Just saw my first batch of sauerkraut go from cabbage to gold

I started a jar of kraut about 10 days ago, just green cabbage and salt. For the first week it looked pretty sad, just a dull green with some bubbles. I almost tossed it. But I left it alone in the pantry. Checked it this morning and the color is totally different, a bright, creamy yellow. The smell changed too, from salty cabbage to that sharp, tangy kick. The biggest thing was the taste. I tried a piece and it was perfect, sour and crunchy, not soft at all. The good bacteria just needed that quiet time to do its thing. Has anyone else had a batch that looked wrong but turned out great after waiting a bit longer?

3 comments

3 Comments

max_cooper211d ago

I mean, I've seen the same thing with sourdough starter. It looks dead for days then suddenly it's alive and smells right. Idk, maybe a lot of good stuff just needs that quiet time to figure itself out.

wren2301d ago

Totally. Read a thing about how sourdough's wild yeast basically fights with other bacteria for a while before it wins. That's the quiet, dead-looking phase. Once the yeast takes over, the whole jar wakes up and gets bubbly.

angelam801d ago

Max_cooper21 is right, it's like the yeast needs to win the fight first.