Returning to Fermentation

[heatherlefoll]

Hi There,

My name is Heather. I stumbled on Sandor Katz's "Wild Fermentation" book about 10 years ago, and decided to test a few vegetables. I tried fermenting cucumbers in a brine (they slimed up and were gross), and later that same year made buckets of sauerkraut! This was an emergency method to use and utilize the very prolific crop of cabbage we grew for a market garden, of which not enough people bought the cabbage. The sauerkraut was AMAZING and lasted us for several years (I made it in 5 gallon buckets and stored it in the basement).

Since then, I have attempted small to medium sized batches of sauerkraut, each one failing time and time again. I finally gave up trying.

I got into making kefir, tried my hand at yogurt, dabbled in fermented carrots, beets, and garlic. I've done a little sampling of sourdough starter. Nothing has stuck around and been repeatable. We've enjoyed the outcomes of a few things (we loved the fermented tumeric drink I made, but the "ginger ale" wasn't such a hit).

However, the health benefits of fermented foods are so great, and I do love a good ferment, I keep trying. This year, my husband and I are looking into growing another crop of cabbage and making buckets of sauerkraut again. I think some of my mistakes over the trials have been: we tried using "RealSalt" (a salt with minerals in it) instead of kosher or sea salt, I used cabbage that was less than in prime condition, my fermenting jars were not covered properly, etc...

I came searching for this forum because I do have a couple questions as I get going again.

*Since we are looking to grow our own cabbage, is there a variety that's a favorite among fermenters?
*Does the type of salt we use make a difference?
*If you are fermenting in a large container (say 5 gallon bucket or larger), what is the best method upon opening the sauerkraut to repackage and store it in smaller batches for eating/selling?

[Christopher Weeks]

Welcome, Heather!

You should post in the veggie ferments group about your kraut and pickles. Also, saying a batch fails doesn't give us enough information. What does the 'failure' look like?

I use RealSalt exclusively these days. You should technically use a little more since some of the weight is trace minerals, but I mostly eyeball my measurements anyway.