Why does cabbage become slippery after salting? Why did the sauerkraut turn out soft and not crunchy? Sauerkraut brine

I have been sauerkraut for many years. Always the same, just like they fermented it at home. Even from the wrong American cabbage, I always got very tasty cabbage to eat as a salad or even for cabbage soup.
And for the first time in my life, my cabbage became snotty when fermenting. That is, at first it fermented and foamed, as it should be. I pierced it a couple of times, and it looked and smelled completely normal.
But today, when I decided to pierce it for the last time, planning to put it in jars tomorrow and put it in the refrigerator, I discovered that the cabbage juice had become somehow slightly viscous. The cabbage still looks and smells completely normal. Can this cabbage still be saved or is all that can be done is throw it away?
Now I spent half an hour on the Internet trying to figure out this issue, but to no avail. All discussions on the topic of “snotty” cabbage are related to how to ferment it correctly and who has the best recipe. Nobody writes what can be done with this very snotty cabbage. I don’t need a pickling recipe; All these years I was satisfied with what I used, but I would like to hear methods of salvation, as well as recommendations on how to avoid such misfortune in the future.
True, the advice that cabbage should be of the right variety is unlikely to help me, since cabbage in our country is generally sold, not counting the Chinese varieties, of only one variety, with which until now I have not had any problems. I do not believe in the connection between the beginning of sauerkraut and the phases of the moon, which is given great importance in many Internet discussions on the topic of sauerkraut. I would be happy to read any other ideas and recommendations.

Update: As I understood from the discussion and from additional reading of Internet sources, the process of “snotting” or, scientifically speaking, sliming of the cabbage brine can occur when the wrong types of bacteria living on the cabbage and in the environment take over during fermentation. I was not able to find out exactly the conditions under which this could happen, because the sources say very little about them and are quite contradictory. For example, some put forward as a possible cause too low, and others too high, ambient temperature at the initial stage of fermentation. I think that this does not apply to my situation, because judging by all these sources, my temperature was ideal.
It seems that this process depends little on us and it’s just that sometimes the cards fall in such a way that even if all the rules are followed and a recipe that has been tested many times is completely repeated, punctures occur.
Since, judging by online sources and comments, the “snotty” quality of cabbage is not harmful to health, and the comments describe cases where the snottyness goes away after being kept in the refrigerator, I put it in jars and put it in the refrigerator. I'll see what happens in a week or two. It’s never too late to throw it away; as a last resort, if it doesn’t work out perfectly, I’ll wash it and throw it into bigos.
Many thanks to everyone who took part in this discussion, it was very informative.

By the way, the simplest and most logical answer came to me by email:

<А отчего эти самые "слизеобразующие бактерии" развились именно в этот раз, а раньше никогда не развивались? Интересно, что этому способствует? >
Nevertheless. "exactly this time." Fermentation is a non-deterministic process. Each time he takes a new path. It's just that most of these paths lead to the result the user expects. Once upon a time, we talked here (in Easy) about botulism when making garlic in oil. Here we have approximately the same case - the procurement conditions were slightly changed or the set of bacteria on the raw material slightly changed - and voila, a certain barrier was crossed.
So. "Why... exactly this time." For whatever reason. The billet temperature was changed. The supplier treated the cabbage less aggressively with chemicals and not everything died. The medium was “contaminated” with something during the fermentation process. There was a dog shaking himself nearby, for example.
"What contributes." First of all, a set of bacteria on raw materials and procurement conditions. Salt and moon phases may play some role, but in your case I would not consider them.

If the cabbage turns out soft during pickling, it will no longer be possible to return its crunch. This product should either be fried, used for soups, or eaten soft. In order to avoid mistakes next time, you need to know why pickled fork becomes soft.

Factors influencing the crunch of a vegetable:

• variety of vegetable. Its final taste when preparing a dish depends on it. Not all varieties are suitable for pickling and pickling. To ensure that the vegetable pleases with its crunch and is not soft, late varieties are used: Slava 1305, Podarok, Belorusskaya, Menza F1, Valentina F1, Mara, Amager 611, Moskovskaya late, Kharkovskaya zimnyaya, Belosnezhka;
• formation of the vegetable head. The head of cabbage should be formed and elastic to the touch;
• cooking recipe. The amount of salt and fermentation time spent in the heat are important. The more salt, the crispier the finished salad will be, but if you add too much salt, the product will be impossible to eat. The vegetable begins to ferment on the 2nd day of pickling, and finishes on the 3-5th day. The main sign of the end of fermentation is the cessation of the formation of bubbles on the surface. It is at this moment that the pickles need to be moved to a cool place;
• moon phase. According to the lunar calendar, fork fermented during the waxing moon always turns out crispy. The growing phase forces the cabbage leaves to absorb juice and salt, thereby making the product juicy and crispy.

A moderately salted product is stored well and does not lose its properties and vitamins during storage. Following the basic rules of pickling allows you to get a high-quality and tasty salad.

If salted correctly, the juice will flow straight over the edge of the bucket or jar, so the salad is placed in an additional container.

Salting errors

The main mistake in salting is considered to be incorrect adherence to the proportion of salt and cabbage. A small amount of salt will not give impetus to the fermentation process; the vegetable will not release a sufficient amount of salt. When the proportion is correct, the vegetable releases a large amount of juice, so it is recommended to leave free space in the container or place the jar in a basin. Salt per 1 kg of cabbage requires 20 grams.

Too many carrots will make the salad slimy, like seaweed. There is always a desire to decorate the salad more beautifully and add color to it, but too much carrots usually has a bad effect on the taste of the final product. Add 30 grams of carrots per 1 kg of cabbage.

Fermentation temperature is important. When salting, the container with the workpiece should be at a temperature no higher than 17 degrees.

Why does cabbage become soft?

Reasons why cabbage turns out soft, dark and slimy:

• if the heads of cabbage were harvested after frost and the vegetable was frozen, then the salad will not only be soft, but will smell unpleasant and have a sweetish taste;
• vegetables grown with nitrates are not stored for a long time and when processed does not live up to expectations. If just such a product is on the table, then the pickle will taste mild;
• the early variety will not crisp and will not release enough juice;
• If you turn forks straight from the garden into pickles, then the dish will not be pleasing. After harvesting from the garden, the head of cabbage should lie down for some time;
• If you do not pierce the pickle during fermentation, thereby eliminating carbon dioxide, the dish will seriously lose its taste and color;
• There is no need to press or crush the vegetable too much after chopping; the cabbage is mixed with salt and placed in a container;
• containers made of glass, enamel or wood are used for pickling;
• After 2-3 days of fermentation, the pickles are put away in the cold, in the refrigerator or cellar.

Compliance with the recipe and rules for choosing a head of cabbage will allow you to serve the most delicious dish on the table. If you compact the leaves well into the container and put a weight on top, the pickle will not be slimy.

Is it possible to eat snotty and dark cabbage?

If the pickle fermentation process takes place at a temperature above 17 degrees or in the sun, then we can definitely say that the pickle will turn out slimy. The degree of compaction in this case is also important. Since in the free space there will be rapid proliferation of bacteria, which cause darkening and the formation of mucus. The amount of juice also affects the formation of putrefactive bacteria and softening of the leaf, so the product must be completely covered with juice.

Before eating cabbage with mucus, it must be washed.

If you eat snotty cabbage, you cannot cause harm to the body, but it is better to use it for long-term heat-treated dishes. Such dishes can be soups, pies, pies. If mucus formation occurs on top at the beginning of fermentation, then the leaves need to be mixed with the lower layers and the fermentation process must be continued in the refrigerator.

The pickle will acquire a bitter taste if the fermentation process occurs at a temperature below 17-18 degrees.

Salting the leaves with a fork on the men's day of the week will make the dish tasty, the leaves will be crispy and juicy.

The correct choice of a head of cabbage for pickling, adherence to cooking and fermentation technology is important for sauerkraut. Don’t get fancy when cooking, don’t deviate from the recipe and the dish will be worthy of all praise.

Sauerkraut is tasty, healthy, rich in vitamins, and thousands of people love it. The best time for her is winter. Most housewives are busy preparing this healthy vegetable in the fall. Properly salted cabbage is a tasty and healthy addition to any main dish, holiday or everyday. But it happens that when you look into a jar with a ready-made product, you can find an incomprehensible mucus that looks, excuse me, like snot. And the natural question arises, what to do? Is it possible to eat it and what kind of mucus is it anyway?

What to do if sauerkraut is like snot?

There are several versions regarding this. Here are some of them.

1. It's the cabbage itself. More precisely, in its chemical component, it is an overload of nitrates and other harmful substances. Where did they come from? It's simple. When growing, the plant was treated with pesticides beyond measure, and this gave this result. Outwardly, it is no different from the usual one and even better in appearance, but when you eat such a product, many side properties appear.
2. The reason for the appearance of snot in the brine may be improper salting. Experienced housewives know that to achieve the best results, it is not enough to simply chop and pickle the cabbage. There are many small nuances, without which the result can be disastrous. First of all, it's salt. You can’t help but add salt to the cabbage, but over-salting won’t benefit the taste either. Secondly, salt again. Many people argue about what kind of salt can and should be added when fermenting. Sea or iodized, coarsely ground or not iodized.
3. Another reason for snotty brine is the wrong storage location and temperature. Jars with the finished product should not be left in a warm place; the brine on top will begin to bubble and acquire a viscous consistency similar to mucus ().
4. Another seemingly insignificant, but in fact very important point. Proper compaction of shredded cabbage. Experienced housewives pay special attention to this process. It is important to compact it well into the container so that a hollow space does not form inside it.

Let's take a closer look at these points

We will not discuss the subject of vegetables chemically poisoned by pesticides. It’s unlikely that everyone has a chemical laboratory in their kitchen that can help identify one chemical from several forks.

There can be a lot of debate about improper pickling, because there are so many people and so many pickling recipes. But there are several general rules regarding salt. When salting, you need to use coarse, non-iodized salt. It does not contain brighteners, dyes or other chemical elements that can cause undesirable reactions during the fermentation of vegetables.

Further . It was experimentally proven by comparing two completely identical cans. The jar that was stored in a cool, dark place after salting did not give any undesirable reaction in the brine, unlike the one that was stored near a warm radiator. In the latter, after a few days, mucus was discovered in the brine, and a pungent odor.

Tamping. This is an important point, although many, without paying due attention to it, get a “slippery” result. Mucus appears in a container where the finished product is not compacted and contains air. Here, as with improper storage, acidic bacteria multiply at lightning speed, which provokes fermentation.

So is it possible to eat such cabbage?

There is nothing wrong with the formation of mucus, it will not cause harm to health, our aesthetic perception may suffer, but this is a subjective question, as they say, not for everyone.

It increases resistance to stress, activates metabolism, stimulates the production of red blood cells, promotes cell growth and tissue rejuvenation, regulates fat metabolism and lowers cholesterol levels in the blood, thus preventing stroke, strengthens muscles (especially the heart), and improves immunity. Can you guess what we're talking about? This vegetable is very familiar to you! And this is cabbage. And not just cabbage - but sauerkraut. The most popular autumn and winter dish. Of course, to prepare it, you will have to tinker longer than with salting or pickling. But the product will be not only tasty, but also very healthy, even medicinal.

If, when cooking cabbage, almost half of the vitamin B9 (folic acid) in it is destroyed, then during pickling it remains intact. And after fermentation there is even more ascorbic acid: up to 70 mg per 100 g. Sauerkraut contains 20 times more vitamin P than fresh cabbage. Due to lactic acid fermentation, a large number of probiotics are formed, which makes sauerkraut comparable in usefulness to kefir .

Sauerkraut is an excellent preventative against intestinal cancer. Brine is also very useful - it contains substances that prevent carbohydrates from turning into fat, and therefore it is excellent for the prevention of gastritis with high acidity, and is also recommended for people watching their weight.

It’s easy to say - sauerkraut. And there have already been so many failures: the result is sometimes gray, sometimes sour, sometimes soft, sometimes rotten... Not every housewife succeeds in cabbage the first time. As in any business, there are rules and subtleties here.

Only late and mid-late varieties of cabbage are suitable for pickling. Early cabbage is not suitable: it has little sugar and therefore the fermentation process is worse.

There is nothing complicated about the fermentation technology itself. The main thing is to do everything clearly and consistently. Clean the heads of cabbage, remove dirty and greenish leaves, cut out rotten and frozen parts. No need to wash! Trim the stalk: it is an “accumulator” of nitrates and other harmful substances. Shred the cabbage using a shredder or knife. You need to shred the cabbage across the veins into strips approximately 2–3 mm wide. If you plan along, there will be a lot of rough parts. And the cabbage itself will lose its attractive appearance. You can also cut into pieces - squares or triangles. The larger the cut, the more vitamins and other nutrients are retained in it. In this sense, fermentation with whole heads of cabbage is ideal.

The taste of traditional sauerkraut can be improved not only with carrots, but also with berries (cranberries, lingonberries), fruits (apples, plums), mushrooms (salted and pickled), vegetables (pepper, beets, celery, etc.), spices (cumin , hot pepper, cloves, bay leaf, horseradish, etc.). If you decide to add seasonings to cabbage, then follow these proportions: for 10 kg of cabbage you need carrots - 200 g, apples - 800 g, cranberries or lingonberries - 200 g, cumin or anise - 5 g, bay leaf - 3 g, sweet pepper – 1 kg, beets – 1 kg.

Place the shredded cabbage and prepared additives on the table, sprinkle with salt and lightly rub with your hands, adding the necessary additives until the cabbage releases juice. You can use an enameled wide pan or basin - the wider the better. The larger the area of ​​contact with air, the faster the fermentation process occurs.

Some housewives add not only salt, but also sugar when sauerkraut. It will certainly speed up the fermentation process. But at the same time it will make the cabbage softer.

Prepare the container. This can be either a large container or a regular 3-liter jar. Place cabbage leaves on the bottom. Pour 10–15 cm of cabbage and compact it tightly so that after laying the juice releases on the surface. And so layer by layer until the very end. Up again, cabbage leaves, put a clean cloth on them, circle and bend. If you ferment cabbage in a large container, place a small whole head of cabbage inside the cabbage mass. A 3-liter jar can be covered with a plastic lid with holes.

So we leave the cabbage to ferment for 2-3 days at room temperature (plus 17-21 degrees). If everything is done correctly, then after a day bubbles and foam should appear on the surface. This means that the fermentation process has begun. During it, juice will be released, so it is better to place the fermentation container in a basin or other container. In the future, this juice can (if necessary) be added to the cabbage.

If for some reason the juice does not appear for a long time, you need to increase the pressure or add brine. It is prepared at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. with a heap of salt per 1 liter of chilled boiled water.

Always remove foam. At first it will become more and more, and then it will decrease. And when it disappears completely, it means the cabbage has fermented.

In order not to spoil the cabbage, you also need to get rid of the unpleasant-smelling gases formed during fermentation - hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. Otherwise the cabbage will taste bitter. Therefore, every day (or even twice a day) pierce the cabbage with a long wooden stick in several places to the very bottom of the container.

After the cabbage has settled, remove the weight. Remove the top leaves and browned layer. Wash the mug and napkin thoroughly with baking soda, and then soak in saline solution. Wring out the fabric and cover the cabbage with it, place a circle, and put less weight on it. The brine should extend to the edge of the mug.

Depending on the temperature, cabbage is ready in 15 - 20 days. To keep it longer (ideally up to 8 months!), it should be stored in a dark and cool place at a temperature of about 0 degrees under a closed lid. To be on the safe side, you can moisten the top cloth with alcohol: this will protect against mold. At room temperature, cabbage quickly darkens, becomes soft and accumulates excess acid.

It is better to use regular coarse salt for pickling, or sea salt, but not iodized salt! 200–250 grams per 10 kg of cabbage is enough.

Work on mistakes

Almost every housewife experienced disappointment when sauerkraut did not turn out well. Instead of juicy and crispy, there is a sour soft mass. So why cabbage

...TOO SOUR

In order for cabbage to ferment well, butyric acid bacteria are needed. They multiply rapidly if the fermentation temperature is above plus 20 degrees. An excess of butyric acid gives the vegetable a sharp, unpleasant odor and rancid taste.

...BITTER

The temperature during fermentation is too low (up to plus 18 degrees). Perhaps the heads of cabbage were slightly frozen. You could have over-salted it. Since the taste of cabbage depends on growing conditions, it is possible that excess fertilizer was added to the soil.

...SOFT

There may be several reasons. We took an early variety - its leaves are soft on their own. Or you let the cabbage sour in the warm season. It is possible that along with healthy heads of cabbage there were several frostbitten or overfed with fertilizers. Perhaps there wasn’t enough salt: they added less than 20 g per 1 kg. The fermentation temperature was too high. Or, finally, the air did not escape properly during fermentation.

...SLIMY

Sauerkraut “slips” due to excess air, which provokes the growth of mycelial yeast. But they are needed only at the beginning of fermentation, and then in small quantities. If there are too many of them, putrefactive bacteria begin to actively develop. As a result, the cabbage spoils. Therefore, make sure that it is always covered with brine and does not protrude above it, coming into contact with the air.

..."PAINTED"

Cabbage changes color for various reasons. If it turns green, it means there was a lot of air during fermentation. The product turns black upon contact with metal. That’s why the best utensils for fermentation are wooden or glass. It is strictly forbidden to ferment cabbage in aluminum containers. Lactic acid corrodes aluminum, and substances that are extremely undesirable for the body end up in the dish. The vegetable turns red due to an excess of salt, and also because the pickling container was poorly washed and there is some old brine left in it.

Attention

Sauerkraut, although healthy, is still (especially in large quantities) contraindicated for diseases of the thyroid gland, liver and kidneys, high acidity, peptic ulcers, internal bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract and hypertension.

From folk wisdom

In the old days it was believed that cabbage works well if it is served on men's days - Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. To make the cabbage tasty and crispy, you need to ferment it during the new moon. Want something softer? Then get to work in the last quarter. But take a rest during the full moon: the cabbage will turn out very soft and sour.

Cabbage busting

Not only white cabbage is fermented, but also its other types.

RED HEAD Cabbage is not inferior in taste to white cabbage. Its fermentation differs only in that less salt is given (200 g per 10 kg) and sugar is necessarily added (200 g per 10 kg): in red cabbage there is much less of it than in white cabbage. Carrots are not added to it, but firm green grapes, slices of green apples and sweet peppers will give it a rich taste.

Cut 2 kg of hard and sour apples into strips. Peel 500 g of onion and cut into strips. Chop 10 kg of red cabbage, rub with your hands with 200 g of salt, mix with apples, onions, 25 g of cumin or dill seeds. Place tightly in a bowl. Cover the top with cabbage leaves and cloth, place a circle and a stone.

COLORED Cabbage is rarely fermented. And in vain: this is a very tasty and healthy product. For its preparation, only intact, dense white heads are used. They are carefully separated into inflorescences, which are blanched for 3-4 minutes in water (per 1 liter of water - 1 g of citric acid or 10 g of table salt), and then immediately immersed in cold water. Then they are placed tightly in a prepared container and filled with cold brine: 1 liter of water, 50 g of salt, 3 g of citric acid. Cover the top with canvas or gauze, place a wooden circle and oppression. Keep at room temperature. When fermentation begins, transfer to a cold place. Sauerkraut is eaten raw, boiled and served as a side dish with butter and breadcrumbs.

You can also ferment BRUSSELS cabbage First, the heads of cabbage are soaked in cold water for 1 hour. Then they are blanched for 3 minutes in salted boiling water. After this, they are placed tightly in half- or liter jars and filled with hot 2% saline solution. Pasteurize for 40 minutes and roll up the lids. Store in a cool place.

"Original"

Divide the head of cabbage into 8 - 12 parts, cut 1 - 2 beets and 2 carrots into thin slices, 3 sweet peppers into strips, 4 cloves of garlic and a bunch of dill.

Place everything in a container in layers, sprinkling with salt (to taste) and sugar (1 tbsp.). Boil water, pour 1 tbsp into the cabbage. l. citric acid and pour boiling water so that the water covers the cabbage. Cover with a clean napkin and apply pressure. In 3 - 4 days the cabbage will be ready.

Spicy with beets

Cut the head of cabbage into 8 pieces. Grate 2 beets, chop 2 heads of garlic, chop 2 - 3 parsley roots and 2 - 3 horseradish roots, finely chop 1 pod of hot pepper.

Place the cabbage in a container, sprinkle with chopped vegetables and salt to taste, fill with hot boiled water and place in a bowl where excess brine will be poured. Leave in a warm place for three days, piercing with a wooden knitting needle. Once fermentation is complete, refrigerate.

With pumpkin and herbs

Peel 1 kg of pumpkin from skin and seeds, cut into large slices, add 3 tbsp. l. sugar and leave until the juice releases.

Chop 4 kg of cabbage, mix with a bunch of chopped herbs and 130 g of salt. Place cabbage and pumpkin pieces in layers in the prepared container. Leave at room temperature for several days.

With pickles

Chop 1 kg of cabbage and add 20–25 g of dill seeds to it. Grate 500–600 g of pickled cucumbers on a coarse grater.

Mix everything and pour hot brine: 1.5 tbsp. l. salt per 1 liter of water. Place under pressure for 12 hours, then divide into jars and store in the refrigerator.

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Great stuff. Thanks.

Yuri, do you want to say that you need sourdough???

Irina, Yuri wanted to say that preservatives from store-bought cabbage are definitely needed to stop fermentation. Without them, the process continues and the cabbage spoils.

Excellent article!!! Thank you. I also want to add one recipe: Mix shredded cabbage of late varieties with a small amount of carrots, compact it tightly into a 3-liter jar, put a bay leaf and black peppercorns on top (5-10 peppercorns), sprinkle 1 heaped tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar and pour cold running water, as when pickling cucumbers, so that the cabbage is completely in the water, that is, the salt and sugar are distributed evenly. Sometimes I add more salt. Cover with a lid with holes or gauze and put in a warm place for 2.5 days, and also remember to pierce the cabbage several times a day, releasing gases. I kept the cabbage near the radiator, making sure that it did not over-acidify. The cabbage turns out very tasty, with sourness (As I like ).

Yuri. I know the only proven recipe for sauerkraut, the one my mother used to make sauerkraut. And I ferment. No snot and industrial cabbage (who trampled it underfoot...)
Take cabbage. Shred. Salt it. Just salt, without pouring, not in layers - salt. Like a salad, but good. Lightly rubbing in your hands (not into molecules). You're rubbing a carrot... that's it. For her to be there. Approximately one large head of cabbage. You mix cabbage and carrots, tamp it into the vessel in which you will ferment, put pressure on top and that’s it. Then, the next day, you poke holes in it and let it breathe, and after another 1-2 days, put it in jars and put it in the refrigerator, that’s it, you can eat it. No sourdough, no sugar, nothing needed. There is enough sugar in the carrots, and then it will ferment on its own. I promise, try it.

We always salted cabbage according to the same recipe: a 3-liter jar filled with shredded cabbage with carrots, one tablespoon of salt and two tablespoons of sugar, poured cold water. After three days, the cabbage turned out excellent. Delicious, crispy and beautiful to look at. This year there is nothing like it at all no. Everyone did the same, but the cabbage was soft. Why, we can’t understand. We’ve already salted it three times and everything turned out the same

“Brine is also very useful - it contains substances that prevent carbohydrates from turning into fat, and therefore it is excellent for the prevention of gastritis with high acidity.”
- Is gastritis caused by fat?

You got the moon phases wrong.

Sauerkraut is an extremely tasty and healthy product. However, due to improper preparation, instead of a crispy, juicy snack, you can end up with soft, slippery leaves. To avoid this, it is enough to know a few simple rules for sauerkraut.

Many housewives have encountered a problem when sauerkraut prepared according to a recipe turns out to have a strange consistency: the leaves are soft, the brine is viscous, and sometimes looks like a thick lump of mucus. The reason for this lies in minor errors, which, unfortunately, affect the entire cooking result.

Sauerkraut brine

Standard recipe for making sauerkraut: 2-2.4 kg of cabbage, finely chopped, mixed with 300 g of grated carrots, allspice and bay leaf, placed in a jar and covered with brine (2 tablespoons of salt per 1-1.5 liters of water and sugar).

Before laying the cabbage, you need to crush it well so that it releases the juice. The optimal air temperature for fermenting cabbage is 16-18 ˚C. Under such conditions, fermentation takes place within a week. If the temperature is lower, the process may take up to a month. It is recommended to keep the fermented cabbage at a temperature of 0-2 °C in the future.

Reasons why sauerkraut produces a sticky brine:

1. Iodized salt is used in the brine
2. The brine contains little salt and a lot of sugar, which speeds up fermentation.
3. It's too hot in the room where the brine is infused
4. Cabbage is fermented together with apples, beets, cranberries, lingonberries, and herbs, which give a similar “sticky effect.”

In addition, the quality of cabbage itself varies widely. It can be dry, frozen, rotten, grown using various fertilizers. All these factors shift the fermentation process in one direction or another, as a result of which the cabbage can soften and lose its usual taste.

Mistakes when sauerkraut

Here are the most common mistakes when sauerkraut and techniques for eliminating them:

• Sauerkraut turns out soft if it is placed very tightly in a jar. This occurs due to a lack of brine. Therefore, it is recommended to put no more than 2 kg of cabbage in a three-liter jar, so that there is room for juice.
• To prepare the brine, you must use regular salt, since iodized salt helps soften the vegetables.
• Softening is also observed if the onset of fermentation takes place at a temperature below 15 °C. Therefore, for the first week after being placed in brine, cabbage should be kept at room conditions.
• Sauerkraut turns out snotty, and the brine becomes stringy if there is not enough salt in it. In this case, fermentation occurs with increased proliferation of lactic acid bacteria, which causes the brine to become thick. In order to eliminate this defect, it is necessary to drain the brine, add salt to it and mix thoroughly. Pour the salted brine over the cabbage again.
• If chopped cabbage leaves are squeezed poorly, they will not release the required amount of juice. Because of this, the fermentation process is disrupted and the cabbage becomes covered with mucus. In this case, it is recommended to rinse the cabbage, squeeze it well and fill it with new brine.
• During prolonged fermentation, when the cabbage is kept warm for too long, it can become acidic, which leads to softening and deterioration in taste. Therefore, after the first week of fermentation, it is strongly recommended to keep cabbage at a temperature of 0-2 ˚C.

Thus, most of the shortcomings of sauerkraut can be easily eliminated. It should be noted that viscous brine does not in any way reduce the beneficial properties of sauerkraut. In some cases, cloudiness of the brine is observed in the first days of fermentation, and then disappears naturally. By following all the above recommendations, you will get aromatic and crispy sauerkraut without any drawbacks.