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Post by mzgarden on Mar 13, 2018 12:04:13 GMT
feather sounds like you make sauerkraut regularly so - maybe you can help me. I've tried many times and all I get is crunchy salty cabbage. I've followed lots of instructions and can't seem to get it right. I try to make it in quart mason jars by slicing about 3 lbs of cabbage and mixing it with 1 1/2 Tablespoon of non-iodized salt. Once the cabbage & salt develops some liquid, I start packing it into the mason jar. I press it down until the liquid covers the top. I lay a cabbage leaf on top and weight it down and leave it for a week or so. I never get mold or scum but it never seems to ferment. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?
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Post by feather on Mar 13, 2018 13:23:15 GMT
feather sounds like you make sauerkraut regularly so - maybe you can help me. I've tried many times and all I get is crunchy salty cabbage. I've followed lots of instructions and can't seem to get it right. I try to make it in quart mason jars by slicing about 3 lbs of cabbage and mixing it with 1 1/2 Tablespoon of non-iodized salt. Once the cabbage & salt develops some liquid, I start packing it into the mason jar. I press it down until the liquid covers the top. I lay a cabbage leaf on top and weight it down and leave it for a week or so. I never get mold or scum but it never seems to ferment. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? It should work with what you are doing, the recipe, the method. Can you leave it ferment longer and have a taste tester help you taste it....to see if it is sour. I just read an article a month ago about how genetically our taste buds 'do or do not' taste certain flavors depending on heritage and location we came from. I know this seems like a weird suggestion but cabbage does ferment or it does rot. Either way it will smell and taste different than salt and cabbage. It might take longer in quart jars? Though I've read many an article and that should work. Bubbles should come up from it when you press it down each day or two. I used 3 T non-iodized salt to every 5 lbs shredded cabbage, then over the course of 24 hours, mashed and massaged it down and up and around, until it was giving off enough liquid. Cover it submerged in a 5 gal. food grade bucket, with a plate on top, and a zip lock bag with water/salt in it on top of the plate, then a cloth to keep out dust. I hope you find a way to make it work, please let us know. |
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Post by Savren on Mar 13, 2018 14:48:37 GMT
takes some time to ferment. Here is an excerpt from Paquebot's thread in August 2017 in Recipes. homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/thread/9528/kraut-time"It is not an easy job and it took well over 3 hours after everything was gathered but worth every minute in the end. Also always done outside so cleanup is minimal. This recipe also subject to modification but does need the carrots to take the usual "bite" out of the end product. When done fermenting, which is probably a month at late-summer temperatures, pack in wide-mouth jars and process 25 minutes in BWB. Martin" In cooler weather it would take even longer. Do not ferment it in the fridge. |
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Post by spacecase0 on Mar 13, 2018 15:35:22 GMT
another issue is that in areas were lots of roundup is used (some agricultural counties), you may need a starter culture
I read it in the news a while back, but can not find the link now.
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Post by feather on Mar 13, 2018 16:20:31 GMT
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Post by mzgarden on Mar 13, 2018 18:05:23 GMT
feather, Savren, spacecase0, thanks! You guys are why I love this forum so much. Feather, I actually have both whey (from making cheese with my goat's milk) and milk kefir (I drink it each morning). Maybe I'll do an experiment - regular, whey and kefir and see if anything gives me a fermented product. I'll also give it longer to ferment. Thanks again!
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