Slime in sauerkraut- but not typical dextran circumstances

[Angel]

Hi all,
There is slime in my few-days-old sauerkrauts and after refering to other posts on this forum I discovered that it may be dextran. However! the cirucmstances of my ferment don't seem to match those described for what can cause this, i.e. too much sugar. I would like to figure out if this is different from dextran and if it will be safe to eat.

I have made several successful krauts before, however the two differences this time are that (1) I added brocolli, and (2) I used stones from the garden to weigh the cabbage down. After researching the two topics of kraut and slime/dextran it doesn't seem likely that introducing brocolli, a cruciferous veg, would cause this. However I wonder if it is related to the addition of the stones. To prepare the stones I scrubbed them with natural soap and then boiled them for over five minutes, then rinsed them in filtered water and let them cool. Only then did I put them in the freshly prepared kraut. However, I am aware that even with scrubbing because the stones surfaces are not entirely silky-smooth, it would probably be impossible for me to get every particle of dirt out from the miniscule crevices.

Relevant information:
- The kraut is made of only Napa (sui choi) cabbage, brocolli, salt and it's own juices
- There is no added sugar or sugary veggies
- They are each submerged under their liquid and held down by a sui choi leaf and a stone
- the slime seems to be on the surface and is very slippery and thin (I don't think that it would come off in one string like some other members have experienced)

Could this be an unhealthy slime caused by my garden stones? are there unhealthy bacterias that can cause slime?

Thank you,
Angel

[Gutted]

I think I would of baked them in the oven for an hour before using them or boiled them for a lot longer than 5 minutes. I don't think 5 minutes is really enough. I would probably spray them with hydrogen peroxide as well to be sure.

I cannot give any help with the safety of the slime.

[Angel]

I think I would of baked them in the oven for an hour before using them or boiled them for a lot longer than 5 minutes. I don't think 5 minutes is really enough. I would probably spray them with hydrogen peroxide as well to be sure.

I cannot give any help with the safety of the slime.

Thanks for the suggestion Gutted! I just Googled it and yes it seems that 5 mins is used to sterilize babies bottles and longer for some other kinds of things. So I will do that in the future.

Fortunately the slime has practically gone now.

[Angel]

The slime has practically gone. Does anyone know what causes the slime to disappear? I wonder if it is the other bacteria eating it.

[Christopher Weeks]

I don't know the biochemistry behind it, but I (and others) have observed disappearing slime.

[Angel]

I don't know the biochemistry behind it, but I (and others) have observed disappearing slime.

Thanks for your reply. It says that I am subscribed to my topics (I pressed 'subscribe' and now the button at the bottom offers 'unsubscribe') but I am not recieving notifications in my inbox or spam folders. Could I have missed a necessary setting or might this be a technical glitch?

[Christopher Weeks]

I don't know. Subscribing is turned on in the settings, but I didn't really know what that's supposed to do. Poking around in the phpBB forum, it looks like maybe email has to be enabled also, but I can't find a place in the settings to do that. And I suspect it's turned off at the server-admin level (above me) to avoid them being blacklisted by spam sensors. Maybe I should eliminate the subscribe options if it isn't doing anything.

[Angel]

I don't know. Subscribing is turned on in the settings, but I didn't really know what that's supposed to do. Poking around in the phpBB forum, it looks like maybe email has to be enabled also, but I can't find a place in the settings to do that. And I suspect it's turned off at the server-admin level (above me) to avoid them being blacklisted by spam sensors. Maybe I should eliminate the subscribe options if it isn't doing anything.

If it's any use this is what mine says:
"Manage subscriptions
Below is a list of forums and topics you are subscribed to. You will be notified of new posts in either. To unsubscribe mark the forum or topic and then press the Unwatch marked button.

You are not subscribed to any forums."

It seems to be suggesting that it is supposed to send emails when replies are made. Below the above text it does list the topics that I subscribed to as it states. It also gives me the option to 'unwatch' them.