Hello there!
I learn so much from the many questions my readers ask. If you have a question you haven’t been able to find an answer to, send an email and I’ll get back to you as soon as I am able.
You might also find your answer in one of the following blog posts. These are the posts I most often refer readers to.
If you do not have enough brine in your sauerkraut or things are looking dry, see:
Dry Sauerkraut? 17 Transformative Tips [BONUS: Gut Shots Recipe]
If you do NOT see bubbles in your ferment and you are concerned that fermentation is not happening, see:
SALTY Cabbage to SOUR Sauerkraut: Fermentation Signs to Monitor
I am also slowly putting together short answers to frequently asked questions.[su_accordion]
[su_spoiler title=”Can I send sauerkraut in the mail?” style=”fancy”]
YES, you can ship sauerkraut. Wait until it is done fermenting and then double bag it in some Ziplocks for shipment. Perhaps include some crumpled newspaper for padding.
I would just stay away from shipping it in the heat of summer. Advise the lucky recipient to transfer their sauerkraut to a jar for “plastic-free” storage.
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Holly, MakeSauerkraut!
Comments or questions are welcome.
I have 3 5 gallon crocks and 1 20 gallon crock of sauerkraut fermenting since end of October my question is my big one is not getting moldy I have not skimmed yet still very crunchy downstairs temperature is 60ﾟ my other 3 5 gallon crocks are doing very well I have been making kraut for 20 years and this is the 1st time I came across this
It sounds like your concern it that your one batch is too crunchy. If that is your concern, I would try to move it to a slightly warmer place, closer to 65. This will speed the fermentation up a bit, and as it ferments it should get softer. Did you add the same amount of salt to all the batches. If there is too much salt, it can slow down fermentation and leave it crunchier.
Thanks Holly I’m thinking the same thing crock is pretty heavy . I put 1 cup of salt to 10 lbs. Of cabbage , thinking of putting it near boiler where it warmer thanks for the heads up let me know if you think that’s to much salt we are always fiddling around with that
For 10 lbs of cabbage, you would use approx. 6 tablespoons of salt. 1 cup = 16 tablespoons. Sooo… that would account for the crunchiness. Slow fermentation due to too much salt and cooler fermentation temps. Warmer temps will help. It may not ferment due to the high levels of salt. Taste it to see if there is any sour tang developing.
Oh hell I was way off thanks for the heads up ,there is some sour but not much ,I’ll let it sit longer
Great that you have some sour happening. It may take a while. Is it overly salty?
I made Sauerkraut before 3 days.
After reading a couple of articles and watching a couple of videos, now I’m so worried about Botulism and I think I should just throw it away.
The cabbage weighed 1360g but I removed the core and didn’t use all the cabbage and I didn’t add salt accurately.
I just eyeballed it and there’s fear in me that I didn’t add enough salt (maybe 15 grams for 1100g of cabbage)
So not 2%.
With all the imperfections I did above, I added Ionized Sea Salt 🤦♂️
The state of my sauerkraut until this moment is the cabbage is submerged under water and the surface of the brine has a brown colour – no spillage – I didn’t burp or open it yet because I’m still able to push the lid down which by my knowledge means there is not a lot of pressure so it doesn’t need to get burped.
What should I do?
Your homemade sauerkraut is much safer than a tossed green salad. But, it does take a bit of getting used to this new way of “making” food.
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So, with your current batch.
Botulism cannot grow in the acidic environment of fermented foods. If it smells sour or tastes somewhat like vinegar, it is safe.
Next time you make a batch – since you don’t have a scale – add salt a tsp at a time, mixing and then tasting. It should taste like a salty potato chip (just right), not like seawater (too much salt).
Ideal salt % works from 1.5% to 2.5%. You probably added about 1.5%.
Iodized salt is not ideal, but it generally works. I have you weigh and use non-iodized salt to “stack the deck in your favor” for success. It is more flexible than I make it seem. 🙂
The browning is oxidation, fine to eat, and is probably from not quite enough salt.
Leave it to ferment for a week, pushing it below the brine or burping it if you see that it is necessary.
At day 7, smell and taste. Your nose will tell you if it is not safe. It should smell sour, colors faded, and taste a bit tangy.
You have been a greatsourceof information and encouragement to my sauerkraut making efforts. I threw out my first batch because it smelled like bleach, if only I had known you then! So I read your website and ordered pickle pushers for my birthday present. I love them and they are highly effective. But I only purchased three. Now I’m trying to buy more pickle pushers. Amazon says out of stock. I went to the ultimate pickle jar website and that is the worst website I’ve ever been on. The only thing they’re selling or lids and airlock lids I cannot get to the page where you order the kits. The launcher all the components, are not listed anywhere for sale. Can you tell me what’s going on? I’m so afraid the old guy went out of business. Tell me it isn’t so Holly. And direct me to a place where I can order six more sets of the pickle pushers and rods etc.
My sauerkraut is delicious these things work like gangbusters, and I’m trying to gear up because it’s cooling off period and cabbage should be coming in.
I replied to your email. I have contacted the owner and am waiting to hear back from him. Yes, his website leaves needs to be brought up to date!!! That’s the only place you can get them. I’ll let you know when I hear back from him.
Hi Mary, This is what I heard back from the owner “With the virus and lack of funding, AND the research and development commitments we did not have funding for inventory! We are racing to get an order together!” It sounds like you best try a different option, sadly.
Thank you Holly. Appreciate the help, sorry to hear!
Thanks for this wonderful site! I tried making a some on my own 3 other times and failed before reading your info. First time was in a gallon jar, and the recipe I had read said you did not need to add ANY salt if you wanted to go low sodium. I crammed a bunch of cabbage in the jar, held it down under WATER with a thing-a-ma-jig, put the lid on and left it in the basement for 4 months. When I remembered to check it, it smelled like sauerkraut, but it had a brown layer and in addition to the typical sauerkraut smell, there was something else – another smell – but my gut said “no” and I threw it out – because I’d never had homemade kraut before and didn’t know if it was safe – the brown layer was disconcerting. The second time, I made in a 1 qt mason jar (red cabbage) and the recipe called for 3 TBS of salt. All I got was very, very salty (inedible) and crunchy cabbage. It did not go bad, but it did not ferment. I just used it sparingly in other dishes as the salt for the dish. The third time I thought, OK, maybe you need a starter and that’s why the red cabbage didn’t ferment. This one was green cabbage to which I added the juice from a finished store bought jar of Bubbie’s Sauerkraut (and no salt). That fermented but smelled alcoholic and something else slightly reminiscent of nasty. I ate it, but I didn’t like it and figured I’d get sick. But I didn’t, so that’s good. Then I FINALLY came across your site and followed the teaching recipe (I don’t like garlic, so I left them whole so I could pick them out later and I added caraway.). I measured by weight and used the dough hook on my mixer to massage it. I used a cabbage leaf to hold the floaters down, and something to hold it under the brine with the regular mason lid on top. Following your instructions as best as I could – keeping the oxygen out for a week, burping it, and tasting after a week and then once a week after that. I started it on Thanksgiving and put it in the fridge on Christmas. It was good! It worked! It tasted like sauerkraut! But I didn’t LOVE it and CRAVE it, so it got shoved to the back of the fridge. However, I found it again in February and it had become a beautiful, wonderful, delicious, delightful, gift which tasted so good I could feel my great-great-great grandmother smiling in the old country! But hubby complained about the smell during the whole time it was on the counter and every time I opened it while it was in the fridge. And – it did smell like farts – but it didn’t TASTE like farts. That jar is gone and I made a new batch today with apple, carrot, caraway, and 1.5% by weight pink Himalayan salt. I am trying a product from Korea – a sort of double lidded snap down Tupperware to hopefully keep the smell down. He doesn’t like sauerkraut at all, so it’s not fair he should have to smell fart smell in the kitchen all the time. I filled it today and put it in the basement. We’ll see how it goes. But I wanted to say thank you for giving me this gift of your knowledge! Here’s the product: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078TRHV7W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
WOW! What a journey you’ve been on and… learned so much along the way. 🙂 And, I loved the “I could feel my great-great-great grandmother smiling in the old country!” You are MOST welcome. The smell is normal and will change from batch to batch depending upon the cabbage you used. See more here: https://www.makesauerkraut.com/frequently-asked-questions-sauerkraut/#h-why-does-my-jar-of-fermenting-sauerkraut-smell-like-dirty-diapers-or-rotten-eggs
Those Kimchi containers are pretty cool. If that doesn’t keep the smell at bay, you could also try putting your jar in an ice chest. I’m glad you kept to this and didn’t give up along the way. Many would have. 🙂
P.S. Try some different flavors on him. You might find a winner.
Thank you for this great recipe. I tasted sauerkraut for the first time a month ago. I felt the effect on my gut health and was surprised at how it eased a problem I’ve had my entire life: constipation!
I searched for more in supermarkets and read about the good and the not so good. Even though sauerkraut from supermarkets do not have all the health benefits of home made sauerkraut, I could still feel their effect on my bowel movement. I was hooked and happy to have found a healthy remedy. I decided to make mine and my search landed me on your page. I downloaded a copy of the pdf guide. Here are my first jars of sauerkraut. I am counting the days looking forward to devouring it! I sourced fresh cabbage which produce a good level of brime.
Thank you, mam! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/addd4959d9f052d2799f8722bcdcbfe8951bcfbda5077019f297a791399758f3.jpg
WOW! That’s wonderful. I love hearing success stories.