Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 At 09:13 PM 5/23/2002 -0700, you wrote: >After about five days of sitting on the shelf, my sauerkraut wasn't sauer >enough, so I resealed the jar and put it back on the shelf. Can I do that, >or is it going to taste worse/poison me when I open it again next week? I've opened and reopened my kimchi with no problems. The sauerkraut recipes I've seen mention letting it age for a MONTH before eating it -- I had the same experience, it takes longer than you would think. However, I kind of like the salty, not-sour-yet kraut too. If you have mixed a little salt or vinegar in the mix (or the whey, I'd imagine) I think it's difficult for Botulism bacteria to grow. There are some other things that might, but they are unlikely to kill you. For what it's worth, I've come to the conclusion that Napa cabbage was bred to be quickly fermentable. This isn't idle speculation, I think, because whole populations seem to eat large quantities of it fermented, and have for many years. If you grate carrots and ginger in with the Napa, it ferments quite well in about 3 days. Without the Napa, it takes longer. The Napa is easier to chew too, if you aren't going to cook it. I've been playing with using the Napa as a " base " and mixing other stuff in to taste. It has a kind of porous texture to it, like eggplant, and I'm guessing this lets the bacteria ferment lots of surface area at the same time, and maybe it acts as a natural host to the right kind of bacteria too. I don't know the mechanism: but it IS REALLY EASY to get a good product out of it. Heidi Schuppenhauer Trillium Custom Software Inc. heidis@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 > >After about five days of sitting on the shelf, my sauerkraut wasn't sauer > >enough, so I resealed the jar and put it back on the shelf. Can I do that, > >or is it going to taste worse/poison me when I open it again next week? > > I've opened and reopened my kimchi with no problems. The sauerkraut recipes > I've seen mention letting it age for a MONTH before eating it -- I had the > same experience, it takes longer than you would think. However, I kind of > like the salty, not-sour-yet kraut too. If you have mixed a little salt or > vinegar in the mix (or the whey, I'd imagine) I think it's difficult for > Botulism bacteria to grow. There are some other things that might, but they > are unlikely to kill you. > > For what it's worth, I've come to the conclusion that Napa cabbage was bred > to be quickly fermentable. This isn't idle speculation, I think, because > whole populations seem to eat large quantities of it fermented, and have > for many years. > > If you grate carrots and ginger in with the Napa, it ferments quite well in > about 3 days. Without the Napa, it takes longer. The Napa is easier to chew > too, if you aren't going to cook it. I've been playing with using the Napa > as a " base " and mixing other stuff in to taste. It has a kind of porous > texture to it, like eggplant, and I'm guessing this lets the bacteria > ferment lots of surface area at the same time, and maybe it acts as a > natural host to the right kind of bacteria too. I don't know the mechanism: > but it IS REALLY EASY to get a good product out of it. > > > Heidi Schuppenhauer > Trillium Custom Software Inc. > heidis@t... >>>>>>>I imagine there is enzyme action carryin' on during the fermentation. You could top off the jars which you opened with whey. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 When I made sauerkraut is must have been two or three months in the frig before it developed a wonderful " smooth, " mellow flavor/texture. Even my husband will eat it, and he hates anything vinegary. Peace, Kris , gardening in northwest Ohio ----- Original Message ----- From: " Heidi Schuppenhauer " <heidis@...> < > Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 1:40 AM Subject: Re: Resealing sauerkraut > At 09:13 PM 5/23/2002 -0700, you wrote: > >After about five days of sitting on the shelf, my sauerkraut wasn't sauer > >enough, so I resealed the jar and put it back on the shelf. Can I do that, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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