How the Magic Works
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Always. Every product in the Fridge of Wonders is entirely plant-based and wheat-free — because good food should be accessible to as many people as possible.
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Every jar and bottle is made right here on Pender Island, BC, in our certified commercial kitchen. Small-scale, hands-on, and never outsourced. That's the only way we know how to do it.
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If it's listed on the website, yes. That said, the Fridge of Wonders runs with the seasons. Some products are limited to specific times of year — like our Garlic Scape Chimichurri, which only appears at the Pender Island Farmers Market when the scapes are ready. Those seasonal gems don't make it online, so the market is the only place to catch them.
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Absolutely — we love a custom project. Whether you need larger quantities for an event or something unique for corporate gifting, reach out and we'll work it out together. Pricing, options, and availability are all up for discussion.
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All Fridge of Wonders products are made in a kitchen that handles nuts, sesame, and soy. While these ingredients are not present in every product, there is a risk of cross-contact during production. Individual product labels and listings note specific allergen information — please check these carefully if you have a severe allergy or sensitivity.
If you have questions about a specific product and a specific allergen, reach out before purchasing and we'll give you a straight answer.
Have questions about fermentation, storage, ingredients, or how to get the most out of your Fridge of Wonders favourites? Here are our answers to the most common questions about Superkraut, hot sauce, dressings, preserved lemons, Dukkah, and pantry staples.
General Questions
Superkraut
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Because "sauerkraut" doesn't quite cover it. Our kraut is raw, unpasteurised, and deeply cultured — nothing like the shelf-stable stuff in the grocery aisle. We use whole vegetables, fresh roots, and bold spices that go well beyond the basic cabbage-and-salt formula. The result is a modern, nutrient-dense ferment with serious crunch, lively tang, and live microbes your gut actually notices. Super felt right.
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The best before date is 6 months from packaging, but that's not a hard expiry — it's a quality guideline. As long as the solids stay submerged in their brine (your natural preservative) and you keep it refrigerated, the kraut will remain delicious well past the printed date. The flavour deepens over time; the crunch softens slightly. Both are fine.
Golden rule: Always use a clean fork. Outside bacteria is the only thing that will genuinely spoil the party.
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Yes — from the moment you buy it. Because Superkraut is raw and alive, refrigeration is the pause button that keeps fermentation slow and stable. At room temperature the microbes wake up, produce carbon dioxide, and the jar can bubble, leak, or lose its flavour balance. Keep it cold, keep it crunchy.
One thing to avoid: Don't let it freeze. Frozen kraut goes mushy and loses a significant portion of its live culture content.
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Consistency matters more than quantity. If you're new to fermented foods, start small — one or two tablespoons a day — and give your digestive system a week or two to adjust to the influx of beneficial bacteria. From there, add more gradually until you find your balance. A little, varied, and often is the goal. A small amount daily does far more for your gut than a large amount once a week.
Health note: If you have an immune-related condition or are making significant dietary changes, check in with your healthcare practitioner first.
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You can, with one caveat: heat above about 115°F kills the live cultures. To get both the flavour and the functional benefits, add the kraut as a finishing touch — stir it in just before serving once the dish has cooled slightly. That said, even cooked sauerkraut is nutritionally strong. The fermentation process pre-digests the vegetables, making nutrients more bioavailable even after the cultures are gone. So either way, you're ahead.
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Don't pour it out. The brine is a concentrated, culture-rich liquid that makes an exceptional base for salad dressings and sauces — it delivers a complex, tangy depth that vinegar can't match. You can also drink a small amount straight as a digestive boost if you're feeling adventurous. While the jar still has vegetables in it, make sure there's always enough brine to keep them fully submerged. That's what keeps everything fresh and protected.
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Almost certainly not. What you're seeing is most likely Kahm yeast — a naturally occurring, harmless yeast that sometimes develops when the kraut is exposed to oxygen, usually because the brine level dropped or the jar was left open. It looks alarming but isn't dangerous.
Trust your senses: flat, white, and smells like its usual tangy self? That's Kahm yeast — skim it off and carry on. Fuzzy, dark-coloured, or an unpleasant off-smell? Toss it. That's a sign of cross-contamination, usually from a used utensil introducing outside bacteria. Clean fork, every time.
Hot Sauces
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Only after opening. Our hot sauce is fermented first, then heat-treated during bottling at 86°C, which makes it shelf-stable. Once the seal is broken, store it in the fridge to keep the flavours sharp and at their best.
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Not in the final bottle. The sauce starts as a live ferment — that's where the complex depth of flavour comes from — but the bottling process pasteurises it to make it shelf-stable. The fermented flavour stays; the active cultures don't survive the process. Honestly, you'd need to consume an impractical amount of hot sauce to reach a functional probiotic dose anyway.
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Yes, but it shines brightest as a finishing sauce. A few drops added just before serving will do more for a dish than the same amount cooked in from the start. The complex, fermented tang is most alive when it hits the plate fresh. Think of it as the final flourish rather than a base ingredient.
Cultured Dressings
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Because we use 100% extra virgin olive oil and refuse to substitute cheaper alternatives. Most commercial dressings are built on highly processed seed oils — canola, soybean, sunflower — extracted using heat, bleaching agents, and chemical solvents. Our EVOO is cold-pressed: the olives are crushed, the oil is spun out, and that's it.
Beyond quality, it's a functional choice. EVOO is rich in polyphenols — antioxidants that support beneficial gut bacteria — and oleic acid that helps soothe the digestive tract. Seed oils high in Omega-6 fatty acids can contribute to gut inflammation. We'd rather charge a fair price for the real thing than offer a bargain built on ingredients we wouldn't use at home.
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That solidifying is actually the best quality signal we can give you. Real, unrefined monounsaturated fats — like those in genuine olive oil — naturally thicken when cold. Heavily refined or polyunsaturated oils stay liquid regardless of temperature. When you see that golden solid in your bottle, you're looking at proof of the real thing. Set it on the counter for a few minutes, give it a vigorous shake, and it's ready to go.
Dukkah
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Completely fine — just a little humid. Living on the West Coast means moisture occasionally finds its way in, especially if the jar has been open during a long meal. Real toasted nuts and seeds absorb humidity and lose their snap over time.
The fix is easy: spread the Dukkah on a baking sheet and toast it in a low oven at about 150°C for a few minutes until it smells fragrant again. Let it cool before serving and it'll be back to its crispy, aromatic self.
Preserved Lemons & Paste
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Same answer as the Superkraut: almost certainly Kahm yeast, a harmless naturally occurring yeast that develops when a live ferment meets oxygen. It looks more alarming than it is.
Use your senses. Flat, white, and smells bright and lemony? Skim it off and carry on. Fuzzy, dark, or off-smelling? Toss it — that's cross-contamination from an unclean utensil. Always use a clean spoon and make sure the lemons stay submerged in their brine between uses.