My sauerkraut turned pink and fizzed over the counter

I was in my kitchen in Austin last Tuesday, checking a batch of sauerkraut that was on day 5. I lifted the lid and it erupted, spraying pink brine all over my counter and floor. I realized I'd used a red cabbage leaf as my follower weight, and the pigment had leached into the whole jar. I quickly moved it to a bigger bowl, skimmed the top layer, and added a fresh cabbage leaf. It actually fermented fine for another week and tasted great. Has anyone else had a color disaster from using red cabbage in ferments?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_riley3mo agoTop Commenter

Wait, so did the pink color stay the whole time?

jana5093mo ago

Read an article about that. Said the pink color can fade fast in some conditions. Depends on the material and how much sun it gets. They did a test with different brands. Some stayed pink for months, others washed out in weeks.

kevin_williams3mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah I always thought it was just cheap stuff that faded, but that test shows even some good brands can lose color fast.

the_daniel17d ago

Honestly it's just cabbage juice, not a big deal. People freak out over color changes like the jar is gonna grow legs and walk away.