My neighbor's one comment about salt levels changed my sauerkraut game completely

I've been making sauerkraut for about 3 years now, always using 2% salt by weight. Last month a lady from down the street who's been fermenting since the 80s asked why my brine looked thin. She said I needed 3% salt minimum to keep the kraut crunchy and stop mold. I tried it on the next batch of red cabbage and honestly it came out way better, less mushy and more tang. Has anyone else tweaked their salt percentage after a random tip?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph4481mo ago

Oh I had almost the exact same thing happen to me last year. I was doing 2% salt for years and my kraut always turned out soft and sometimes got a little film on top. A friend who cans a lot of vegetables said try 3% and I couldn't believe the difference. The cabbage kept its crunch way better and I haven't seen any mold or yeast since I switched. I use green cabbage mostly and 3% salt seems to be the sweet spot for texture.

kevin_bailey1mo ago

Right? That's always the way, isn't it @joseph448. You think you've got it dialed in for years then one little change makes everything better and you wonder why you didn't try it sooner. 2% always seemed like the standard number everyone throws around but I've found the same thing myself. That extra bit of salt really does lock in the crunch and keeps the bad stuff away. Makes you question all those old recipes floating around, doesn't it.