Sauerkraut not bubbling (AND PICS OF FUNKY FUNGI)

[hoodat]

Don't give up on it till it goes bad for sure. 68 degrees will not make it work fast but it should be OK. I've always heard that slow batches end up the best ones. If you can find some brewers yeast (not bread yeast) you can add in a pinch of that to seed it. Yeast is what does the job; usually wild yeast but maybe yours needs a boost.

 

[journey11]

I will definitely have to try that. Thanks for the tip, Hoodat!

 

[journey11]

Ok, it's been exactly 3 weeks. I got some brewer's yeast and brought up the jars from the basement to put some in. This is what they look like now....

Some moldy fungi? growing in this one...

And some slightly different fungi in this one...

And finally some evidence of a few little bubbles. The water is about the color of a pale beer. Is that normal?

Still no stink. Whatcha think? Toss it or scrape off the creepiness and give it a couple more weeks?

 

[TanksHill]

I have to admit I have never tried to make sauerkraut in the way that you are doing it. But I thought I would share something with you. This is a great example of how I make sauerkraut.

http://pocketsofthefuture.com/blog/?p=145

This was mine on day two. By day 3 it was bubbling and smelled wonderful. It still had a vibrant green color. I do mine a bit differently and usually with only caraway seed. I mix in the salt and whey and usually after pounding only need a bit of water.

Best of luck,
gina

 

[hoodat]

Just skim the tops. All is not lost yet but now that I see the picture part of your problem may be the small containers you are using and the fact that they let in light. I always did mine in stoneware crocks.

 

[chris09]

I also have always used a large stone crock (one handed down from my for fathers).

I got my kraut "recipe" from my father who got it from his who brought it with him from Yugoslavia and it has two ingredients Cabbage and Salt.

In a Large Stone crock coarse shred one head of Cabbage then add three hand full (around 1 cup) Salt Stamp till you start to see juice appear then repeat with cabbage gain.
When the crock is full (or you made as much as you want) place a large serving plate over/ on kraut then place a 1 gallon glass jar filled with water (and lid on) on plate for weight then cover with light sheet and place in cool place..
After 3 days check and skim off any "mold" then taste. Repeat until the taste and texture it to your liking.
Remember to put the plate and glass jar back on the kraut when done testing the recover with the sheet.

Our family likes our kraut still "crunchy" and with a good bit of sower taste to it and I can about 30 quarts a year. Never had a problem doing it this way...

Chris

 

[journey11]

Wow, Gina, that is a nice shade of green you've got there. My cabbages weren't quite that green to begin with though, after I peeled off the outer leaves. Your recipe sounds good!

Hoodat--Pretty hard to tell from the pics, but I have it in 2 gallon glass containers. I used a few canning jars filled with water to weight down the plate. I've been keeping a towel over the whole thing and keeping it in my basement, which is dark most of the time. One of these days I'm going to invest in a big stoneware crock for brining pickles and stuff!

I am thinking it probably didn't help that it took me to day 5 after harvest to get it started. The page I read said 24-48 hours was best, but I couldn't get to it at the time.

ETA: Chris, that is very nearly the same way I did mine, except my crock is glass. I am going to add a little brine to help float the mold so I can cleanly scoop it off, then maybe I can bring myself to try a sample. That mold is pretty daunting! I didn't realize until today that I needed to check it so often.

 

[freemotion]

I use glass jars, anything from a quart to a gallon. It comes out great. I ferment most stuff on the counter at room temp (70's) for about three days then store it in the basement fridge for weeks/months. 'Kraut gets better...as do many ferments....after a few months of aging. The glass jars spend most of their time out of the light, so it hasn't been a problem. They can always have a paper bag put over them during the process if needed, I suppose.

I made my first fermented dill pickles last year and was unimpressed, so they went into the back of the fridge for a few months, forgotten. When I found them, they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. That was one quart. This year I am up to...um...about 4+ gallons so far. My four cuke plants are still producing.

 

[TanksHill]

Free I was hoping you would stop by!!

g

 

[hoodat]

One gallon crocks are easy to come by. Thrift shops are full of crock pots that no longer work and go for just a few dollars. Most of them have useable stoneware crocks. Just throw away the burned out heater element and use the crocks. Many of them have metal covers though and those should NEVER be used when brining. The metal salts are not good for you.