My neighbor in Portland told me to try a 5% brine for my first sauerkraut batch

I was over at his place last week and he saw my jar of cabbage. He said, 'That looks too salty, you'll kill the good bugs.' I've been using a 3% brine for years, thinking it was the standard. Now I'm second-guessing my whole process and wondering if I've been making it too harsh. What brine percentage do you all use for your kraut?

3 comments

3 Comments

xena_thompson7129d ago

My grandma in Wisconsin always used a heavy hand with the salt, and her kraut was famously crunchy. She never measured a thing, just went by taste and feel. I guess some old methods just stick with you.

jason95129d ago

Used to follow recipes exactly for my kraut. Always came out too soft. @xena_thompson71 your grandma had it right. That heavy salt pulls out just enough moisture. Lets the cabbage keep its bite. Changed my whole method, just go by feel now. Crunch makes all the difference.

sethr1111d ago

My buddy Mark in Chicago tried a recipe that called for a specific salt weight per pound. His first batch was a mushy letdown. He called his Polish aunt, who just laughed and told him to salt until the cabbage felt like wet beach sand in his hands. His next batch had that perfect snap, and he hasn't looked at a scale since.