Guest guest Posted April 21, 2002 Report Share Posted April 21, 2002 Hey. Well, I made some sauerkraut on April 17th and it's been about 4 days. I opened one of the jars (pop!) to taste it, and was really disappointed--no sourness, no effervescence, nothing, just cabbage and caraway seeds. What gives? I used a little more whey than NT recommends, organic cabbage, about 1/4 the sea salt, and sterile jars and lids. I kept the temp at about 72 degrees the whole time. Can I just reseal the jar and leave it at room temp for a few more days, or have I ruined it by opening and tasting it? NT recommends " about 3 days, " how long should I leave the kraut at room temp? Are there any visual clues that the process is going well? Should the mixture expand (it didn't)? Should it change color (the top turned a little pale)? Is my kitchen just lactobaccilli-unfriendly? Help! Thanks! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2002 Report Share Posted April 22, 2002 Yours sounds just like mine. I made mine about two months ago but I read somewhere (nt I thought) that the flavor would improve as it ages and that it should age about six months. I'm waiting. C. ----- Original Message ----- From: rhizoid7 Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 3:36 PM Subject: Sauerkraut Woes Hey. Well, I made some sauerkraut on April 17th and it's been about 4 days. I opened one of the jars (pop!) to taste it, and was really disappointed--no sourness, no effervescence, nothing, just cabbage and caraway seeds. What gives? I used a little more whey than NT recommends, organic cabbage, about 1/4 the sea salt, and sterile jars and lids. I kept the temp at about 72 degrees the whole time. Can I just reseal the jar and leave it at room temp for a few more days, or have I ruined it by opening and tasting it? NT recommends " about 3 days, " how long should I leave the kraut at room temp? Are there any visual clues that the process is going well? Should the mixture expand (it didn't)? Should it change color (the top turned a little pale)? Is my kitchen just lactobaccilli-unfriendly? Help! Thanks! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 22, 2002 Report Share Posted April 22, 2002 >Yours sounds just like mine. I made mine about two months ago but I >read somewhere (nt I thought) that the flavor would improve as it >ages and that it should age about six months. I'm waiting. I've never used the NT recipe. I've always used 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp honey per quart, and boiling tap water, and its always worked fine, but takes a minimum of 3 weeks at room temperature. If you're using tap water (unboiled) the chlorine might be interfering, and the amount of salt used might be insufficient to draw out juices w/o the action of the boiling water. And what's that " pop " about? Only way you would get that is if you had a vacuum in the kraut, and the only way I could see that happening is if you'd actually CANNED the cabbage, in which case precisely which lactobacilli are supposed to turn it into kraut?? The sound you should hear is more like " fffft " as CO2 escapes from the jar. > C. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: rhizoid7 > > Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 3:36 PM > Subject: Sauerkraut Woes > > > Hey. Well, I made some sauerkraut on April 17th and it's been about > 4 days. I opened one of the jars (pop!) to taste it, and was really > disappointed--no sourness, no effervescence, nothing, just cabbage > and caraway seeds. What gives? I used a little more whey than NT > recommends, organic cabbage, about 1/4 the sea salt, and sterile jars > and lids. I kept the temp at about 72 degrees the whole time. Can I > just reseal the jar and leave it at room temp for a few more days, or > have I ruined it by opening and tasting it? NT recommends " about 3 > days, " how long should I leave the kraut at room temp? Are there any > visual clues that the process is going well? Should the mixture > expand (it didn't)? Should it change color (the top turned a little > pale)? Is my kitchen just lactobaccilli-unfriendly? Help! Thanks! > > Dan -- Quick www.en.com/users/jaquick " Representative government -- where many crooks get to vote one crook into office. " --ny Hart in the comic strip " B.C. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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