Hit 50 pounds of kraut in one batch and my jar lids almost popped

I finally got a big crock and packed 50 pounds of cabbage in there, figured that'd be enough headroom but nope, the brine rose way higher than I expected. Does anyone else crank out giant batches like this and have close calls with lids or weights?

3 comments

3 Comments

river_thompson4d ago

and yeah, I feel that pain so hard. I did a 40 pound batch last fall and thought I had plenty of room, but woke up to brine dripping down the side of my crock onto the floor. It's that moment of panic where you just stand there staring at it, hoping the lid holds. The worst part is cleaning up all that salty juice from wherever it leaked. So yeah, you're not alone in this, that close call is way too familiar for a lot of us.

finley_smith4d ago

Did you leave enough headroom for the ferment to expand?

kevin_williams4d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah the headroom thing is tricky, that's for sure. I always think I've got enough and then nope, it's bubbling over anyway.