This time of year can always be a little dicey for we, the fermenters, unless of course you live in a place that maintains a relatively stable climate year round. The four seasons are one of my joys and, though I’ve lived in lovely places with temperate climates, I greatly prefer to mark the time of year by the changing of the trees. So here I sit, admiring the fall foliage while simultaneously feeling frustration that my kombucha, consistently “boiling” for many months now has decided to take a break and engage in what I like to call the “fall fizzle.” My kefir, my dear, beloved, healing, milk kefir is fidgeting uncomfortably in its jar. Rather than settling into its normal thick consistency in 22 hours, it has decided that it will smell like kefir at 22 hours, but look exactly like milk. This can be frustrating when you are making two gallons of kefir for an event. I wanted to give myself plenty of time to brew that much, but also didn’t want to let it sit in the fridge for too long and get too acidic to be a crowd pleaser. Tricky business when mother nature is changing your world on an hourly basis.
In short, my microbe buddies are adjusting to the change of season just as I am. I keep heading out for my dog walk in gym capris, only to find that even a sprint won’t keep my bare calves warm. I have to warm-up more before my morning workout, and I find myself abusing the earth by staying in the hot shower quite a bit too long.
I try to ease my microbes’ pain by moving them to warmer spots near the heating vent and in the (turned off) oven, but inevitably, they need a little adjustment period. I try to give them the freedom, space and time to adjust without freaking out too much when they don’t have the exact texture, flavor or bubbliness that I would normally expect from them. It’s the nature of eating living foods. I joke sometimes, giving my cultures names, sending them to new homes with elaborate goodbyes or, um, talking to them when I put them into their new medium. But I think sometimes anthropomorphizing them serves a purpose: it reminds me that they are alive, and that we are inter-dependent. I give them regular and proper care and they keep me healthy, sane and nourished in return. So just as I would cut some slack to a colleague moving houses or a friend going through a break-up, I let my microbes off the hook for their less than stellar products as they move through the adjustment period. It’s the only kind way to treat our friends.
Sharon says
I enjoyed reading this and only wish I could come to one of your demonstrations sometime! This is probably what was going on with my toddler ginger bug — who is now growing into a fine adult ginger bug, lol.
Amanda says
That’s great, Sharon! Glad to hear that things are better with your microbial ginger baby! My microbes are beginning to adjust to the cooler climes as well. Defintely had a rough going for a while.
Margo, Thrift at Home says
I’m so glad you pointed this out! I’m relatively new to fermenting and I thought maybe I had killed my kefir grains this week! So, I’ll try to baby them along and keep them a little warmer than usual. Thanks for the tip.
Amanda says
So glad it helped, Margo! Mine are finally starting to adjust. Here’s hoping we don’t get another warm/cold/warm spell to confuse them again!
Angelina says
You might try the top of your fridge as a warm spot. My kefir has been overactive lately, and I couldn’t figure out why, until I realized that the top of the fridge has a little “microclimate” (and The Art of Fermentation helped me figure that out!). Granted, my fridge is ancient, and this might not hold true for newer fridges.
Amanda says
Oh yes, Angelina, I’m with you! I definitely use the top of my fridge, the inside of my oven and other little warm spots around the house. For my kombucha, which can tolerate more heat than pickles, I sometimes use a seed starting mat when it gets really cold! Whatever works is my motto!
Frederique says
Awww! as a microbiologist I always feel that way about bacteria. I just told my boss today that our reactor was not yet producing biogas because the bacterial community needed a little more time. He told me “well that makes sense”, and I breathed easier as I know they would be producing results soon enough. I “mother” my reactors all the time and have been mothering my saurkraut lately the way one would mother a teenager – letting them do their thing no matter how long it takes and stopping the poking around the jars to see where they were at. I still have fractal pickles in the fridge, so if I only get my saurkraut for xmas, then so be it 😉
We should indeed be kind, as they are indeed kind to us 😉
Amanda says
How lovely! Thanks for sharing.
Anne says
Amanda
I was at the class at the Arb a couple of weeks ago. I made the shredded rutabaga ferment you sampled. All was good until I took it out yesterday to taste and realized there was no liquid – at all. There was a little discoloring at the edges, but smells good, veggies don’t look dry and no apparent funkiness. Do you think it’s safe? Should there always be liquid in a veggie ferment (like with sauerkraut or kimchi)?
Thanks
Anne
Amanda says
Hi Anne,
You’re fine. I would try to eat them relatively quickly, since they will go bad (mushy/moldy/etc) much more quickly without sufficient brine, but if they smell good, you’re good to go. If your house is particularly dry or hot, you may need to check brine levels and do a little refill to keep things submerged, but definitely no worries if they’ve been a little dry for a couple days.