SURFACE MOLD ON SAUERKRAUT

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Re: SURFACE MOLD ON SAUERKRAUT

Postby panorama on Mon Mar 26, 2012 1:46 pm

Do not worry about mold. The answer is in salt percentage according to quantity of cabbage. To low or too much salt result with mold. Lactic acid is natural way to protect kraut of mold. Optimal value is 1,5 % of salt, added to grated cabbage. It is normal to save kraut until mid of summer ( in refrigerator ) if the salt is used in right percentage.
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Re: SURFACE MOLD ON SAUERKRAUT

Postby Denise on Fri Mar 30, 2012 12:29 pm

panorama wrote:Do not worry about mold. The answer is in salt percentage according to quantity of cabbage. To low or too much salt result with mold. Lactic acid is natural way to protect kraut of mold. Optimal value is 1,5 % of salt, added to grated cabbage. It is normal to save kraut until mid of summer ( in refrigerator ) if the salt is used in right percentage.


I am interested to know the source of this information.
Fermentation Blessings!
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Re: SURFACE MOLD ON SAUERKRAUT

Postby Denise on Fri Mar 30, 2012 12:43 pm

Alek wrote:Surface mold is likely to appear in hot weather, isn't it? Can i simply skim off this “bloom” without any harm caused to my health? Am i not apt for food-poisoning?


Hi Alek,

I use the same recipe each week for my fermented veggie juice. Last summer I would get a bit of mold in some of the jars; over the winter I had none; and just 2 weeks ago, spring, one jar had mold (it is warm here).

After fermenting, if there is any mold, I scrape off the mold and stir the contents to be sure everything is submerged into the lactic acid ferment, and then refrigerate. This part in italics/red is from Tim Hall on page 1 of this topic, post #4, and is the reason that I stir it:

[i]Fungi (mold) needs lots of oxygen to grow, and most molds grow on the surface of things where oxygen is abundant. It might actually serve you well to stir your ferment once, after it gets started...this will submerge the [inevitable] mold spores where they can't get easy access to oxygen, where they're competing directly with good bacteria, preventing them from turning to mold, producing mycotoxins, making your kraut look like it needs a shave, etc.[/i]

It might be helpful if you read Tim's post in full.

I hope this helps.
Fermentation Blessings!
Denise
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Re: SURFACE MOLD ON SAUERKRAUT

Postby panorama on Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:52 pm

Denise wrote:
panorama wrote:Do not worry about mold. The answer is in salt percentage according to quantity of cabbage. To low or too much salt result with mold. Lactic acid is natural way to protect kraut of mold. Optimal value is 1,5 % of salt, added to grated cabbage. It is normal to save kraut until mid of summer ( in refrigerator ) if the salt is used in right percentage.


I am interested to know the source of this information.


Source is my experience in making kraut, over 30 years. Outdoor temperature at my balcony reach up to 73 F last days, and by night goes to 40 F, barrel is in one cardboard box which protect from direct sun. Please, read my very first post or try to do it in that way. Good luck !
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Re: SURFACE MOLD ON SAUERKRAUT

Postby dfmoberg on Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:45 am

I have experienced three types of mold making Sauerkraut.

First, white mold spots. These are normal and absolutely fine. This is the "scum" some people skim off of the top of the liquid.

Second, black. This is a sign something is terribly wrong, and when I see this, I throw the entire batch and start over.

Last is blue, or blue-green. I find this happening when I don't use enough salt while layering and packing the cabbage with salt in the crock. It normally appears in the first week and only on the surface. I simply skim the mold off of the surface, sprinkle some more Kosher salt on the liquid, and replace the board and rock.

Once the three phases of fermentation have occurred, nothing harmful can grow in Sauerkraut. If you're seeing funky mold in properly fermented Sauerkraut, later, in jars, my first guess would be that it did not properly ferment and this was most likely from not enough salt being used.

Also, keep in mind this little piece of science; Iodine in iodized salt will stain carbohydrates blue. It should go without saying that one should never used iodized salt in making Sauerkraut.
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