sauerkraut video by Terry J. Crebs
Sauerkraut Wrestling on You Tube
Men and women wrestling in SAUERKRAUT! From the Cabbage Chuck event in Shiocton, Wis.
Sauerkraut-making video
Chef Matt Weingarten demonstrates how easy it is to make sauerkraut in this 2-minute video.
The Science of Sauerkraut Fermentation
From a laboratory project in a University of Wisconsin Applied Food Microbiology class.
Vikraut & Vikimchi - The Cultural Revolution Among The Little People
By Viktoras Kulvinskas
What is Kimchi?
From the Korea Food Research Institute.
Small Scale Producers
Alive! Cultured Vegetables
Caldwell Bio Fermentation
Fermented vegetables from Quebec, as well as starter cultures.
Cultured
P.O. Box 2717, Berkeley, Ca. 94702, (510) 540-5185
Fab Ferments
Cincinnati, OH producers of cultured veggies, beet kvass, and kombucha
Farmer's Daughter
Carrboro, NC
Farmhouse Culture
Northern California. Try their excellent "Holy Smokes" kraut with smoked jalepenos.
Fizzeology
Mike, Lynn and August Bieser ferment veggies in SW Wisconsin.
Hawthorne Valley Farm
Sauerkraut Seth's ferments made on a Biodynamic farm in New York state's Hudson Valley.
It's Alive!
Portland, OR
Leelanau Cultured Vegetables
Traverse City, MI
McClure's Pickles
Two brothers, one in Brooklyn, the other in Detroit, fermenting pickles in both locations.
Picklopolis
Portland, OR
Powerkraut
Made in Wisconsin
Real Pickles
Western Massachusetts
Spirit Creek Farm
Kraut and other ferments from Cornucopia, in Northern Wisconsin.
Straight from the Vine
Raw fermented vegetables (and other goodies) in Austin, TX
Viable Cultures
Asheville, NC
Zukay Live Foods
Live Fermented Salsas, Relishes, and Ketchup in Pennsylvania
How to Make Vinegar
From Vinegar Connoisseurs International.
Vinegar Institute
A vinegar manufacturers trade association, with info about different types of vinegar, health benefits, and references.