PSA: Stop ignoring the pH strips during sauerkraut ferments

I skipped pH testing on my last 3 batches of kraut because everything looked and smelled fine, but after a week I noticed a weird film on top - turns out my brine was only at pH 4.8 instead of the safe 4.6 or below. Had to toss 8 pounds of cabbage down the drain. Has anyone else gotten lax with testing and regretted it?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_claire8d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah @baker.christopher nailed it. Bad data just makes everything pointless.

nancy_wood17d agoTop Commenter

Oh great, so now I gotta add "brine geometry" to my list of fermenting anxieties right next to "is that mold or is it just my dusty counter?" How many pounds of cabbage have we collectively sacrificed to the fermentation gods because we got too cocky with the sniff test? I swear my last batch of sauerkraut looked like a science fair project gone wrong, all because I thought pH strips were optional. Guess my nose isn't the high-tech lab equipment I thought it was.

wright.leo17d agoMost Upvoted

Was your brine fully submerged with a weight when you tested it?

baker.christopher17d ago

Did you weigh the lid down or just let it float on top, @wright.leo? If the floats were floating free, that could mess with your salinity readings. Bad data just makes everything pointless.