Question 1

You said that the product has different strains, What is the name of your strains?

Accepted Answer

Thank you for writing. These are the ingredients:Active bacteria strains (LB. plantarum, Ln. mesenteroides, Pc. acidilactici), organic tapioca sugar.

Question 2

Is this the starter culture I should get for legumes? (black beans, soy, lentils ...)

Accepted Answer

I use this starter culture to ferment cooked black beans with raw onion, garlic, and jalapeno. My ratio is approximately 90% beans 10% onion, garlic, jalapeno. I don't believe the small amount of fresh vegies in this recipe is enough to make a great ferment, I believe it's the starter culture. I have made this recipe several times with this starter and all have turned out wonderfully.

Question 3

How many times can I reuse the brine before it no longer works? Is it like a yorgurt or sour dough starter that keeps on going, or is it time limited?

Accepted Answer

There is not an easy answer to your question. You can reuse a brine so long as the salinity of the solution remains at a safe level and it continues to provide the desired flavor profile. 
The natural moisture in your product will dilute the salinity of your solution. You may start with a 3% brine, but moisture in the product will dilute this by the end of fermentation.

I routinely add a small amount from a current ferment if it has a great flavor profile to sort of kickstart the fermentation in the direction that I want.

But it seems to only last about 4-5 generations before it starts to drift beyond what I like and I need to start fresh. But this is also variable depending on the fermented item. Year to year crop variances with moisture and flavor and natural wild bacteria play a part.

Question 4

Hi Thanks for any answers. How long should it take to start fermiting? I'm 24 hrs in and it's just sitting there, no action, no bubbles, notta...

Accepted Answer

It depends on a lot of things, including temperature, how finely you've chopped the veggies, salt content, etc. I've recently discovered it also depends on how tightly the veggies are packed in the jar. I'm accustomed to being able to see bubbles within the first 24-36 hours for most of my ferments, but I recently used a different lid & weighting system that packed the veggies much more tightly. I didn't see bubbles for the entire fermentation period of about 4 days. But as soon as I removed the pusher that was packing them so tightly, there was a cascade of bubbles rising.

Department	Lighting
Manufacturer	Cutting Edge Cultures
Item model number	CEC-Starter-Culture-Vegetables-1box
ASIN	B014RRKXM6

Cutting Edge Cultures Vegetable Starter Culture, 6 Pouches, 12g

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