Sauerkraut Delivered

Shipping a live ferment is a solved problem, and the solution is less dramatic than people expect.

No dry ice, no styrofoam. Fermented vegetables are preserved by their own acidity and salt — refrigeration slows the ferment down, it is not what keeps the food safe. They travel without it for days and even weeks. What we do send is a curbside-recyclable insulated liner and a cold pack sized to the box, which keeps the jars from swinging through a hot truck.

We ship Monday and Tuesday only. Anything handed over later in the week risks sitting in a carrier warehouse across the weekend, which is where cold-chain problems actually happen. Orders placed Wednesday through Sunday go out the following Monday, and transit is typically two to five days from California.

The cold pack will often be soft when it lands and the jars may be at room temperature. That is expected. Put them in the fridge and they keep about six months.

Boxes of four jars and up ship free anywhere in the continental US. One to three jars ship at a flat $11.95 — which is most of the reason the four-jar box exists.