How to pickle sauerkraut without rotting

When many children from rural areas are away from home, they sometimes complain when chatting with each other that they even like the pickled cabbage at home. It is true that homemade sauerkraut tastes very appetizing, but sometimes when they make it by themselves, they find that the results are completely different. The pickled cabbage will easily rot. Pickling sauerkraut is not complicated at all in terms of the production steps, but you still need to pay attention to some things if you want to ensure that the pickled sauerkraut does not become rotten.

Step 1: Choose your dishes

It is best to choose cabbage that is 70% to 80% cooked.

Step 2: Drying the vegetables

The cabbage can be dried until its surface is no longer crispy and starts to wilt.

Step 3: Sterilization

Principle: Sauerkraut is fermented using various microorganisms that naturally attach to the surface of vegetables. Fresh vegetables contain a large number of microbiota, including many potentially harmful microorganisms and very small amounts of lactic acid bacteria.

First, use salt water to disinfect the cabbage. Rinse the cabbage with water, then soak it in salt water. The ratio of salt to cabbage is 2%. Mix salt and water thoroughly and put the soaked cabbage into the sauerkraut jar. (Note that not only the cabbage needs to be disinfected, but also the container for pickling sauerkraut, especially the sauerkraut jar that was used to pickle rotten sauerkraut the previous year. It needs to be disinfected carefully, especially the disinfection of the edge gaps, because various bacteria are likely to exist here.)

Alcohol or white wine can be used for household disinfection. Dip a new towel in alcohol and wipe the inside of the sauerkraut jar, then rinse it with clean water and let it dry. Never use a used rag, because there are various bacteria remaining on the rag, and all your efforts will be wasted if you use a germy rag to wipe the sauerkraut jar.

Step 4: Enter the cylinder

Pour the remaining brine from soaking the cabbage into the jar.

The size of the jar should be determined by the amount of pickled cabbages. Arrange the cabbages one by one in layers, leaving no gaps between them. After arranging them, put a large stone on the top layer of cabbages. Depending on the temperature, add water on the second and third days, and make sure the water covers the cabbage. In addition, do not use plastic containers for pickling sauerkraut, a porcelain jar is best.

Step 5: Sealing the cylinder

One of the important reasons why many people’s pickled cabbage rots is the sealing of the jar. Many families keep the sauerkraut jar in the kitchen. If a few drops of oil accidentally fall into it, the whole jar of sauerkraut will be ruined. Luo Gang introduced a simple and effective method to everyone, using a very thin plastic film to seal the cylinder mouth. Place plastic wrap over the stone, smooth it down along the shape of the stone, cover the vegetables, and seal along the inside of the jar wall. The film is laid flat against the water surface.

Step 6: Fermentation

During the fermentation process, bubbles will appear in the tank, so keep the plastic film flat at all times.