New home, new cultures?

I am moving from Indiana to New Mexico. I presently have a ginger bug and a sourdough cultures going.
Should I try to move them in a cooler or just let them go and start new cultures in the new environment ?

I would probably take them with me. For me, part of the fun is allowing the culture to grow and evolve over time, it's exposed to different yeasts & environmental variables. It seems to make it a little more personal, I guess. Plus, it could be interesting to see if it changes in regards to taste, texture, etc. as it grows in the new environment.

I'd move mine, or at least my sourdough starter. Mr./Ms. McBubbleface is a bit like a part of the family at this point. :-)

But our ginger bug? More of a sulky teenager. I might think hard about accidentally "forgetting" him....

L Allen wrote:I'd move mine, or at least my sourdough starter. Mr./Ms. McBubbleface is a bit like a part of the family at this point.

But our ginger bug? More of a sulky teenager. I might think hard about accidentally "forgetting" him....

My starters have names, too: "Bread-y Mercury" is the sweeter one I feed like a friendship bread starter and "Yeaster Bunny" is the more traditional, flour/water one I use for savory breads.

I haven't ever heard of a ginger bug? What is it, and what's it used for?

A ginger bug is just shredded organic ginger, water and sugar that you let ferment and use to make ginger ale.
You replenish it with more shredded ginger and sugar.

I have not named my cultures but now I’m going to have to. Lol

Kc Simmons wrote:

My starters have names, too: "Bread-y Mercury"....

Bready Mercury...love it!

Ginger bug can also be used as a starter for all sorts of home-brewed lacto-carbonated sodas. If my ginger bug gets lively enough this week, I'm going to try this recipe for watermelon soda:

https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/comments/hjk1j2/experimental_watermelon_ginger_bug_soda/

Thank you for clarifying! Guess I'm going to have to get some organic ginger and get my own "bug" started. Homemade ginger ale and other sodas sounds wonderful!

i use (maybe slightly modified) ginger bugs to start mead ferments. despite warnings that the yeast in bugs wouldn't ferment something wine-strength to dryness, i've never had a problem with that in 90+ batches. i start new ginger bugs very frequently though, and wouldn't be tempted to try to move one. they don't last well for my purposes, and i can get a new one ready to roll in about a week.

a good sourdough starter would totally be worth moving though.

Oh I have to try the watermelon recipe!

I love watermelon but Im the only one in the house that does and since I cant eat a whole one I just never buy it anymore.