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Serious question, did I mess up my first kraut batch for nothing? | Fermentation Station - Opinions Matter

Serious question, did I mess up my first kraut batch for nothing?

Ngl, I spent 2 months making sauerkraut with this crappy mason jar setup and it always came out mushy. Last week I noticed a friend's batch at a cookout in Portland, it had that perfect crunch. He told me I needed to weigh down the cabbage with a brine bag, not just a ziplock full of water. After 4 tries I never thought of that. Has anyone else had a simple fix like that click way later than it should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby4505mo ago

Bro, hold up. I actually disagree with the brine bag being the magic fix here. I've done a ton of batches and honestly, a ziplock full of water works just fine if you push out the air properly and use a real cabbage weight on top. Mushiness is usually from bad salt ratios or letting it sit too warm, not the bag type. I switched to a glass fermentation weight and my kraut stayed crunchy even with just a ziplock. Unless your friend is some sort of fermentation guru, I'd check your salt level first before blaming your setup.

ryanh565mo ago

That salt ratio point is actually key, but how do you actually measure it out? I've been going off eyeballing the layers and seasoning them, but maybe I'm off. You think a kitchen scale is the only way to get it right, or can you get consistent results with just measuring spoons? My last batch was borderline mushy and I bet I was heavy on the salt.

margaret_taylor423mo ago

Wait, so you're telling me this whole time I could've been using a fancy glass weight and it wasn't just my sad ziplock bag of doom failing me? I mean, I spent two months blaming my mason jar and my impatient attitude, but maybe the real enemy was my eyeballed salt that looked like I was seasoning a steak not a cabbage. I guess the real simple fix that clicked way too late for me was just admitting I was too lazy to buy a scale and was basically winging it like a fermentation madman. Honestly, if my kraut is mushy I'm just gonna blame the ghosts of bad ferments past and pour myself a glass of brine.