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Just nailed my first batch of sauerkraut after 3 fails
I finally figured out why my sauerkraut kept turning out mushy and gross. Turns out I was packing the cabbage way too loose in the jar. I watched a video from some lady in Ohio and she said you gotta really cram it down so no air pockets get trapped. I did that this time and after 2 weeks it came out crispy and sour just right. Also learned the hard way that too much salt kills the ferment so stick to 2% of the cabbage weight. The store bought stuff tastes like nothing compared to this. Has anyone else dealt with a batch going slimy for the same reason?
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bettyfox27d ago
Agree completely, that loose packing mistake got me twice before I finally wised up.
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alicecooper27d agoMost Upvoted
Yeah, does everyone have to learn that lesson the hard way? I packed my sleeping bag way too loose on a rainy camping trip and spent the whole first night freezing because my bag was soaked. The second time I thought I'd learned, but I got lazy again and ended up with a crushed loaf of bread and a broken jar of sauce. It's embarrassing how long it took me to just take the extra two minutes to do it right. Solidarity on the struggle.
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lauras8319d ago
And the slimy thing is such a specific kind of gross too, like it's not just mushy it's got that weird almost slimy texture that makes you question everything. After my third fail I read that if you don't pack it tight enough the air pockets let bad bacteria grow and that's what makes it slimy instead of that nice lactic acid ferment. I started using a wooden tamper to really ram it down in layers and now I even push down on the lid for the first few days just to make sure everything stays submerged. The salt thing is so important too, I weigh my cabbage on a kitchen scale now and use exactly 2% because I had one batch that was basically inedible from being too salty.
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