Fermenting

[baymule]

DING! DING! DING! that tiny little light just went off in it's tiny little head.......

 

[majorcatfish]

& you promised not to tell family secrets. Mom always said never tell you anything that I didn’t want rest of world to know.

what secret? anyone can look it up on the county web site it's why you're on probation..

 

[so lucky]

I have made it in gallon jars with a metal lid. I put plastic over the opening before screwing the lid down loosely. I don't fill up the jar with cabbage, leave a couple inches or more for expansion during fermentation. I also put a gallon plastic bag with a couple cups of salt water in it, sealed, on top of the cabbage, to hold it down.
I use a couple of tablespoons per head of cabbage. Which is pretty variable, since cabbage head sizes are different. I keep a couple of larger leaves whole, to lay on top of the shreds to help hold it down in the jar.
As it ferments, you may find juice seeping out of the jar, so I set mine in a glass pie pan, in the basement, to ferment.
The "king" of fermentation is Sandor Katz. You can google him and see lots of good info.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I've made sour kraut in a glass crock with a river rock on top. It was great. Then a couple of years ago, when we were on assistance, I would get 5 lb bags of shred cabbage. I dehydrated a bunch of it and tried to make kraut again. NO GO on that. I think it must have been processed or dipped and spun, cus it just rotted.

 

[so lucky]

I've made sour kraut in a glass crock with a river rock on top. It was great. Then a couple of years ago, when we were on assistance, I would get 5 lb bags of shred cabbage. I dehydrated a bunch of it and tried to make kraut again. NO GO on that. I think it must have been processed or dipped and spun, cus it just rotted.

Maybe the good bacteria or yeast or what ever is on cabbage that makes it ferment dies off after a while, particularly after dehydrating...? I suspect that some of my less successful attempts at kraut were made with cabbage that had been harvested a while. Don't know for sure. It's just that some of mine turn out barely edible.
Part of the time it turns out GREAT!

 

[valley ranch]

I think he's talking about the glass lids~ with a wire hinge~ rubber gasket~ snap down close~ flip up to open~ Yeh we've tried them~ they work```

Now about that liquor~ yeh~ we've done that too~ that works as well```

 

[flowerbug]

Maybe the good bacteria or yeast or what ever is on cabbage that makes it ferment dies off after a while, particularly after dehydrating...? I suspect that some of my less successful attempts at kraut were made with cabbage that had been harvested a while. Don't know for sure. It's just that some of mine turn out barely edible.
Part of the time it turns out GREAT!

bacteria, and i think the same kind used in yogurts and the naturally fermented pickles and many other goodies. when i read the above post saying "dehydrated" that made me go "Hmmm..." because i've never heard of making kraut that ways and wondered if the bacteria survived. i do know the supplements have a shelf life.

 

[canesisters]

I've not made it - BUT - I would assume that if you were picking out a fermenting lid for a quart jar, you should choose glass over plastic or metal simply because of the 'long' time required for it to finish. Some of the ones made for home brewers might be a good choice?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Seed, I've never used one of those on a glass jug to make sauerkraut. I use the crock method, the one with the airlock on top that keeps air out. The way it is set up the top of the crock has a depression to hold water and the lid fits down in that. As long as you don't let the water evaporate the gas produced will vent and it keeps that mold or mildew from forming on top of the cabbage by keeping new air out.

One of my problems is that I don't have a nice cool spot for the process. If it gets warm the quality of the sauerkraut drops. I've lost some batches by them being too warm. Another thing. If light can get to it you get really dark sauerkraut, not the creamy white stuff people crave. Like you do Bay and Major, you need to keep it in the dark.

I have used an airlock to make wine, I'd think those would work great to make sauerkraut in a gallon jar. I got it at a store that specializes in brewing beer or making wine. So no real experience doing it the way you are talking about.

 

[rdback]

So am I to understand none of you have tryed those quart jar fermentation lids?

Hi seed. I have. Short answer - if you're using a canning jar (lid/screw band), look at Pickle Pipes. They are a silicone one-way airlock that replaces the lid part. As Co2 is produced, the oxygen is forced out. There are other brands out there now, but this is the one I use.

https://www.amazon.com/masontops-Si...TF8&qid=1515612757&sr=8-2&keywords=picklepipe

Now there are some out there to avoid, like the stainless steel one made in China that rusts. That's not so good.

P.S. Here's a pic