making sauerkraut?

fishlessman · November 2016

put some in a mason jar 9 days ago, still tastes like salty wet cabbage. directions said 3 to 10 days. how long does it really take, and is 45 to 50 degree room temp just too cold. would it be better on top of the fridge where its warmer

sheetmetalpete · November 2016

It's been my experience that kraut ferments best at 70 degrees, give or take a few degrees. It might not even ferment at that temperature.

SGH · November 2016

fishlessman said:

tastes like salty wet cabbage

That's how sour crap tastes to me period. I hate it with a passion.

fishlessman · November 2016

sheetmetalpete said:

It's been my experience that kraut ferments best at 70 degrees, give or take a few degrees. It might not even ferment at that temperature.

must be the problem, i dont turn the heater on til the temps are below 50 for a solid week, ill just leave it out til i can get enough draft for the coal stove to work properly

fishlessman · November 2016

SGH said:

fishlessman said:

tastes like salty wet cabbage

That's how sour crap tastes to me period. I hate it with a passion.

looking forward to a cheese/chili/kraut hotdog on a buttered fried bunn

HeavyG · November 2016

40-50 is a tad too cool. 60-70 would be better. It might still ferment at 40-50 but it would likely take much longer.

I usually find a spot in my house where it is 65-75 and I get the tang I like in about three weeks. I'll take some out then to eat/fridge and the rest just "let it ride" for a few more weeks.

pab · November 2016

I agree that the temp is too low for a quick fermentation. I have a 10 liter harsch crock I make kraut in. Started my New Year's batch three weeks ago and I taste tested it yesterday and it is doing well. We do keep the house about 70*. I think setting it on top of the fridge would be a good idea. Homemade kraut beats the snot out of the canned stuff

gdenby · November 2016

Check this guy out. Seems to know what he is doing. Tried doing 'kraut a few years ago, and it went bad. But, last week was contacted by a distant cousin asking if I knew my mother's/grandmother's recipe. Don't know it, but I guess I gotta try again. Good luck, fishless.

pab · November 2016

I tend to keep kraut in my beer fridge at most times in a 2 gallon freezer bag, it keeps for a long time. I will take some of the brine from the previous batch to help kick start the new batch. Crock is generally burping in under 24 hours. I like it enough to make a good sized batch about 5 times a year.

blind99 · November 2016

Never did sauerkraut but my one and only attempt at kimchi was done at about 70 degrees. I stuck it on a shoe rack in a closet. Figured if it smelled bad I could blame the shoes. It was nice and tangy after 1 week and continued to get better. Makes me want to do some more!

HeavyG · November 2016

blind99 said:

Never did sauerkraut but my one and only attempt at kimchi was done at about 70 degrees. I stuck it on a shoe rack in a closet. Figured if it smelled bad I could blame the shoes. It was nice and tangy after 1 week and continued to get better. Makes me want to do some more!

Get one of these - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M40ANMO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have 5L and 10L versions of the ceramic crocks @pab pictured in his post. They're great but are heavy and I'd have to devote counter space to them when in use.

I switched to those kimchi/kraut containers because they don't have a water ring that meeds occasional refilling and they have handles and are a lot easier to move. Also, I can stick them pretty much anywhere out of the way - they would work well in your shoe closet and won't even really stink up your shoes.

gmac · November 2016

Just made mine on the kitchen counter. Left it for 2 weeks. 3 jars, two were great, the 3rd had a definite yeart issue. Tasted pretty funky while the other two were great.
I would go warmer. Lactobacillus for brewing works best at 80-100F so this natural lacto probably needs more heat.

SciAggie · November 2016

Timely thread. I just started my first ever batch tonight.

Mickey · November 2016

Ok, I went here summer before last and had really great sauerkraut. My fiend you are a hell-of-a lot closer and I am to sauerkraut heaven.

Smoker317 · November 2016

I am new to this and have made two completed batches thus far. First batch turned out the most flavorful kraut that the wife and I have tasted. We are kraut addicts...

Inspired by a thread on this site, I just sliced thinly some strips of four heads of cabbage and winged the salt without measuring. Within two days i had the faint smell of kraut. I let it ride for five weeks, put in jars and into the fridge.

Did I mention how awesome it was??? If not, well, it was rock'in kraut!

2nd batch- epic failure. bought a bigger fermentation container off of Amazon and decided to double my batch, 8 heads of cabbage. I didn't weigh the cabbage and half assed the measuring of the kosher salt.

After three days, it smelled like something died, not fermentation like my first batch, not even like fermentation when making beer, etc. This was a nasty smell like a ten day old road kill possum on the side of the road in July, so I dumped it.

I was discouraged and waited a few weeks and then started a new batch on 11/15/2016 or so, whatever the label says... I put 8 cut up heads into the container and measured the salt, tried to get close but may have used too much salt because now after a couple weeks, I only have a mild kraut smell. I do have the harmless white fungi growing on top of the stopper lid thing. So I am going to let it ride for another couple weeks and give it a taste.

So today before I read this thread, I sliced up four heads of cabbage for my smaller container. The weight came to 5.5 pounds and I used 3 Tablespoons and a partial Teaspoon to mix in with this completely smashed cabbage.

This is the most "scientific" batch I have made. As said, the I am only batting 50% with my two completed batches, we will see about batch number 3.

Suggestions and comments welcome.