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Asked by water6jp ·June 25, 2022 ·16.3k readers

Does LABS need refrigeration

Hello, I'm live about 40 miles inland from San Francisco and the temperature here is high 90's -triple digits. My question is does LABS need to be refrigerated? My appreciation for all input.

lads-refrigerate

Top answer

dagoofman · Jun 26, 2022
no - if super saturated it can be stored in a cool dark place all KNF solutions are shelf stable - if unsaturated with brown sugar then yes store in fridge KNF is about global natural farming and not all places have access to refrigeration so Master Cho developed his process so that it would work anywhere on the planet so that it could be available for everyone to use i store all my solutions in a tote on a closed front porch yr around i live in the NE USA we can get highs of 98f in the summer and lows of -15f in winter, Drake is in Hawaii i believe he keeps all his in a poll barn shed thing outside Happy Experimenting

From the KNF library

From the KNF library Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books · Sep 2026 · 6 sources

Refrigeration is one option. Sugar is the other. The University of Hawaii fact sheet says the finished LAB liquid can be used right away, kept in a refrigerator, or kept "in a cool, dark place with the addition of brown sugar." (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 13)

  • Strain off the solids. Mix in equal parts sugar to make it shelf stable at room temperature. (KNF Demystified, p. 31)
  • The fact sheet says to add an equal amount of brown sugar by weight if you can't refrigerate. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 15)
  • Cho's slides say to store it up to a year in a cool place out of direct sunlight. (Cho's Solutions, p. 19)
  • Cho's recipe book says to keep the serum where the temperature changes little. (Cho, Recipe, p. 55)
  • Unsugared LAB can be kept refrigerated for 6 months. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 15)

Cho's theory book says the serum can be stored in a refrigerator, or stored longer at room temperature. (Cho, Theory, p. 79) The fact sheet is stricter. It says any culture not used within a week should be refrigerated or sugared. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 15)

The library says nothing about storing LAB through triple-digit heat. Drake would need to see where you plan to keep it.

Sources

  • p. 13 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “in a cool, dark place with the addition of brown sugar.”
  • p. 15 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “If refrigeration is not possible, add an equal amount (by weight) of brown sugar to the LAB culture and keep”
  • p. 31 KNF Demystified · “mix equal parts of sugar into the remaining liquid to make it shelf stable at room temperature.”
  • p. 19 Cho's Solutions · “Store for up to a year in a cool place out of”
  • p. 55 Cho, Recipe · “Keep the refined LAB serum where there is little temperature change”
  • p. 79 Cho, Theory · “You can store it in a refrigerator, or can store longer in room temperature”

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