I gave up on the airlock for my sauerkraut and just used a cabbage leaf

For the last three batches, I was using a fancy glass weight and a proper airlock on my half gallon jar. It worked, but I always got a bit of kahm yeast on top. This time, I was out of town when my cabbage was ready and had to improvise. I just packed it down hard, tucked a big outer leaf over the top, and jammed the jar lid on loosely. Came back five days later and it was perfect. No scum, no mold, just clean, crunchy kraut. The leaf created a much better seal against the air than the weight did, and it was free. Has anyone else had a simple trick beat out the fancy gear they bought?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_garcia16d ago

Yeah, my grandma always just used a plate and a rock, worked every time.

calebh9016d ago

Wait, is all that gear even needed for kraut? I mean, people have been making it forever without special stuff. Maybe we just overthink it now.

leelewis16d ago

My grandma's plate and rock, like taylor_garcia said, always grew more mold than my airlock setup does.