Saving sauerkraut from oversalting. What to do if you oversalt sauerkraut What happens if you oversalt shredded cabbage

The summer season is famous for the abundance of fresh vegetables, berries and fruits. To preserve summer vitamins, housewives make various preparations for the winter. It’s so nice to open a jar of jam, pickles or crispy sauerkraut on a cold evening.

However, everyone makes mistakes and it is not uncommon for sauerkraut to be accidentally over-salted and noticed after fermentation. Fortunately, this is not difficult to fix.

The benefits of sauerkraut

Sauerkraut contains large quantities of vitamin C, which is so necessary for our body to strengthen the immune system during the cold season. Groups of vitamins A, B, E, K have a positive effect on the functioning of the intestinal tract and strengthening the entire body.

Patients with diabetes should also not neglect this snack, because sauerkraut can control blood sugar levels.

Why might oversalting happen?

Each housewife cooks in her own way: one strictly adheres to the chosen recipe, the other adds ingredients by eye. But even if you strictly follow the recipe, an unpleasant situation may occur with over-salting the cabbage. There are several reasons for this:

• Error in recipe. We are all humans. Therefore, even the most experienced housewife can make a typo and enter the wrong amount of salt in her recipe.
• Grind salt. When adding fine or coarse salt, the degree of salinity will be different. The same volume will differ in fullness and weight.
• Salting time is too long. Always remember that the longer the cabbage sits, the saltier the result will be.
• The cabbage did not ferment. If you close the cabbage too tightly during pickling, it will not have enough air to start the fermentation process and it will simply pickle rather than ferment.

To prevent over-salting the cabbage, it is better to add a little less salt than according to the recipe, taste it during the salting process and add if necessary. Over time, you will accurately measure the volumes of ingredients and minimize such misunderstandings.

How to save over-salted sauerkraut?

Thanks to the fact that many housewives have gone through this experience, several successful options have emerged for reducing the amount of salt in ready-made cabbage:

• Chop a new portion of cabbage and grate the carrots. Mix with salted cabbage and put under a press. Fresh vegetables will absorb all excess salt. Remember that this will increase the total volume of the product.
• If over-salting is noticed after the cabbage has given juice, 1/3 of the liquid is drained and cold drinking water is added instead. Stir well to combine the water with the brine.
• Raw chicken egg. Place the shelled egg in a gauze bag and place in brine with salted cabbage for 10 minutes. Raw eggs can absorb large amounts of salt.
• If the salting is small, you can add a little sugar. It neutralizes excess saltiness.
• Before serving, rinse the cabbage in cool drinking water.
• If you put fresh peeled potatoes in for a while, they will also absorb some of the salt.

If you tried any of the options, but the cabbage still remained too salty, don’t be upset. This cabbage can be used in cooking cabbage soup and in salads with other vegetables.

• If you decide to dilute the brine with water, replace only a small part (no more than 1/3), otherwise the cabbage will lose its aroma, sourness and become tasteless.
• Fermentation naturally. When using vinegar, most of the nutrients are lost. Therefore, many recommend not adding this ingredient when fermenting. The exception is homemade vinegar.
• For pickling, choose late varieties of cabbage with large heads. This cabbage stores well, and its taste improves greatly after fermentation.
• When fermenting cabbage, you can add various additives, for example: carrots, apples, lingonberries, cranberries, ginger, garlic. They will add additional flavor and make the snack unique.
• The following spices are often added: cumin, coriander and anise seeds.
• Regularly remove any foam that forms on the surface. After fermentation is complete, its appearance will stop and the brine will become clear.

Don't be upset if you over-salted the cabbage. There is a way out of any situation! This is proven by the tips presented above that will help save sauerkraut from over-salting. And you can surprise your household and guests with a tasty and healthy snack.

The best option is to prepare cabbage soup from sauerkraut. Some of the salt from the cabbage will go into the broth. You just need to add less salt to the broth than usual. Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
- water - 1l
- margarine - 120 g
- onions - 100 g
- flour - 120 g
- sauerkraut - 1 kg
- bacon - 200 g
- sausage - 400 g
- sour cream - 200 g
- salt
- sugar
- pepper
- greenery
- lemon juice.

Add sauerkraut, fried bacon, and sausage to the prepared broth. Season with flour and sautéed onions. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, sugar. Serve with sour cream.

Over-salted sauerkraut can be “fermented” again in a weaker “solution” - salting. To do this, you need to take all the resulting fermented cabbage, squeeze out the resulting cabbage juice, and put it in a new “solution”. We make a new starter like this: Take water, boil it, the ratio of water to cabbage should be approximately half of the amount of cabbage juice that you got naturally, then add just a little salt - a maximum of one teaspoon (well, unless of course you have a bucket then more , about a tablespoon - one and a half), add sugar three, three and a half times more than salt, mix everything and while our boiled water is not yet cooled, pour it over the cabbage. In this case, the cabbage needs to be placed in a container that can be pressed down tightly on top, using a stone if you have one at home. Fill the cabbage with our new solution, close it tightly and place it in a room at room temperature, maybe a little lower. The cabbage will be fermented within three to four days, depending on the quantity (if very little, then sooner). Bon appetit!

What can you do with over-salted sauerkraut?

There are several options; it is better if you can divide the cabbage into smaller portions and try each method.

1. Add fresh cabbage, carrots, some cranberries, mix well and leave to ferment - the excess salt in the brine will be dispersed into the added products.

2. Referment the cabbage, that is, as suggested in the previous answer, squeeze it out and ferment it again in a obviously weak brine - the excess salt will be used to add brine.

3. Rinse the cabbage, squeeze it out and ferment it again in normal brine - the taste will be restored.

4. If the cabbage is a little salty, you can try adding sugar. As an option, adding sugar, which conceals over-salting, is possible in combination with the previous options.

5. Well, actually, the most reasonable way out is to prepare some kind of hot dish from this cabbage - cabbage soup, for example, or stew it, adding less salt than usual or, perhaps, not adding at all - depends on your taste and on how salty the cabbage is. During cooking, excess salt will be distributed along with the cabbage juice throughout the dish and will be fine.

★★★★★★

I completely agree with Marina. In such a situation, I do this: I divide the cabbage into portions and put it in the freezer. Then I cook cabbage soup, borscht, and solyanka from it. Only the broth needs to be under-salted. And for food I make sauerkraut again only with the least amount of salt.

I agree, the salt will go into the broth. Do we need it? I always wash the sauerkraut under running water in a colander... Then squeeze it well. We don't need extra salt... Only after washing can we prepare delicious dishes in the future...

★★★★★★★★★★

Another option: you can soak it in cold water (soak it, not rinse it). Squeeze and then simmer. You can make dumplings with cabbage (do not add salt during cooking). Make pies with cabbage without adding salt to the dough.

I had the same problem, I searched the entire Internet - but everyone only offered to process the “spoiled product”, but I fermented it so that I could eat it like that - alive with potatoes. I called my sister and she suggested simply, before putting it on the table, rinse it with water, and then season it with butter and onions as usual. I immediately conducted an experiment and got an excellent result: crispy, aromatic sauerkraut without over-salting! This is amazing! After all, it turns out that it is not spoiled at all and it’s even good that it’s a little over-salted - it will be stored better.

Some people specially salt cabbage for stronger pickling. To keep it longer. And in order to prepare something from sauerkraut, take the required amount, soak it in cold running water (to taste) and prepare any dishes. If the cabbage is too salty, you can make a salad out of it and pour in more vegetable oil, it will somewhat smooth out the saltiness, add more onions and other fresh vegetables and mix everything. So there will be cabbage with a normal amount of salt.

Preparing vegetables for the winter is not an easy task. This requires not only desire, but also skill. However, everyone makes mistakes and you must always be ready to find a way out of the most difficult situation. For example, what should you do if you over-salted sauerkraut? You can do it in different ways.

Video: Sauerkraut with ideal fermentation technology

A simple solution

People make preparations all the time. This is inherent in them by nature. In winter, when the vegetable season has passed, it is time for home canning. Since ancient times, housewives in every house have fermented cabbage. It was considered not only healthy food, but also the best snack. They tried to make it according to some family recipe received from mothers and grandmothers. But such work is never without surprises. It happens that all the ingredients are taken in the right quantity, but the taste of the product is not at all what it should be. For example, what to do and what to do if you over-salted sauerkraut? This is, of course, unpleasant, but completely fixable. There are many different ways to help correct the situation. It all depends on at what point such a problem is discovered. The easiest way to understand what to do is if you over-salted the sauerkraut and noticed it immediately, even while mixing the ingredients. Here you can simply increase the amount of vegetables and everything will return to normal.

The main thing is not to be lazy and mix everything well. Knowing this secret, you won’t have to ask anyone what to do if you over-salt your sauerkraut. The secret is simple but very effective. Yes, and there will be more reserves for the winter.

Video: What to do if you oversalt a dish

Rescue by water

Sometimes housewives are so confident in their recipe that they don’t even try the semi-finished product. What should they do if the sauerkraut is over-salted, and this only became noticeable at the moment when the vegetable mixture released its juice.

Video: How to save over-salted food

In this case, too, there is no need to panic. First you need to try the brine, because it is in it that the main amount of salt accumulates. After this, you can drain some of the liquid and replenish its amount with clean cold water. The moisture will mix and the concentration of the solution will become lower. For cabbage, you will get exactly the environment you need. For this method, you need to take into account the main rule: you should never drain all the brine. Otherwise, only water will remain for fermentation. The final product will be very bland and not at all tasty. Therefore, you must strictly remember: if the sauerkraut is over-salted at the first stage of fermentation, then you just need to reduce the concentration of the initial brine and continue the process.

Video: Healthy food!

Cooking secrets

Over-salting during fermentation happens quite often. This depends not so much on the skill of the housewife, but on the quality of the vegetable itself. If trouble happened in the initial stages, then it is easy to cope with it. What to do if you over-salted the sauerkraut, but noticed it when it was too late to use all the previous options. Is it really impossible to save her?

It turns out that there is a way out. True, he is not quite familiar. Everything must be done very carefully so as not to completely spoil the product. To work you will need a raw chicken egg. It must be carefully removed from the shell and placed in a bag or gauze folded in half. After this, the “surprise” should be placed in a container with cabbage and left there for ten minutes. This time will be enough for a significant part of the salt to pass into the egg. Some housewives are a little familiar with this method. True, they use it when cooking soups, and rice grains are used as hygroscopic components.

A win-win

What should those who missed precious time do? How to save over-salted sauerkraut if this only became clear when it was taken out of the cellar in winter? In its natural form it is not suitable for food. What should I do? Do you really have to throw away the product? It turns out that everything can be fixed here too. The easiest option is to rinse the cabbage under running water and then squeeze it well. Naturally, all the salt will not be washed away, and what remains can be easily drowned out with the help of fresh chopped onions and vegetable oil. The result is a wonderful salad that goes perfectly with hot new potatoes. In addition, salted cabbage can be used as a filling for pies. You will need to simmer it a little first. This cabbage will also make a good vinaigrette. And excess salt can easily be overcome by potatoes and butter. But the best option is cabbage soup.

Pickling is one of the most useful methods of processing vegetables. Sauerkraut contains much more useful substances than pickled cabbage. By learning how to prepare this snack yourself, you can be guaranteed to get not only the best quality, but also excellent taste. And the cost of the dish is low, which makes it even more attractive.

But often certain difficulties arise during preparation. Therefore, today we will talk about such a common incident as oversalting. Our article will help you find the answer to the question of what to do if you have over-salted sauerkraut. Can the product be saved? Let's consider all the subtleties in order.

If over-salting is detected immediately

The earlier a problem is identified, the easier it is to fix it. Taste the vegetables before the fermentation process begins. If there is too much salt, this is the easiest time to correct the problem. You won’t have to subsequently rack your brains about how to save over-salted sauerkraut if you immediately add vegetables to the tub. Simply chop fresh carrots and cabbage, rinse with your hands and mix thoroughly with the salted part.

A simple way is to add water

You need to control the situation throughout the entire process. You can also take a sample during fermentation.

What should you do if you over-salted your sauerkraut, but discovered this only when the process was in full swing? There is no need to worry: precious time has not yet been completely lost, everything can be corrected.

Drain off some of the juice that is released during fermentation and replace it with clean cold water (not boiled, but preferably filtered). The salt concentration will decrease.

Unusual method with egg

Many housewives know one little trick that can be used for many dishes that, for some reason, contain a little more salt than they should.

If you are puzzled by the question “what to do if you over-salted sauerkraut,” this method will help you too. Carefully crack the raw egg into a bowl, being careful not to damage the yolk. Pour it into a permeable bag and place it in a container with cabbage for a quarter of an hour. You can use a special tea bag, gauze or cotton bag.

But it is worth noting here that this method, although reliable, is considered quite risky. A raw egg also contains microflora, which can affect the environment necessary for fermentation.

How to smooth out the taste of slightly over-salted cabbage

Well, what if the problem was discovered only when tasting the finished product? How to correct the taste of over-salted sauerkraut in this case? Do you really have to throw away the treat you prepared with such difficulty?

First, assess the degree of salinity. If the cabbage is not much saltier than you want, when serving, pour it with aromatic sunflower oil and add finely chopped onion. This will improve the situation a little. You can also use other products with active flavors: ginger, cranberry, garlic.

Crispy apples of sour varieties give excellent results. They not only mask the taste, but also partially neutralize it. Often slightly salted sauerkraut is quite suitable for making vinaigrette. Of course, there is no need to salt the dish.

Using salted cabbage in cooking

If the amount of excess salt seems too much to you to simply drown it out with aromatic additives, you should not serve cabbage raw. For anyone who doesn’t know what to do if they over-salted sauerkraut, we can advise the following: think about preparing cabbage soup, bigos, stew, and filling for pies.

If you add a significant portion of other ingredients to the dish, the saltiness will be reduced. For example, to make pies, fried sauerkraut can be mixed with mashed potatoes, mushrooms, boiled eggs, and fried onions.

How to avoid oversalting?

Is it possible to over-salt sauerkraut? Lard, for example, always absorbs exactly as much salt as necessary. But this trick doesn’t work with vegetables. If you don't calculate the salt, the cabbage will come out over-salted.

Insure yourself against trouble in advance. Do not forget to carry out control tests at different stages: immediately after cutting, salting and kneading vegetables; during fermentation; before capping; before serving. Try to follow the recipe and use measuring cups.

Then at the most inopportune moment, when you need to set the table and greet guests, you won’t have to save a delicious snack.

Who doesn't love to eat delicious food? Such people don't exist. Housewives, cooking at the stove, apply diligence and skill to prepare a delicious meal.

But what a disappointment it is if the dish doesn’t work out! The world loses its colors, becomes black and white, the mood disappears completely.

Don’t worry so much – there are no hopeless situations. There are countless ways to restore a failed meal.

There has long been a saying: “There is under-salting on the table, but over-salting on the head.” But how critical is this, and how can you save an over-salted dish?

What to do if you oversalt your soup or broth?

What to do if the housewife oversalts the soup or broth? Don't be upset, this can happen to anyone, regardless of skill level or age category.

First you need to calm down, and then assess the scale of the tragedy:

1. The first dish is a little too salty, it can be eaten, but the taste is already spoiled.
2. Significantly oversalted, the taste of salt on the lips, the cooking is inedible.
3. 100% oversalting, it feels like a whole pack of salt was poured into this soup.

After assessing the degree of oversalting, resuscitation should begin.
In the first case, nothing bad happened; it’s easy to return the dish to its normal taste.

There are several known methods:

• Removed a small excess of salt by adding after the final removal of a certain amount of herbs: parsley, dill, celery. It is preferable to use cilantro; it neutralizes excess salt better than all other herbs, absorbs it and gives the soup a divine aroma and taste.
• Add sour cream, if the soup is combined with it - the creamy taste will dilute the feeling of salt.
• If you are preparing seasoning soups - borscht, solyanka, rassolnik - add more acid (lemon juice, tomato paste, etc.) to the gravy. As with sour cream, acid neutralizes oversalting.
• Add a little sugar - it makes the dish brighter and more refined, removing the feeling of oversalting.

For a more severe case, there are the following rescue methods:

• If the soup not too thick, you can add some ingredients: potatoes, pasta, etc. They will absorb excess salt.
• When This method is impossible due to the thickness of the soup, the ingredients are placed in a gauze bag and boiled in a saucepan with the soup, then removed and thrown away.

  The soup will only benefit from this - it will become richer, the salt will go into the discarded products.

• Can do this with rice. It is able to absorb a significant amount of salt.
• The above methods are not suitable for homemade noodles.

  To save this dish, the broth is strained, the rice is boiled in it, filtered again and poured into the noodles. The result will be similar.

• Desired effect will bring a raw egg. It is dipped into the soup in a strainer or gauze bag to prevent protein from getting into the finished dish.
• A piece will help stale black bread. It is dipped into over-salted soup in a similar way. After complete softening, the bread is removed.

What should you do if you accidentally spilled a whole package of salt into your soup or broth? In this situation, all of the above methods are recommended. True, they will not fully save a spoiled dish.

To resuscitate it, you need to replace most of the broth with boiling water. The selected liquid should not be poured out immediately. It will be useful for preparing something else. The soup is saved!

To prevent such embarrassment in the future, it is recommended not to forget the following tips:

• While the broth is cooking, do not add salt.
• After adding vegetables and cereals, add only half the salt.
• When adding spices, consider the salt they contain.
• Add the rest of the salt at the end of cooking.
• Do not taste the first course for oversalting after you have eaten something sour or salty.

How to fix over-salted buckwheat, rice and other grain dishes?

What to do if you oversalt the side dish?

There are a huge number of tips on how to fix the error:

What to do if you oversalt your meat and fish dishes?

Let's consider possible actions when oversalting a meat or fish dish:

1. Exists a huge number of meat dishes. They are prepared in large portions or small pieces, such as fried beef stroganoff.
2. Some people prefer minced meat products. But in any case, do not despair because of over-salting.
3. If meat cooked in large pieces, adding unsalted sauce will correct the situation; sour cream or tomato is recommended.

   The prepared dish is poured over it and allowed to boil. The liquid draws out the salt and makes the meat juicy and tender.

4. When with small pieces, the sauce will also help. But if the dish is already over-salted, it is prepared unsalted separately and poured into the meat.

   Serving under-salted mashed potatoes as a side dish will help. The combination of potatoes and meat will smooth things out.

5. If you over-salt the minced meat, It is important to notice this at the initial stage. Add rice, and the over-salted cutlets become wonderful meatballs, especially when simmered in a lightly salted sauce.

   If you prefer to leave the cutlets, add bread crumbs, grated potatoes, and egg whites.

   You can add vegetables, mushrooms, unsalted lard. They will absorb excess salt and make the cutlets tastier and healthier.

6. Note! By adding sour cream to the minced meat, the cutlets will become more fluffy and juicy.
7. If it's too salty noticed in the finished product - the cutlets are placed in a pan, filled with water and steamed for several minutes.
8. When oversalted aspic, don't be upset. While it is hot, the degree of salinity cannot be determined.

   The dish should cool, the meat will partially absorb the salt. If the jellied meat is too salty, methods for rehabilitating the broth will help.

What about the fish?

1. If When salting the herring there was too much salt, don’t be upset. This can easily be corrected by soaking the fish in milk for about a quarter of an hour.
2. Fried Lemon juice helps. It is added to the fish, lightly sprinkled with sugar.
3. If it's too much if you overdo it, vegetables will come to the rescue. They are fried in vegetable oil and layered with fish.

   Sprinkle with lemon juice, dry white wine; spices - to taste. Fish prepared in this way will be very tasty, especially if you let it sit for a while.

4. Delicious, if over-salted fatty fish (mackerel, pink salmon, salmon, etc.), additionally season with slices of lemon, placing it on top or in the belly.
5. When the sauce is oversalted, it will have to be made again without adding salt. Arrange the fish in layers and bake in the oven.
6. If you oversalted red caviar - no problem. This can be corrected with water, gauze, strong tea leaves and a sieve.

   The caviar is placed in a large bowl and poured with boiled water at room temperature, in a proportion of ½. After this, let it stand for about half an hour, filter through gauze or a fine sieve. The water will take away the salt.

   After this, odorless vegetable oil is added. The main thing is that there is no water left in the caviar. If oversalting is accompanied by an unpleasant odor, the procedure is carried out by replacing the water with tea leaves.

How to save sauerkraut that has been over-salted during pickling?

If the housewife decided to prepare sauerkraut for the winter by eye, without a recipe, and over-salted it, it’s not a problem.

These tips will help you fix everything:

1. Better, if oversalting is detected at the initial stage. The volume of vegetables is immediately added, and the situation is saved.
2. If you found out about excess salt, when the cabbage has already released juice - part of the liquid is drained and replaced with clean water.
3. Fine A raw egg helps. It is carefully placed in a prepared gauze bag and lowered into the cabbage for ten to fifteen minutes.

   The egg will absorb the salt and preserve the taste of the dish.

4. When found over-salting before serving the cabbage directly, the situation can also be saved.

   If there is not too much salt, add onions and unsalted vegetables to the salad (optional), a slight excess of sunflower oil or lemon juice is allowed. This will give the salad a piquant and delicious taste.

   If too much salt is added, cabbage makes an excellent filling for pies and pies, stewed and fried cabbage, vinaigrettes and other delicious dishes, so do not rush to throw away the over-salted product.

You can find a way out of any situation. Using these tips, you can easily correct your mistakes and please your loved ones with delicious food. Bon appetit, cook with pleasure!