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Appreciation post: My neighbor said my kraut was too salty and it fixed my whole process
I was giving out jars of my sauerkraut last month and my neighbor, who's from Poland, tried it and just said 'it's good, but too salty for my taste.' I mean, I was using the standard 2% salt by weight rule, but I guess my cabbage was extra wet. So I tried a 1.5% brine on my next batch, which was about 5 pounds of cabbage, and let it go for three weeks. The flavor is way better now, not as harsh at the start. Has anyone else had to tweak their salt amount depending on the veg?
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anna_miller2mo ago
That 2% rule is more of a starting point than a law. Cabbage water content changes everything, especially early or late in the season. I always do a squeeze test after salting and massaging. If there's a huge puddle in the bowl right away, I'll drain a little liquid off before packing the jar. It keeps the salt level from getting out of hand.
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thomasb412mo ago
But that 2% rule is there for safety, not just taste. Messing with the brine by pouring it off can actually let bad stuff grow because you're changing the salt balance the recipe depends on. If the cabbage is super wet, just use less salt from the start instead of trying to fix it later. Sticking to the measured amount gives a stable environment for the good bacteria to win.
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tara_martin2mo ago
Wait you were giving out jars of sauerkraut? That's the real shocker here, I can't even get my family to try mine. My last batch sat in the fridge for months. But yeah, the salt thing is real. I had to drop it way down for some really fresh, juicy cucumbers last summer. They just wept so much liquid it was like a pickle soup disaster.
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garcia.wren1mo ago
Oh man, pickle soup disaster is the perfect way to put it! I wonder if the type of salt makes a difference too. I tried a fancy flaky salt once and it just didn't pull out the same amount of water as my cheap fine salt. Maybe that extra surface area on the fine grains works better for drawing out liquid from really juicy veggies.
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