Transporting Starter Culture

[Coreymacc]

I have decided to dive into fermentation of sausage because of the poor luck I had with encapsulated citric acid. My question is, I will be driving about an hr to pick up the culture at the supplier. It says they keep it frozen, should I be bringing a small cooler with ice packs to keep it cool. Or am I over thinking it. I plan to make this my last stop for the day so I'll be heading directly home and put it into the freezer.

Any thoughts on this from the veterans?

Thanks
Corey

 

[chopsaw]

When I got mine in the mail , it was just in the box with some other stuff . I store it at -3 degrees .
I'm no expert though .

 

[Dave in AZ]

I have decided to dive into fermentation of sausage because of the poor luck I had with encapsulated citric acid. My question is, I will be driving about an hr to pick up the culture at the supplier. It says they keep it frozen, should I be bringing a small cooler with ice packs to keep it cool. Or am I over thinking it. I plan to make this my last stop for the day so I'll be heading directly home and put it into the freezer.

Any thoughts on this from the veterans?

Thanks
Corey

Like Chopsaw said, when you purchase it online it just ships ambient temp. The freeze dried stuff is fine at room temp, however for long term storage and extended viability, you should keep it in freezer. So a few hours in air-conditioned car is fine. They may not even be storing it frozen where you're buying it from?

On the other hand, a small 6 pack cooler, it doesn't take up much space, and would help if you turn car off in the sun and go inside for lunch ;)

 

[zwiller]

Yeah, overthinking a bit. A cooler/ice is not a bad idea just no need to get liquid nitrogen for it.

On a similar tangent, the stuff lasts longer than they say it does too.

Congrats! I think you will like it. Ferment seems really difficult until you do it. What culture you go with? Got dextrose?

 

[Coreymacc]

Unfortunately the selection Halfords has is limited. They have the mondostart stuff so Im gonna go with mondostart classic, says its good for rapid acidification. Im planning on starting with summer sausage, so just a 24hr ferment. I picked up some ph strips so hopefully that gives me an idea how things are going.

Just got the fermentation chamber dialed in so once I get the supplies, nothing holding me back but fear and common sense.

Corey

 

[indaswamp]

Looking forward to your salami. Post some pics of your first run....

 

[Coreymacc]

One other question is I may, i am gonna have to do this sausage on a long weekend as I work all week. I can grind and stuff, get things fementing on the first day, then 24hrs later hopefully smoke/cook. Hypothetically if the fermentation pushes me past a reasonable time to cook on the second day, can I just pull the sausage and refrigerate? Will this stop the fementation? So then smoke on the 3rd day? Just want a plan A and B if needed.

Thanks for the info
Corey

 

[indaswamp]

One other question is I may, i am gonna have to do this sausage on a long weekend as I work all week. I can grind and stuff, get things fementing on the first day, then 24hrs later hopefully smoke/cook. Hypothetically if the fermentation pushes me past a reasonable time to cook on the second day, can I just pull the sausage and refrigerate? Will this stop the fementation? So then smoke on the 3rd day? Just want a plan A and B if needed.

Thanks for the info
Corey

There is no need to smoke right away. Actually your results will be better if you wait until the salami has gone through the dripping phase. This happens as the pH drops and the water is not held as strongly by the meat and begins to form drops on the surface.

Yes, fermentation will slow to a crawl below about 53*F, though there are some robust strains that can continue fermentation at lower temperatures. Fermentation will continue until all the sugar is used up or a pH of around 4.5 is reached. Below that and the acid inhibits further acid production. Be aware that higher temps. up to around 130*F will wake the bacteria up and they will speed up again and pick up where they left off. So if you do not want a very sour salami, then accurate sugar additions are imperative.

 

[Coreymacc]

There is no need to smoke right away. Actually your results will be better if you wait until the salami has gone through the dripping phase. This happens as the pH drops and the water is not held as strongly by the meat and begins to form drops on the surface.

Yes, fermentation will slow to a crawl below about 53*F, though there are some robust strains that can continue fermentation at lower temperatures. Fermentation will continue until all the sugar is used up or a pH of around 4.5 is reached. Below that and the acid inhibits further acid production. Be aware that higher temps. up to around 130*F will wake the bacteria up and they will speed up again and pick up where they left off. So if you do not want a very sour salami, then accurate sugar additions are imperative.

Thanks! Good info.
Corey

 

[Coreymacc]

Bit of an update, I had some time after work today so I went over to get my starter culture. They actually package all the cultures they sell in an insulated bubble wrap package with a cold pack inside, similar to the sports ones you twist and pop and they get cold. I was pretty impressed actually. No extra charge for the packaging. If you are in Canada, specifically Edmonton Alberta, I recommend Halfords Extreme for your Sausage making supplies. They are excellent.

Corey

 

[Cajuneric]

Bit of an update, I had some time after work today so I went over to get my starter culture. They actually package all the cultures they sell in an insulated bubble wrap package with a cold pack inside, similar to the sports ones you twist and pop and they get cold. I was pretty impressed actually. No extra charge for the packaging. If you are in Canada, specifically Edmonton Alberta, I recommend Halfords Extreme for your Sausage making supplies. They are excellent.

Corey

Hey Corey, Can't wait to read about your journey. Just so you know when I buy starter cultures I have them shipped to Latin America. Their journey takes almost 5-7 days outside of refrigeration. in all the years of doing this I've never had any issues with my cultures. I do store them in the coldest part of my freezer also (in a vacuum sealed bag). When stored correctly, you can almost ignore the "Best used by date". I have some cultures that have been "expired" for 3-4 years and still work perfectly, as if they were new.

 

[Coreymacc]

Hey Corey, Can't wait to read about your journey. Just so you know when I buy starter cultures I have them shipped to Latin America. Their journey takes almost 5-7 days outside of refrigeration. in all the years of doing this I've never had any issues with my cultures. I do store them in the coldest part of my freezer also (in a vacuum sealed bag). When stored correctly, you can almost ignore the "Best used by date". I have some cultures that have been "expired" for 3-4 years and still work perfectly, as if they were new.

Definitely going to keep the forum up on how this progresses. Im in the process of installing a grease trap on my large wash sink so the sausage making is on hold for a week or so. I figured I better get a trap sooner than later because I have a septic tank and don't want any grease getting in there. More to come when the trap is finished and funtioning

Corey