My brother said my 5% brine for kraut was way too salty...

We were talking at his place in Austin last week and he said he only uses a 2% brine, that anything more kills the good bugs. I always thought you needed that extra salt to keep things safe, but his kraut came out crisp and tangy. Has anyone else cut back on salt and had it work out okay?

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4 Comments

grant.olivia5mo ago

Got me over here questioning my whole life's kraut strategy lol. I used to do 3.5% like it was gospel, but last batch I got lazy and just eyeballed it way lower. Still fermented fine, no weird funk, and honestly tasted better. Maybe we've all been a little extra with the salt.

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finley_shah645mo ago

@grant.olivia so the salt police were a lie?

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harperp244mo ago

@valp32 is right though, people love to overthink stuff. I mean, are we really out here stressing over a couple grams of salt like it's life or death? The cabbage will tell you if it's happy.

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valp325mo ago

Reminds me of how my grandma used to triple the garlic in every recipe because she thought it kept us healthy. We do this with a lot of rules, especially for food safety, where we add way more of something than needed just to feel secure. I've seen it with cooking times, fridge temps, you name it. We crank the dial to eleven to avoid a tiny risk, then wonder why the results are off.

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