Bactoferm

[andyrees]

Does anyone know where I can order Bactoferm in the UK

[Habanero Smoker]

Here is one site you can order it from, and they have several different cultures.

Bactoferm Cultures

[Quarlow]

Huh I was going to say get a hold of Habs, he will know. But low and behold he is right on it. He's the man.

[Habanero Smoker]

That was just luck that I still have a memory. :) I believe Manxman first posted that sited for sausage making people in his part of the world.

[3rensho]

Do keep in mind though that many if not most commercial starter cultures sole objective is to drop the pH to 5 or under asap.  Use those and you end up with that sour tasting crap that you buy in the store.  No character at all.  There is a delicate balance between giving flavor producing bacteria a chance to grow before the pH drops to 5 or less when they can no longer live.  This is what distinguishes excellent, carefully crafted salumi from their mass produced counterparts.  See Ruhlman or better yet Bertolli for details.  When I make salami I use bacterial mixtures from Italian salami that are head and shoulders above the commercial products.  It all depends on whether wants to make a quality product or simply duplicate the *ç%"ç% from Safeway, et al. that most people unfortunately find acceptable.  It is worth the effort.

[Habanero Smoker]

I see your point, but I'm not sure if I fully agree. Yes! It is true that most dry sausage makers have their own strain of bacteria, some areas are favored for their dry sausage because of the bacteria that naturally grows in the area,  and many of them are copyright, but for the home dry sausage maker the commercial strain mixes are good. 

Bactoferm comes in many strain mixtures, with F-RM-52 being the fastest growing (as far as I understand), but is not listed on that website. That strain mixture I admit is geared towards fast growth and fermentation. I have used that mixture and obtained very good results; and they were far above Safeway et al. Their other strains act much slower, give different levels of acidification from profound to mild.