I finally quit using salt in my sauerkraut brine after a forum guy called me out

Some dude on here told me my kraut was getting mushy because I was adding salt directly instead of mixing it into the water first. I'd been doing it that way for two years and never thought about it. So I tried his method last batch, mixed the salt with water before pouring it over the cabbage. Results were way crunchier after three weeks. Anybody else have a small tweak like that totally change their ferment game?

3 comments

3 Comments

sethhernandez19d ago

Guess my kraut was salt-shy for two years too.

umar5919d ago

...see I kinda disagree though. My first few years fermenting I was super casual about salt, just eyeballed it with whatever spoon I had lying around. My kraut came out fine most times but sometimes it'd get this weird soft texture or just taste flat. When I actually weighed it out exactly with a scale for a few batches I noticed a real difference in crunch and how the flavor developed over time. The salt amount matters more than people give it credit for even if you can get away with being loose about it. Temperature and all that stuff plays a role but getting the salt right is like the foundation before you start tweaking anything else.

sarah_hart19d ago

Tbh I think that guy was just gatekeeping and his advice is overblown. I've been adding salt directly to my cabbage for ten years and my kraut always comes out solid. The whole "dissolve it first" thing sounds like some internet myth that got spread around because one person had a bad batch. There's way more factors at play like temperature, cabbage variety, and how much you pound it down. I'd bet your two year method was fine and your last batch just happened to turn out better by coincidence.