My sauerkraut went from soggy to crisp after I switched from a mason jar lid to a proper weight

I used to just screw the lid on my quart jar and hope for the best, which gave me a mushy, yeasty batch every time. After reading a blog post from a fermenter in Austin, I bought a simple glass weight six months ago. Now my kraut stays under the brine and comes out perfect and crunchy every single time. Has anyone else found that one small tool made this big of a difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

robinson.holly2mo ago

Yeah, that "stays under the brine" part is the whole secret... I started using a cabbage leaf as a follower under the weight and it's even better, keeps every little shred down.

grant4652mo ago

Wait, a cabbage leaf? @robinson.holly that's actually genius for keeping everything submerged. Never would have thought to use something edible as the follower. Does it change the flavor at all?

susan_ward1mo ago

Hold on, you were just screwing the lid on before? No airlock, no weight, nothing? I mean that’s basically asking for mold city, idk how you even got edible kraut out of that. The pressure just builds up and burps itself in the grossest way, you must have had some seriously funky jars. Switching to a weight feels like going from a kiddie pool to an actual swimming lesson.