I've never made kraut but I make sourdough all the time and it is the same sort of lactobacillus that make both things sour. I think current wisdom at the moment is that the cooler the fermentation temp the more lactic acid the bugs will produce, as it gets warmer they make more acetic acid at least in bread which makes the dough smell shaper but it cooks off once you bake the bread.
I'm sorry I have it reversed. Post from "The Fresh Loaf" here. Of course this bread specific. I'm sure there are lactic fermented pickle folks who are equally obsessive. Couldn't tell you about the smell, but if it's been going for a month and was fermenting anywhere near room temp it should be plenty sour.
If you put it in a fridge it probably wasn't warm enough to get going. There were a few hot streaks where I had the AC on for days at a time, but the 'kraut wasn't by a vent or anything and shouldn't have gotten below what's considered room temperature.
JPD: Thanks for the article! Fermentation is super interesting. I know that the brine is supposed to keep the bad bugs at bay, but if it's too salty would that impede the good ones too? Best answer: Yep, the smell is about right. In fact, that sounds good! With regards to the flavor, you may have used too much salt.
Too much salt can inhibit the growth of the lactobacilli and give you a mild, salty kraut. Use a toothpick to poke a set of holes in the plastic. I feel that the most crucial period for you fermenting sauerkraut is the first week. By Day 7 — under ideal conditions — lactic acid levels have reached a high enough concentration to deem your sauerkraut safe from nasty critters, but, not fully fermented.
During the first week, I try not to disturb my sauerkraut. The process is more forgiving than many of us like to admit. Opening your jar — or crock — is not going to ruin your lovely ferment and you will probably find it helpful to start tasting and evaluating at this point. At the 7-day mark 5-day if fermenting in a warm environment; day if your home is extra cool , open the jar, pull out the small jar or weight, and smell and taste your sauerkraut.
It should start to taste sour and no longer taste like salted cabbage. Its colors should be fading and not bright like fresh cabbage.
It will have a pleasant vinegar-like smell. Ideally, you would let it ferment for weeks. However, this is a learning process and for some, a gradual adjustment of taste buds to this newfound food may be necessary.
You may decide your jar is done fermenting as early as days. The cabbage and vegetables are no longer bright green but, instead of pale green or even yellow. Strands will also appear somewhat translucent.
The texture of your sauerkraut can vary from crisp and crunchy to soggy and soft and is dependent upon the amount of salt used, the temperature you are fermenting at and how long you ferment. There is a personal preference here. I like a bit of a crunch; others are looking for a soft texture. If your sauerkraut is not quite where you think it should be, think of fine-tuning 3 dials: Salinity, Time and Temperature. The sour flavor in sauerkraut comes from lactic acid produced by the lactic acid bacteria LAB eating the sugars in your cabbage and vegetables.
Once all the sugars have been converted to lactic acid, your max levels of tang have been reached. Personal preference along with the type of salt you used will play a factor in how salty your finished sauerkraut tastes.
For most, this is your refrigerator. Here are some other options. Do realize, however, that your jar of sauerkraut can also be left out at room temperature. It is preserved! However, it will continue to shift in flavor and soften in texture. Remove the weight you used, cleaning it and leaving it available for use in other jars.
Wipe down the rim of the jar and clean off any stickiness on the outside of the jar. Clean lid and screw back onto the jar. Properly fermented sauerkraut stored at this temperature can keep for a year without much change in texture. The flavor will continue to shift and age much like a fine wine. The coolest spot in a refrigerator is at the back of the lower shelves. The brine full of the same probiotic goodness as is with sauerkraut. Drink it. Use it in a salad dressing.
Or, use it to top off a dry jar of sauerkraut that has finished fermenting. Use this set of fermentation signs to monitor, tweak and enjoy your jar of sauerkraut as it ferments in your home.
What do you like to watch? Sauerkraut Fermentation. The Stages of Fermentation. Hi Holly. This article is very helpful. Thanks to you, your articles and your eBook, I have now successfully fermented several batches and even gotten my wife started on eating Kraut she hated the smell and taste in the beginning. I love reading your posts, so keep up the good work and thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge with the world. Peace, love and microbes. Thank YOU! Holly, I have been making kraut for many years.
For starters, she was the dietician for the deaf school here, so she produced it in great quantities. Thus, I learned to use a crock, and then canned it. I always make it in a large batch in the fall using 2, 5 gallon crocks. And, I have always canned it. I would prefer not to can it for several reasons, as you have mentioned. But, with refrigeration space and consumption time needed, I have canned it.
Is that necessary? What is the shelf life after I jar pack it, but do not waterbath it? Canning is not necessary. My apartment is sitting at 74 F….. I could open the window a crack to maybe bring down the temp slightly if necessary….. You should be fine. But… you can shorten fermentation time, try to cool the room, find a cooler spot in your house if you want to.
I made my first batch of sauerkraut 2 weeks ago, using a Kilner fermentation set. I used only 1 head of cabbage. Small white particles appeared on the surface after a few days, that I removed and they clung together.
Then they appeared again in a few days, this time growing into a film that covered the surface of the kraut completely.
Today I removed it and again it clung together as a whole piece. It has small bluish spots on it, but I think these are from pieces of cabbage that floated to the top of the brine I forgot to put a cabbage leaf under the weights. This white thing has a slightly moldy smell. I tasted a tiny bit of the kraut and it tasted fine, although salty. Do you think I have mold, or is it Kahm yeast?
My father made a big crock of kraut every year and I helped him, but never paid enough attention. Hello Janis, Google some pictures for help, but Kahm yeast smells closer to alcohol where as mold smells more musty. With mold, most just remove the layer containing it and find fresh and tangy sauerkraut below.
Kahm yeast tends to fall apart acting more like a powder and mold tends to stay together as one clump. Here is my solution to the the problems of brine overflow, air infiltration, bug invasion and brine shortage. The fermenter is a 10 inch tall 6 inch inside diameter food safe vase I found on amazon. This is just big enough for a medium head of cabbage and some other stuff like bell peppers, hot peppers, onions, carrots, whatever.
It smelled like good sauerkraut but also like my failed, rotten first batch. Some background on my failed first batch: I weighted my sauerkraut down so much that it pushed all the water up above the plate, away from the cabbage. This created a completely aerobic environment, and my cabbage spoiled badly. Any thoughts or advice about whether or not to throw out this batch and how to avoid this problem in the future would be much appreciated.
Re: sauerkraut off smells by Tibor on Tue Jun 25, pm How many pounds of Cabbage did you use and how much salt and what kind of salt did you add? Re: sauerkraut off smells by Christopher Weeks on Wed Jun 26, pm I'm not understanding your description of how the first batch went bad. Wouldn't that create an anaerobic environment and be perfect?
My guess about the odors of your current batch is that after only three weeks, the microbes are still releasing a bunch of hydrogen sulfide from your onion. It should be giving off that iconic 'rotten eggs' smell. It tastes great, but smells funny. Just remind yourself of the numerous nutritional benefits they are packed with as your nose adjusts to the odors. If you jar of ferment smells noxious, this is what my reader, with a degree in fermentation science, recommends:.
If a batch of kraut is particularly stinky during the initial fermentation go ahead and open your jar and mix or stir it to release the hydrogen sulfide gas. Maybe even leave the jar opened for a few hours, stirring it a few more times. Then, push the mixture back down into the jar, put your weight back in, recap the jar, and let your sauerkraut continue to ferment. Putrid is an unmistakably awful odor that might even make your eyes water. Usually, molds, yeasts, or an off-color accompany truly putrid-smelling sauerkraut.
If your ferment smells, sour, reminiscent of vinegar, fresh, or tangy, all is good. It even might smell yeasty, beer-like, or of alcohol if Kahm yeast has taken residence. Both allium vegetables garlic, leeks, onions, scallions, and shallots and cruciferous vegetables broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, arugula, kale, and radishes are rich in sulfur and could cause overly noxious odors during fermentation.
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