My sauerkraut game has changed a lot since I started

I used to just chop cabbage, salt it, and shove it in a jar. That was it, no measuring, no pressing, just hoping for the best. About 3 years ago I started weighing everything out down to the gram after a string of moldy batches in my apartment in Austin. Now I use an immersion blender to massage the salt in instead of my hands because it cuts the time way down. I also switched from those cheap plastic lids to actual airlock lids from a local homebrew shop. The biggest difference though is temperature control. I keep the jars in my laundry room where it stays around 68 degrees instead of the kitchen counter where it fluctuates. My kraut comes out consistent now, no more mushy stuff or weird smells. Has anyone else found a specific temp range that works best for their cabbage ferments?

3 comments

3 Comments

miaprice17d ago

You ever try a seedling heat mat? Keeps mine dead steady at 70.

lilyt2317d ago

3 out of 4 of my pepper starts damped off last year before I got smart about it. I read somewhere that the soil temp needs to be around 75-80 for peppers and tomatoes to get going, which makes sense why mine always flopped. So yeah, I grabbed a basic heat mat from the garden center for like 20 bucks, and this year every single seed popped up. Took a couple tries to get the thermometer placement right though, I had it too close to the mat at first and it read like 90 degrees.

sean4817d ago

Oh man, I feel that pain lol. Lost a whole tray of jalapenos last spring cause I was winging it without a heat mat and the soil temp was all over the place. Sounds like you dialed it in nice though, thats a solid save for this season.