Trying to make my own sauerkraut...does this look right?

[waterjug]

So this is day 3....it doesn't smell like rot or anything, it just smells like cabbage...but I had read that it's supposed to look milky...I can't find anything that says an orangish brown is good....or bad for that matter. Any ideas?

 

[Cappuccino]

lol

 

[waterjug]

I take that as a no lol

I can't figure out what's happening....I used the right amount of salt. For the first several hours the brine wasn't really covering the cabbage, so I had to brew up a tiny bit of extra brine (boiled, then cooled to room temp), but once I did that it was fine. There's a cabbage leaf laid across the top to hold everything under the water level, and the little jar on top is to weigh that leaf down, just like in the directions I read. Is there some big secret here? Everything I read says it's incredibly easy, but I followed the directions exactly, and this was the result

 

[MongGrel]

GL.

Personally we do not eat it often enough to make it from scratch really, we usually just pick up a package of this.

I imagine someone that has done it will stop by.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Why in the world wouldn't you just make a full jar of the stuff? It's freaking cabbage, not truffles.

 

[PottedMeat]

is this close to making kimchi? if i don't use a little juice (starter) from an old batch it can take 2 weeks if it's fairly cool

 

[waterjug]

wait, can someone answer me?

The jar isn't full because that's what came off the head of cabbage I used. It apparently wasn't very big.

 

[MongGrel]

is this close to making kimchi? if i don't use a little juice (starter) from an old batch it can take 2 weeks if it's fairly cool

Kimchi was the first thing I thought of myself, but is a bit of a different critter.

 

[lxskllr]

Never made it, but I think your quantity might be too little. I think you put your stuff in a crock, cover in cheesecloth, then wait. You gotta give it something to work with. A little bit in the bottom of jar may not be enough.

 

[Zim Hosein]

I'm not a "foodie" by any means, but my local grocery store sells small cans for ~90¢ that tastes just like the stuff I get at street vendors here in NYC.

 

[fralexandr]

1st, a visible thing of note that you should fix:
You probably shouldn't have that much air space, since that's going to result in less fermenting and more chance for aerobic spoilage. The jar should be filled close to the top with the water/salt/lettuce mixture to create a more anaerobic environment. The link below recommends at least 75-80% full, or to the shoulder of the jar (where the jar curves near the top). Either find a smaller airtight container, or at the very least, fill the current one with brine. This is going to dilute the flavor since there's not enough cabbage, however having that air there is worse. Sauerkraut is produced by fermentation which is an anaerobic process (no free oxygen). Having that air there allows a vast number of aerobic spoilage organisms leeway to grow in your solution. Vegetable fermentation is typically the lactic acid fermentation pathway (as opposed to the ethanol one ).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactic_acid_fermentation

it should take a while to start up, since microbial growth follows an exponential path. You probably won't notice any changes until closer to 2 weeks. The amount of time depends on temperature, water activity, and how much O2 is in the container. for more complex tasting sauerkraut, you're going to want longer times at cooler temperatures with no O2. This allows more varied decomposition pathways to take place. Optimal temperature should be cold, but over 40F or 5C (below that temperature, most microbes can't grow at all). The below link recommends 65-72F or 18-22C for ~3 weeks, or if left refrigerated ~ a few months. Due to the minimal amount of cabbage used, I wouldn't expect there to be that big of a pressure change, however, be careful when opening the finished product nonetheless. The process of fermentation converts some of the solids and liquids into gasses. Treat it like a mildly shaken bottle of soda.

https://www.makesauerkraut.com/how-long-to-ferment-sauerkraut/
https://www.makesauerkraut.com/sauerkraut-fermentation-gone-bad-troubleshooting-tips/

Due to the anaerobic conditions, having the proper salt content is important in preventing Clostridium botulinum from proliferating. Too little and it could be dangerous to consume, too much and it won't ferment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_activity

 

[KillerCharlie]

No reason to add brine, especially for how it looks after a few hours... The whole thing takes several weeks.

We usually make about 50lbs of kraut with homegrown cabbage every year. My great grandparents would make a barrel full. I don't think it's as sensitive to salt as it might seem, as many recipes I've seen online vary by up to a factor of two. You also don't need an airtight seal on the container. We usually just weigh down a plate that covers most the surface and never had any problems.

 

[NetWareHead]

The color looks fine. But I think you have way too much water in there and most likely caused by the fact you used brine rather than straight salt. I have made my own and after chopping all of the cabbage I began to put it into the jar. After building an inch thick layer of cabbage, I put some salt on top and then put another inch layer of cabbage and did this util the jar was full. You need to use fresh cabbage which is naturally full of water. The salt added helps to draw this water out and create a solution with which the cabbage can ferment in and create sauerkraut.

The important part is that the liquid should not be slimy or foul smelling. It will look/smell weird but but not of decay or spoilage. Second, you want some room at the top of the jar but do not pack it all the way full. As the cabbage ferments due to bacterial action, it producers carbon dioxide which needs to bubble out. It looks like that has already started in your batch since the liquid looks bubbly. If you pack it full, the jar will surely overflow because of expansion. You need an airlock type of device that will allow excess Co2 pressure out but not allow air back in. There are special fermentation crocks that accomplish this purpose if you want to spend the money. I drilled a hole through a mason jar lid, fitted it with a rubber grommet and inserted a beermaker/winemaker airlock. Others may use a cheesecloth. Anyway its important that airborne contaminants (bacteria, mold etc...) be kept away from the food which will spend several weeks at room temperature fermenting. I like my kraut extra sour and left it outside for 2 months before declaring it finished.

To those who advise the OP to just buy store bought kraut, it is not the same thing. Grocery store sauerkraut is heat sterilized which destroys all of the helpful bacteria and enzyme activity that has been purposefully cultivated. The taste also suffers as it now effectively cooked kraut, not raw. Real sauerkraut is classified as a legit pro-biotic with active cultures that aid in health and digestion. And its easy to make, cabbage and salt are cheap too. Unless your store sells the real deal, you wont find this sauerkraut sold unless you make it yourself.