Vegetable Starter Culture, 6 Pouches, 12g

I can't say enough good things about this product...I was fermenting with just salt as many books will tell you to and sometimes had great results but sometimes did not. This seems to foolproof my ferments...after 2 or 3 days they are bubbling like crazy. I have less yeast build-up on top and crunchier vegetables. I often just use a fourth or half a packet depending on the size of the jar. For my large crock I use half. This has worked wonders for kimchi and carrot sticks but I've also tried it with grape tomatoes and green beans. I believe using this also shortens the fermenting time, I don't leave my ferments out more then 1-2 weeks before putting in the fridge whereas before I was leaving them out much longer waiting for the tang and bubbles and sometimes ending up with mushy results. As the ferments sit in the fridge for a week or so more they continue to build up pressure so I have to let air out. Which means they are continuing to ferment even after being in the fridge. One of the lids literally popped off and flew into the air as I unscrewed it from the jar after a couple weeks of being refrigerated. There are so many things that affect fermenting- climate, temperature, water, ect so it can be tricky but these really really help the end result. Fermented foods have done wonders for my family's health and I'll continue to use this product.

Excellent in every way. I’ve already ordered more!

This dashi is delicious and so convenient. I always have it available for a quick nutritious snack or soup base.

I use these when I don't have any prior juice from the kimchi I made before. Old Kimchi juice is reusable in making a new pot of kimchi. This culture is helpful

I have used this starter culture before as well as Caldwells. I know you aren’t SUPPOSED to need it for sauerkraut, as the bacteria are already present on the cabbage, but I cut my cabbage with a knife. I don’t use a food processor or a mandolin, so it’s an ordeal. I would hate to put all that effort in and have something go wrong.I look at this starter culture as a little insurance policy. And I don’t follow the directions. A whole package for 5 lbs of vegetables? No way. I can get several batches of sauerkraut out of one packet. I don’t dissolve it in water. I just sprinkle it over the cabbage as I’m shredding it. Cut up some cabbage, sprinkle salt on it, sprinkle culture starter on it. Cut some more cabbage, repeat. The starter will dissolve in the liquid released from the cabbage. Easy peasy.Just make sure you close up the packet and keep the contents dry. I fold it over and clip it.I’ve read some reviews where people complain about the cost. If you use it how I do, you’ll get many more batches per packet and the cost will be lower. They are bacteria. They will multiply on their own. The cabbage has its own bacteria. The starter is just a little extra insurance.

I wanted to try thing because I needed a way to "re-innoculate" my cabbage, since I've been washing all my vegetables with dish detergent, in part due to the pandemic, but in part due to the increase, in recent years, of weird infectious organisms being found in vegetables, and making people ill. That process of washing makes pickling of any sort problematic, since pickling relies upon the organisms that occur naturally on vegetables.This Vegetable Starter Kit does solve that. But it does make a sauerkraut that tastes a bit different from the "natural" sauerkraut I had made in the past. It's NOT that it tastes "bad", so don't get me wrong on that - it's simply a bit different. It also does definitely improve, in my opinion, over time. I gave it about twice as long resting in the "cool dark place" ((on the floor of my pantry, with a cover over it)) than recommended, because that's just the time it took to appeal to my taste buds; then it went into the refrigerator where, as the instructions state, it continues to "mature" --- it gets more tart, which I like better, and tastes more like "raw" sauerkraut.I have not tried it for pickling cucumbers, because my cucumber plants dies before I got this, and I haven't been able to find any pickling cukes in the stores here...

I prefer to use a culture starter culturing vegetables instead of using only salt. Six days on the counter and they are ready for the fridge. This is a quality product and worth what it costs. One packet goes farther than one batch of food.Cultured veggies keep up to 9 months in the fridge and the healthy bacterial process produces higher nutritional content in the end product than the food had by itself. Fascinating and worth looking into for overall health, plus it is easy.

I have some experience with fermentation, though this is my first time fermenting vegetables. I made one batch from a large head of cabbage separated into two jars with regular lids and no fermentation weights. even with these sub-optimal conditions, within just over 48 hours I already have a great tasting sauerkraut! Clean, pungent, classic sauerkraut aroma. In one jar I added some garlic cloves and the aroma was better and much stronger than the plain cabbage.Feels healthy and rejuvenating, like a wave of pure life force energy spreading through the digestive tract, burning through the crud and revitalizing everything. The acids seems to leave a clean feeling the mouth as well. Its a good idea to rinse your mouth with baking soda if eating this with no other foods, to neutralize the acids to protect your teeth.The price a is a bit high, in my opinion, at 22/6 = almost $4 per batch, it will often cost more than the vegetables.I plan to use juice from previews brews to inoculate new ones to cut down on costs. re-using it four times bring the price under $1 per batch.