The Zeiger Family Homestead Blog

Wine Light

Holy cow! I took this photo to show you a nice moment of sunshine in the cabin. This occurred January 9th. Time’s gotten away from me.

Still life with wine (Photo: Mark Zeiger).

A shaft of sunlight came across the garden, through the wind break in front of the cabin and shined in one of the picture windows, catching the wine jugs just right.

I suppose I should have used this to illustrate my recent post on fermentation. The two jugs on the left are ginger perry, the two on the right are raisin “riesling.” The blue lidded container in the center is sourdough starter.

Travel-Ready Sourdough

If I may assert that sourdough is particularly associated with Alaska, then transporting sourdough may be said to be a particularly Alaskan problem.

The problem with moving sourdough is that motion and warmth activate the yeast, causing expansion. Atmospheric changes also affect it, which makes Alaska’s most common mode of travel—flight—particularly problematic. A sourdough pot, sealed enough to prevent spillage, becomes a pressure bomb under these circumstances.

I have never personally experienced a sourdough accident in my luggage. I have, however cleaned up enough spilled and dried sourdough to fear the possibility.

We have two methods of transporting sourdough starter that prevent unpleasantness, even through high altitude airline flights. Continue reading →

Wine Light

Travel-Ready Sourdough

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