Fermentation and canning instructions from the Agricultural Extension Service:
http://msuextension.org/publications/HomeHealthandFamily/MT199607HR.pdf

Properly canned, it’ll keep all winter.

As you point out even kahm yeast (which also affects flavor) can be avoided if the container is properly covered.

Anonymous @18 – always use kosher salt or sea salt — iodine is not good for our friends the bacteria. You can use iodized salt if that’s all that’s available (for instance, it’s illegal to sell non-iodized salt in Brazil) but it’s not going to work as well.

Anonymous @24 – lactobacteria are non-skeeving. They take milk, which makes people sick, and magically turn it into yogurt, which makes people live to be three hundred. What more do you want? Seriously — if it skeeves you, get Dannon yogurt (anything with live culture) and drain the whey. That’s got all the live bacteria you’ll need to be sure which bacteria are digesting your kraut. The neat thing about lactobacteria is that they can withstand the salt in the brine, to the exclusion of other species of bacteria — it’s like they’re evolved to make food for us!

Oh, wait. They are. Well, it’s still cool.

Mark et al.: I’ve tried to let the cabbage make its own sufficient brine. It just doesn’t work for me. I always add water — bottled, so the chlorination doesn’t kill my bacteria.

Also a good reminder I should bring my kombucha culture back from dormancy – speaking of delicious fremented stuff (do a search… I found several boingboing entries).

It’s been two weeks now, and the stuff is still sitting there. Nothing has happened. What’s going wrong? Or should I say what is NOT going at all?

Thanx. -Tony

The start of the process:
http://blueyonderletters.blogspot.com/2008/11/fear-no-mold.html

The finishing move (I would insert a Mortal Kombat “FATALITY” joke here if I were less circumspect):
http://blueyonderletters.blogspot.com/2008/11/break-out-bratwurst.html

I would like to say that the mold had leached hallucinogenic compounds into the kraut before it was “skimmed” away, but sadly we did not trip balls after consuming the kraut. In fact, it was crunchy, slightly sweet, and generally delicious.

I’m guessing the holes were there before the lid was put in place because Mark’s had trouble extracting a cover once or twice before. He can confirm or deny…

Given the fact that you do get some bloom on the top surface, I find myself wondering what else you’re culturing along with the Lactobacilus. I presume the salt enviornment is considered enough to discourage most that would be of concern, but…

If you want another “catch your own culture” project, try making your own sourdough starter sometimes. I never got around to trying that in my last place, and I really should have because it was downwind from several industrial bakeries so there was a particularly population of wild yeast floating around. (Anything with sugar would ferment given even half a chance.)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/good-eats/dill-icious/index.html

I’m sure you could find it on BitTorrent.

Can’t blame ‘em.

There’s bloom and there’s bloom. Kahm is harmless (and is a yeast), mold is potentially toxic. And that’s mold. I know what kahm looks like. I don’t think Mark is in any grave danger, but common sense says don’t eat moldy food unless you know it’s safe (cheese, for instance).

Read this:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/ext/pubs/497-05.pdf
An extract:

-White scum appears during fermentation.
Answer: Safe—the scum is a layer of yeast and/or mold but is not harmful.
-Pickles or sauerkraut mold during fermentation.
Answer: Unsafe—microorganisms are growing
improperly.

I’m all for home fermentation (and I’m a sourdough nut), but not if you’re ignorant about the risks and how to avoid them.

Signed,
Besserwisser in Stockholm

I started a sourdough culture. No “catching” of wild yeast was necessary – it was already on the wheat berries themselves. It wasn’t that hard, but the constant feeding/refreshing is a pain and I eventually let it go.

I’d like to home brew soy sauce. I wonder how hard that would be…

I attended a lecture by Sandor Felix Katz at Bastyr last Spring here in Seattle; he talked for about 90 minutes about “kitchen fermentation”, some theories about where sauerkraut (or kimchee or “pickling”) originated and how it entered new cultures with time, etc.

Fascinating.

He was also very direct and air-clearing about health and safety in home fermentation – dispelling myths, etc. Extremely helpful and fun to listen to. And the sauerkraut some friends made after listening to his lecture was delicious.

I have a big love for Sandor Katz’s book. Years ago, I attempted to make pineapple vinegar, which came to a disastrous end when my housemate locked himself out of the house and climbed in through the kitchen window, knocking over a half-gallon jar filled with a nearly florescent-yellow fluid.

A half-gallon of pineapple vinegar splashed vigorously does not make your kitchen smell good.

Come on people lets brainstorm this thang!