I've been fermenting sauerkraut in a quart jar and for some reason forgot to keep an outer piece of cabbage to help keep the kraut submerged. For day 1-2 it was fine, there was plenty of brine to keep it submerged. Now though on day 3 and 4 the brine has all been reabsorbed into the kraut and no matter how much I push it down, in a few hours it's exposed again. Do I still need to worry about mold at this stage or has 2 or 3 days fermentation been enough to preserve it? Or should I top off with a brine solution or would this just add unnecessary salt to what should be now a pickled flavour?
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2 Answers
It will likely mold on top, where the cabbage is exposed. You can simply remove that layer, the kraut below will be fine. Alternately, you can top it off with brine...or use a container, smaller than the opening of your jar, filled with water, to weigh it down.
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@Zippy84 Keeping the cabbage fully submerged is a very consistent aspect of ANY kraut recipe, IME. You need more brine, possibly a bigger container, and the weight on top that should have been there from the start. As the ferment produces gasses the cabbage wants to float - the job of the top weight is to prevent that. Be sure it's scrupulously clean.– EcnerwalCommented Jun 2, 2015 at 15:34
I do not know. But if it has bubbled some or a lot I would think that the air over the weights inside the container is actually mostly CO2. Mold must have oxygen to grow so if there is no oxygen it will be ok I think. I would leave it. But the next time I would add extra brine of 1.5% salt.
