Fungus and yeast

Some people have concerns that fungus and yeast could contaminate the ferment. Some health authorities suggest that any fermentation that includes yeast should be avoided. It is your decision, but my view is that if you ferment your vegetables with salt in a clean or sterilised jar, and are careful with hygiene in general (as we always should be when we are working with foods), as well as making sure the process happens in an anaerobic environment, this should not be a problem at all. Remember that few bacteria, apart from the lactic acid bacteria we are after, like the naturally acidic and salty environment of fermentation. If you are worried, you could use a little bit of probiotic powder in your vegetable ferments as a starter. This controls the ferment, in that the bacteria in the probiotic powder is the main bacteria that will grow. I don’t add probiotic powder to my general ferments, but many people decide to do this.