February 17, 2022 - 8:36pm
Reducing sauerkraut fermentation time
Not bread related, but thought this would be a good group to ask.
Has anyone ever used sauerkraut from a previous batch to seed or kickstart fermentation on the next batch?
I'm on my last jar and need to get the next batch going. The jar has been refrigerated since finishing fermentation about 8-10 weeks ago. Still looks and tastes great. Just not sure how much bacteria survives and if it would work like a sourdough refresh or not. Just wondering if I can cut 4-5 weeks of fermentation down to 2-3 by spiking it.
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Try it and see. Or split your batch testing half. It would mean eating the innoculated batch first while the regular batch catches up. You can compare them easy enough to see if one method works faster and compare tastes.
I know you can raise a loaf with the juice after a few flour feedings so I gather something is still alive and kicking in there. I suppose the question might be if the aroma and taste changes because it skipped some of the initial acid lowering steps. Hmmmm.
That was a question I had too... Can you use sauerkraut juice to kick start a starter? That answers that. :-)
Good point on the taste... If I remember correctly, sauerkraut goes through three stages. You can stop it at any time depending on how sour you like it. Each stage is dominated by a specific species of LAB. Mine should be pretty much dominated by the 3rd stage at this point, so I'm not sure I'll see as much of the first two stages. That being said, I have just a bit of kraut and a quarter of a jar of juice. I usually make 4-6 jars at a time, so the inoculation would be pretty small. Like you said... Might have to split into two fermentations this time and spike one. I can use my pH meter to get a sense if one is progressing faster than the other.
I just put my first batch of sauerkraut into a big jar last week. Do you have any tips or tricks I should know? It seems pretty simple...
I follow this method, but I prepare and ferment about 4-6 jars worth of cabbage in a large cookie jar. Overall, very straight forward. The biggest thing I've found "difficult" is getting enough brine out of the cabbage, especially when it's out of season. I almost always make the extra brine to make sure I have at least an inch of solution on top of the cabbage.
https://www.makesauerkraut.com/sure-fire-sauerkraut-in-a-jar/
Good luck!
I always make a point of inoculating my next jar with some of the juice. Works great and helps it get a head start.
Excellent! Will give this a try soon. Thanks!
It is a "thing" and some people do it but many frown on it. I've been looking it up and there are many articles out there. While it certainly can be done some think it affects the flavour and/or the keeping quality. Then again... if it's like sourdough it'll have many different opinions. One is not right, the other is not wrong. I suppose at the end of the day you have to like the results.
Thanks Abe! I think I'll give it a try just to see how it goes. I've started from zero many times so have a good baseline on what to expect. Maybe do a smaller batch than normal so as not to ruin too much cabbage if I don't like the end result.
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/70018/20220220-24hour-instant-pot-sauerkraut-clas
Yippee
https://deeprootsathome.com/high-quality-sauerkraut-fermentation/
Thank you! Those are the stages I was thinking of and a refresher on the temps is very helpful. My basement sits at a steady 68-72 degrees, so a little high for the 1st stage but perfect for the rest of it. The 20 day window mentioned is about the minimum I go for. I usually take it out to 28-35 days.
But this COULD be bread related if I use brine to 'infect' my sourdough starter.
I've read that sharing brine is a good way to spread sauerkraut happiness. Savoring the brine is always a fun start to 'unwrapping' a new batch. I've never thrown a brine party. But it's a good idea.
I use a stoneware crock, and the porous, unglazed weights to hold the veggies underwater are permanently inoculated with the colony. Ohio Stoneware makes them.
I do backslop if I can and it does speed up the process. So does warmer temperature