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I need some advice on this stuff. We made some this September and canned it a week ago. Sure looks like its still working as many of the jars are leaking even after removing some. When I take the lids off I can see it still bubbling.
Any ideas how to get past this problem?
It should have stopped working/fermenting after 6 weeks , to answer you question is pretty hard as there are too many variables , too little salt, too much salt , temperature it was stored at , and your method of canning ?
I made 50 lbs. of it on nov. 12- 2015, and packaged some by freezing in 2lb. lots in freezer bags , and canned some in 2 quart sealers on dec. 28 -2015, it is very tasty, and I had just made some sauerkraut soup a couple of days ago that we finished off today , m,m good, also we have been eating it with ribs and some roasted pigtails . excellent meals .
If I remember correctly, didn't you make this at your friends house ? maybe it was some thing that he did ?
we made sauerkraut too and was canning it at about 7 weeks hate to say but i think your's has fermented. The lenght of time its been working is too long i wpuld taste it and if it tastes terrible i would serously throw it out.
Yeah, we made it at a friends house as he's been doing the recipe handed down by his dad.
One thing he did do this time while putting it up in jars was to jam down the sauerkraut as hard as he could to get rid of the air. We topped off the remaining space, 1/2 inch with water then put the lids on.
Almost every jar leaked within a few hours so I removed some of the kraut then replaced the water leaving about 1/4 inch space this time. But, its still working and still leaking.
FG, It smells ok and I've been tasting it and the only complaint I have is that's it a bit flat, not as tart as I expected.
Guess what sawbill, I make sauerkraut as well! I ferment mine in a crock for about 2 weeks, then bring it to a simmer, turn off the heat and tamp it into sterilized jars. Heating the sauerkraut kills the biological action and stops it from working. If you don't do this you either have to freeze it or refrigerate it where it will only last 6-8 weeks. Then I add the juice from the sauerkraut to the jars filling them to 1/2 inch from the top. Next your put on the lids and put the rings on snug, do not tighten.Quote:
Originally Posted by sawbill
The next step is to place the jars into a water bath ( a large pot or canner with boiling water covering over the jars) and leave the jars in the water; 15 minutes for pint jars (500 ml), 20 minutes for quart jars (1 litre). When complete, remove the jars and set them on a cutting board to cool. The lids should pop during cooling and become indented, now the jars are sealed and you can tighten the lids.
Here's what mine looks like.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps3zdarl9r.jpg
I add grated carrot and onion to mine, that's why it's orange.
Roe+
Thanks Mike. I'll make sure my wife reads this as she'll understand the process more than I will.
Just as an aside, when we made ours we filled the crock about 3/4 full of sauerkraut then topped the rest of the space off with a water filled plastic garbage bag. This seals everything completely off from the air and eliminates any smell throughout the house--and there's no skimming to be done.
Maybe you had the kraut at a temperature too low.
If that was the case, fermentation by Lactobacili would have been so slow that it is still not completed.
I make kraut from cabbage grown in the garden. It usually stops bubbling within 2 months and then I just transfer to standard mason jars for storage.
Use 1 tsp salt for each pound of cabbage. No other ingredients!!! You didn't add sugar, right?
Do you have a way to test pH?
When my kraut is finished fermenting, the pH is close to 3.5
I keep the fermenter crock pot in the kitchen. Room temperature averages 60F.
Again, if it is still bubbling, there is still fermentable carbohydrates and the pH is not low enough to have killed off the Lactobacilli. The only way I can think this happens is having the pot at a very low temperature.
I fill mine about 3/4 full and add 1 cup of water so I make sure I have enough liquid when I bottle it. I use a an inverted round Corning ware lid with a glass 1 gallon jug filled with water to weigh it down then cover with a clean white kitchen garbage bag.Quote:
Originally Posted by sawbill
I place my mixture in the crock in 1 lb. layers with 1tsp. of salt on each layer and tamp it down with a plastic spoon
Mixture; 3 medium onions
5 large carrots
2 large cabbages
Grate onions and carrots, place in a separate bowl and mix thoroughly.
In a separate bowl mix 12 oz. of grated cabbage and 4 oz. carrot/onion mixture then place in crock add 1 tsp. of pickling salt tamp with plastic or wooden spoon and repeat until crock is 3/4 full.
Do not use metal vessels or utensils. I use a porcelain coated pot for simmering the sauerkraut. I let my crock ferment on the kitchen counter and it is complete in 1 -2 weeks. It will stopping bubbling when fermentation is complete. Fresher cabbage works better, I get mine from the farmers market.
Roe+
Have you thought of freezing it instead of jarring it?
Here you have the complete answer. Getting rid of air when canning is a good idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by johny
We made purple cabbage kraut and green cabbage kraut, both were left for 6 weeks but the purple was fermented earlier in the fall so a little warmer in the basement, it ended up stronger but the green stuff was still good and probably would have hit the same strength at 8 weeks. We heat and simmer ours for 30 minutes to kill anything off and then pack it in 1L jars, make sure you have brine to the bottom of the ring and then water bath canned for 30 minutes.
This is the first time for us, it seems to work great so far.
That's what some Slovenian friends of mine do. It keeps the bacterial culture alive for those who want probiotics.Quote:
Originally Posted by RHYBAK
Roe+
One thing I forgot to mention is be careful if you're making wine when making sauerkraut. The bacteria that ferments sauerkraut is the same bacteria that turns wine to vinegar.
BTW sawbill, I've been busy and had them in the freezer, but I finally got around to making wine out of those blueberries you sent me. It's just finishing fermenting. I've got about 3 gallons, I'll have to send you some samples via Heather.
Roe+
We have been making it for years, and my parents always made it the old way in a wooden barrel, have never needed to add water .
Whether you make it in a barrel or stone crock pot, you have to mash it down a lot and this brings out the liquid in the cabbage, when you have a full barrel or what ever container is used , there should be enough natural liquid on top and this has to remain there.
Always keep the cabbage under the liquid as any cabbage that is exposed to the air very quickly goes bad and can ruin the whole batch.
Here is a link with very interesting /important info on making sauerkraut, www.nchfp.uga.edu it is the National Center For Home Food Preservation .
That depends upon how must water naturally is present in the cabbage. If you're taking it from your own garden you shouldn't have to. If buying it, you don't know how long it has sat in a cooler.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaycee
I don't have any problem keeping mine under the liquid, I just found that I need a little extra liquid to keep the sauerkraut under the juice in the jar. That small amount doesn't affect the taste especially when it's present during fermentation. As well I add carrots and onion to mine.
I also know people who make it in 5 gallon food grade plastic pails and then put a second 5 gallon pail of water on top to compress it.
Roe+
Best to get your cabbage fresh from a grower and later in the season when the heads are firm and not dried out.
I phoned an old fellow that I know , he used to make it for years and sold it commercially along with his sausages at the St. Jacobs Farmers Market.
He said by adding plain water that has many minerals in it you would be definitely slowing down the fermentation process or perhaps stopped it completely depending on the minerals in the water. If any liquid needs to be added, it should be a brine solution [salt and demineralized water] and the same percentage of salt as when you are adding it to the cabbage , 2 1/4 to 21/2 percent .
and definitely do not use iodized salt.
He said that in the 40 plus years of making and selling it , he had never ever had to add any liquid, as if the cabbage is mashed enough in the barrels / container there should be enough of it's own natural liquid to cover it .
The fermentation process is a 3 part action, and you will know when it is done as there will be no bubbles coming up through to the top.
One thing to keep in mind is that fermentation is very temperature reactive, this taken from the home preservation food site;
Store at 70º to 75ºF while fermenting. At temperatures between 70º and 75ºF, kraut will be fully fermented in about 3 to 4 weeks; at 60º to 65ºF, fermentation may take 5 to 6 weeks. At temperatures lower than 60ºF, kraut may not ferment. Above 75ºF, kraut may become soft.
I started mine stored at 73 degrees for 4 days, the temp of my kraut was at 71 degrees , I then moved it to a cooler area of the basement where it remained at a constant 67 degrees. It turned out perfect again.
I use filtered water with Pickling salt (no iodine in it) As far as the minerals affecting the fermentation, that's debatable. Having made beer and wine for over 30 years, that has never been a problem. I have used tap water where applicable and have only used distilled water for titrations to determine acidity when making wine. The processes are very similar as I alluded to previously. I'm surprised that with using wooden barrels you have never had to add water since the wood will naturally draw moisture from your sauerkraut.
The biggest issue is cleanliness the same as when making beer or wine to avoid contamination by unwanted yeast or bacteria which is why I sterilize my vessels prior to starting.
Roe+
Roe+
You've never heard of pre soaking the barrels? That's how it was made in the old days as plastic was not around back then , if smaller batches were made it was done in stone ware crocks .Quote:
Originally Posted by Roe+
The curious thing about putting it into canning jars and then storing them in a cold room or refrigerator is that there is still some sort of bacterial digestive thing that happens very slowly. It does not produce gas. But it does create a weirdly yummy funkier flavour.Quote:
Originally Posted by RHYBAK
Fresh (2 months old) kraut has a tangy, bright clean cabbage flavour.
10 months later, there is a deeper funky fermented barnyard flavour which is also really good but different from fresh.
I guess it is like what happens to wine or cheeses as they age.
It is why I do not freeze or pressure can my sauerkraut. The flavour continues to evolve all winter in the cold room and it is nice to enjoy the changing flavour through the winter and early spring.
That's what we did - big batches in 30 gal oak barrels, smaller batches in 8 gallon crocks. I thought the pre-soaking was to expand the wood barrels so that the would not leak if they had dried out. We never did add water to the sauerkraut.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaycee
Well, I started this thread and I have to thank you guys for kicking in all the pointers--along with links. What I find surprising is how many here are into making this stuff. Its all helped and now I'm confident enough to put up my own batch next fall with I expect, few problems.
We make ours in a food grade 5 gallon bucket. I've got an old metal pie plate that fits inside just perfect and I weight it down with a large rock that has been thoroughly washed and placed in a plastic bag. I've never had to add water but we always use farm fresh cabbage from the local market. I've tried many different fermentation times and I find 6-8 weeks in a cool basement works best. After that we vacuum seal it and freeze it.
To the original OP, the longer you leave it the mellower it gets. If you wanted it to have some bite you left it way too long. Also, unless you have someplace cool for it to ferment I wouldn't make it in September. We typically make it in early December and package it in late January.
Exactly , I still remember my father , tapping down the barrel bands to keep the barrel tight and then washing out with boiling water , which killed any unwanted bacteria and at the same time the wood would expand and keep the barrel water tight . He also had the smaller 30 gal. oak barrel, which my older brother wound up with , then gave it away "rrrgh] wish I had it as it was used to make kraut for over 50 years. [ just for nostalgic purposes, as I make mine in a food grade plastic barrel which should last for decades.]Quote:
Originally Posted by werner.reiche
Yes, but you never stated that or sterilizing them. If you want to play semantics, well there your are. Maybe you should of explained it better. You were sure quick to jump on anything I wrote.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaycee
Bottom line if it works for you go with with it. there are numerous combinations and permutations based on personal experience. Cleanliness is the big thing, so you don't have other yeasts/bacteria competing. The natural bacteria required is contained in the cabbage, I use a ceramic crock and sterilize it with the same solution I use for wine. It is also a good idea to sterilize your utensils as well.
Roe+
PM sentQuote:
Originally Posted by Roe+
One thing I forgot to mention is that we added 3 whole heads of cabbage to the mix during fermentation to make a pile of sour cabbage rolls later on.
They're made about 1/3 the size of a regular cabbage roll but I gotta say they're very tasty. After they're made we'll put them into meal size packages for quick meals at camp.
My mom always did that too. They were way better than plain cabbage rolls.Quote:
Originally Posted by sawbill
That's an awesome idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by sawbill
Roe+
Clarify for me please.Quote:
Originally Posted by sawbill
You put entire whole heads of cabbage into a big vat of shredded salted cabbage?
No prep for the whole heads?
Maybe just peal off the outer leaves and submerge into the shredded salted mix?
Do you add extra salt to compensate for the weight of each cabbage head?
Sounds like a brilliant way to get whole fermented leaves.
Yeah, we simply dumped 3 whole heads into the container (garbage can) of shredded cabbage and the only thing we did was to core them so that the brine could penetrate the entire head.
We did remove the larger outer leaves of all the cabbages but tossed them into the container as well. These leaves are later used as a buffer to line the bottom of the roast pan so that the bottom layer of cabbage rolls don't burn. The amount of salt used was based on the total number of heads of cabbage we used, in this case a dozen or so.