Q: When I opened my jar of fermented foods it fizzed and exploded similarly to champagne! Is this okay?
A: Yes! In fact, that means your raw cultured food is alive and well. The bacteria that causes the vegetables to ferment and fizz are the same beneficial bacteria that make it so health-giving. In fact, we looked up "ferment" synonyms and here are some we discovered: "acidify, be violent, boil, brew, bubble, churn, concoct, dissolve, effervesce, evaporate, excite, fester, fizz, foam, foment, froth, heat, incite, inflame, leaven, moil, overflow, provoke, ripen, rise, rouse, seethe, simmer, sour, sparkle, stir up, work" Ahhh, microbes. Eat and enjoy!"
Q: My jar of kraut leaked. What's up with that?
A: This a raw product. We do not can or seal it in any way so if it warms up or becomes over excited it may leak. Besides possibly being annoying or making a mess this tendency to leak causes no harm.
Q: Are there dairy products in your Lacto-Fermented foods?
A: No! The word "Lacto" refers to Lactobacillus, one of the bacteria hard at work preserving your veggies in your kraut! There is no whey or dairy products in our fermented foods.
Q: Is there vinegar in your products?
A: Absolutely not. Fermented foods are often called pickled, which they are, but pickling can be done in two ways--vinegar or traditional brine. We use only brine to create that tangy flavor in our products.
Q: I didn't notice that your fermented foods were supposed to be kept in a refrigerator and they've been in my pantry! Is it okay to eat them?
A: Yes! Ideally, they should always be kept in the fridge but it's hard to go wrong with fermented foods. The cool temps of the fridge simply calm the little bacteria and slow fermentation so if your kraut sits out on the counter or pantry for a few days it is just getting a little extra sour. You will know if it has gone bad because it will have a mushy texture or a moldy top. If it does have mold you can simply scrape the top moldy layer off and eat the rest, if you're okay with that.
Q: I just found a jar of your kraut in the back of my fridge. It's been there awhile is it okay to eat?
A: Yes! Fermented foods last a good long time seeing that they are not exposed to oxygen. In fact, we believe that aged kraut is quite delicious. You will know if your fermented food has gone bad because it will either have an undesirable texture (mushy) or it will begin to grow mold (you can just scrape that off...).
Q: How long will my ferments keep?A: They will seriously keep a year or more. Seriously. They do not go bad unless exposed to oxygen or when not under their own brine. A little trick we like is to store your jars upside down in the fridge in order to seal up your jar and get maximum life of the product.
Q: Do you take your jars back to reuse them?
A: If you like you can bring back your clean, label-free jars without lid back to us. We’ll re-pack them. Thank you very much!