Spokane Food Blog

If you do decide this is invalid, you can always cultivate your own wild yeasts. Although it would take a couple of weeks :\.

I’m hesitant to say it’s okay as I’m digging around online for ways to go local with yeast and found a site where you can make your own yeast from fruit in 2-3 days. http://originalyeast.blogspot.com/
It’s a tough challenge, I say we stay strict considering we’re not wavering on cheeses and meats.

Why do people want yeast? Is it for beer or bread or something else? I’m just curious if it is something somebody really needs in their diet for this challenge. Ya know, going without yeast might be beneficial to some. Look up the candida diet:
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/popularhealthdiets/a/candidadiet.htm

I don’t bake and don’t plan on using yeast.

I think the question to answer is at what point do seeds or yeast become local or wild. Many plants we grow in this region are not native. Therefore the seeds did not originate here. However, we are saying we can eat from these plants if they were grown here. So yeast too has a similar debate. Rachel made wine/mead from yeast that was not originally produced in this region (just like some seeds). But over the past year, her yeast grew, so is that the same as eating these plants that are grown from seeds not native to this area? Likewise, you can make yeast from plants that were not native to this area and call it wild yeast.

Really you can debate these issues until we get down to what was produce in this region during the first civilizations. Since then, the terrain, elements, etc. have changed significantly, so that too is impossible for the present day debate. (visual example: I worked on a PPNA excavation in Jordan and found in what is the desert now used to be filled with sea life.)

Also interesting scroll to the nature of yeast: http://www.honeycreek.us/wild_yeast.php

I don’t care if we use yeast or not but I want a definite yes or no if we can or can’t, rules in contests should be known so everyone can play with a clear conscience.

If we decide the yeast in local wine is ok, I’d still be careful that you check with the brewer about what they used to sweeten their wine. We brew our own wine and we always use cane sugar in it, which would definitely disqualify it.

Personally, I’ve already decided not to bother with the yeast thing, and I’ll be fine for 5 days without beer or wine. At this point it’s a bit too late to culture your own yeast anyways.

These are great points. Doesn’t matter to me either way then.

Which local winery is that? Please don’t say China Bend…

ding ding Crystal!!!

Becky: I want wine! For cooking and drinking, but it looks like that’s a no this time around.

I am still torn. Clearly, I don’t know enough about yeast. If it is thought of the same as a seed not from this region that turned into a plant we are eating, then it seems like it must be allowable.

Can more people give some feedback.

Thanks!

I don’t know enough about yeast either. But it seems that if you can cultivate your own yeast from the wild yeasties in your home or whatever, that should be fine. I don’t think that wine would be OK though, as the yeast used for fermentation is not local. Unless there’s something I’m missing?

I say if you’ve cultivated yeast from your own home food experiments, it should be allowed, following the logic of the seeds-of-outside-origin rule. And that’s how I cast my vote.

And to clarify, we have yet to find an acceptable prebottled wine because of the yeast/sulfites issue, correct?

Yeast decision: Yes, you can use it in the samples sited in the poll above.

I did a bit of research about what other Locavore contests were doing about yeast. Turns out we are a bit more hardcore than most b/c they use all sorts of products outside of their regions.

So, I called 411 to the Columbia University Masters of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program. I explained the challenge and the question about yeast. Their input, if you are going to allow seeds grown in our region that originated from outside the 100 mile radius, you should also allow yeast to be used on the same level.

So China Bend is in?

I say yes!

China Bend is a Yes.

Vino is out of stock. Huckleberries has it. The employees of the winery have been very helpful and nice about sharing what they put in their wine. Great customer service and response to emails. I mean they could have thought I was crazy asking but instead they were really excited.