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  • Made specifically for fermenting vegetables.
Now dairy free!
  • Made specifically for fermenting vegetables.
Now dairy free!

Caldwell's Starter Culture

Selected Price: Temporarily out of stock.
Shipped to you:
By ground, anywhere in the continental US. For other locations, please contact us.
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Product Description

Caldwell's Starter Culture for Vegetables

caldwellstartercultureseals.jpg

Free Guide: Getting Started With Fermented Foods

The original starter culture developed specifically for fermenting vegetables! This unique starter culture will help you make your own delicious raw cultured vegetables at home. It delivers the right active bacteria for vegetable fermentation, helping to produce consistently successful results, and to enhance flavor and crispness. Vegan, non-GMO, and dairy-free.

Caldwell's have been producing fermented vegetables for over 15 years, working with the Canadian Food Research and Development Center to research the science of lacto fermentation. This unique in-depth knowledge of the precise types, quantities, and ratios of bacterial strains has resulted in an efficient starter culture specifically developed for vegetables.

Watch our video and see how easy it is to make your own delicious, healthy cultured veggies!

Box of 6 pouches. Each pouch prepares 4.5 lbs of raw vegetables. Click here for detailed instructions.

Caldwell's Starter Culture Ingredients:
Organic sugar (as carrier), active lactic bacteria (Lb.plantarum, Ln. mesenteroides, Pc. acidilactici).

boxes-cr.jpg Shipped to you by ground, anywhere in the continental US.
For other locations, please contact us.

Starter Culture FAQ

Question

I WANT TO MAKE SOME CULTURED FOODS, BUT DON’T KNOW HOW. CAN YOU HELP?

We believe the best place to start is with the correct starter. We offer starters specific to the type of foods you want to culture or ferment.

Each box of starter culture includes easy to follow directions. We also have some instructional videos on the product pages. Just scroll down on the Product Description until you see the video, or past the reviews section to the Product Videos link.

Question

DO YOU HAVE ANY STARTERS THAT ARE DAIRY FREE?

Yes! Caldwell’s starter to ferment vegetables doesn’t contain any dairy. Other dairy free starters are the sourdough breads, water kefir grains, and the kombucha scoby. Please note that these starters may have been produced in a facility that also makes dairy starters.

Cabbage

SOME STARTERS USE THE TERM LACTO-FERMENT. ARE YOU SURE THERE ISN’T ANY DAIRY IN THE STARTER?

The word lacto comes from the name lactobacilli, which biologists have given to a broad family of friendly bacteria. Some of these bacteria are specific to milk, such as in yogurt and cheeses; others are specific to vegetables, and these do not contain dairy. They have one characteristic in common: they transform sugars into a beneficial form of lactic acid. During the fermentation process the friendly lactobacilli bacteria break down the sugars to produce a special form of lactic acid that acts as a natural preservative.

Scale

OTHER THAN A PLEASANT SOUR OR TART TASTE, WHY MAKE AND EAT FERMENTED FOODS?

It has been said that up to 85% of the body’s immune system is located in the gut. The entire surface of our digestive system is covered with bacteria. These microbes can be divided into 3 groups: beneficial, transitional and opportunistic flora. Maintaining a healthy colony of beneficial probiotic flora is absolutely essential to good health. Fermented foods help to provide this balance.

Making your own fermented foods is a fun and satisfying way to take charge of your health. You choose the ingredients; veggies from your yard or the farmer’s market, organic flour to make sourdough bread, pastured organic milk and cream for yogurt and milk kefir. Homemade fermented foods are not only good for health; they taste good too.

Thermometer

I’VE HAD MY STARTER IN A CUPBOARD FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. IS IT STILL GOOD?

Most likely it will be fine to use. Below is a general guide on how to store starters.

Kefir grains are dehydrated and can be kept in this state:

  • At room temperature: 12 to 18 months
  • In the refrigerator: 18+ months
  • In the freezer: not recommended

Yogurt starters

  • At room temperature: 3 to 4 months
  • In the refrigerator: 6 to 9 months unopened
  • In the freezer: 12 months unopened

Sourdough starters

  • At room temperature: 12 months
  • In the refrigerator: 12+ months
  • In the freezer: 12+ months

Vegetable starter

  • At room temperature: not recommended
  • In the refrigerator: 6 months
  • In the freezer: 12 months

Information provided in this communication is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. This is general information for educational purposes only. The information provided is not a substitute for medical or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call consultation or the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. Wise Choice Marketing Inc is not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or any other information, services or product you obtain through Wise Choice Marketing Inc

Other Details

Note:
Manufactured in a facility that occasionally handles wheat, soy, milk, eggs, and seafood.

Product Videos

Making Cultured Vegetables at Home.mov 08:02

This is an instructional video showing how to make lacto fermented vegetable at home. An effective starter culture, when used correctly, helps to control the fermentation process. The Caldwell starter provides an ideal environment for the fermentation to start, and also stabilizes the process, resulting in consistently successful fermentation. This starter is the result of 15 years of research and development in commercial organic fermentation, and contains the correct bacteria strains in the ideal proportions, thus maximizing the chances of success.
It is important to dissolve the starter thoroughly, and then mix the starter solution well with the vegetables. This will ensure that the bacteria are well distributed throughout the mixture. For further information, and to purchase the starter or our delicious raw cultured vegetables, see www.caldwellbiofermentation.com.

  • Making Culture...
    This is an instructional video showing how to make lacto ferme...
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