c/fermentation-station

My friend in Chicago said his sauerkraut turned out way too salty

He told me he just guessed on the salt and didn't weigh it. I always use 2% salt by weight for my veg, so his story made me double-check my own process. I realized I've been lazy about writing down my exact weights for different batches. Has anyone else had a batch go wrong from not measuring, or is it just him?

I always thought my kimchi needed a full month to get good, but a week in the garage changed my mind

My problem was that my kimchi always tasted too raw and sharp for the first few weeks, and I was getting impatient. I read online about a faster ferment in a slightly warmer spot, but I was sure it would just make it mushy. Last Tuesday, I moved my latest batch, which was in a 2-gallon crock, from my cool basement up to my garage. The temp out there has been a steady 68 degrees. I checked it after just seven days, and the flavor was perfect. It had that nice sour kick I wanted but still kept a good crunch on the cabbage. I guess a stable, slightly warmer spot really does speed things up without ruining the texture. Has anyone else found a sweet spot like this for a quicker ferment?

Appreciation post: the kimchi setup at the new Korean market in Atlanta

I was at H Mart in Doraville last weekend and saw they have a whole wall of kimchi jars fermenting right there in the store. The staff said they make a new batch every Monday and let it sit for at least two weeks. Does anyone know if letting it ferment on the store floor like that changes the taste compared to a dark, cool spot?

My sauerkraut went from bitter to perfect after 12 days in the cellar

I used green cabbage from the farmer's market and a 2% salt brine, but it tasted sharp and off for the first week. After moving the jar to my cooler basement, around 55 degrees, it mellowed out completely. What's the ideal temp you all use for primary fermentation of kraut?

My sauerkraut turned into a science project gone wrong

I started a batch of red cabbage kraut three weeks ago, following my usual recipe. After a week, it just wasn't bubbling, so I moved it to a warmer spot in my kitchen. I checked it every day for another full week, but it still looked dead. I finally figured out I had used tap water to rinse the cabbage, and the chlorine killed all the good bacteria. Has anyone else had a batch stall for that long because of water?

My neighbor in Portland gave me a jar of his kimchi that was 6 months old

I was helping him move some furniture last fall and he just handed it to me from the back of his fridge. He said, 'This one's got some real character now, it's not just spicy, it's deep.' I tried it and it was totally different from the 2-week stuff I make, way more sour and funky. It made me realize I've been stopping my ferments way too early. Has anyone else tried letting a ferment go for that long on purpose?

My first kraut volcano happened in a tiny apartment kitchen

It was about eight years ago, I was living in a small place in Tacoma and had just packed my first big crock of sauerkraut. I used a basic recipe, maybe five pounds of cabbage, and thought I had enough headspace. Three days in, I woke up to a real mess. The brine had pushed up through the weight and airlock, dripping down the cabinet and onto the floor. It smelled like a weird, salty garden. I panicked, cleaned it all up with a bunch of old towels, and moved the whole crock into a big plastic tub for the rest of the ferment. That was the moment I learned headspace isn't just a suggestion. Anyone have a good rule of thumb for how much room to leave in a crock?

I was wrong about the whole 'no airlock needed' thing for my hot sauce

For years I argued that a simple cloth cover was fine for fermenting peppers, saying airlocks were just for newbies. Then my last batch in a warm kitchen corner got moldy after just four days, ruining about two pounds of habaneros. A guy at the local brew shop in Austin told me to try a basic plastic airlock, and my current ferment has been bubble-free and clean for three weeks now. Has anyone else had to eat their words on a fermentation rule they thought was just hype?

My kombucha batch doubled in size overnight after I moved it to a warmer spot

I keep my jars on a shelf in the basement, which stays around 65 degrees. After reading a blog from a brewer in Seattle, I moved a test jar to a kitchen cabinet and it ballooned in 12 hours. Has anyone else seen such a fast change just from a little extra heat?

My sauerkraut finally stopped being a soggy mess after I tried a new weight trick

I was getting so tired of my kraut turning out too wet and mushy. Last batch, I swapped my usual ceramic weight for a clean, heavy river rock I boiled for 20 minutes. The extra pressure from the rock pushed out way more brine than the ceramic one ever did, and after 10 days the texture was perfect, crisp and tangy. Anyone else find a weird household item that works better than the store-bought stuff?

Checked out the new fermentation bar in Portland and saw something off

I was at The Brine Spot on 3rd Avenue yesterday. They had a big display of house-made kombucha and kimchi. I noticed their main fermentation crock was sitting right next to a hot radiator. The air around it felt way too warm. I asked the guy working there about it and he just shrugged. Has anyone seen a setup like that before? Seems like a fast way to ruin a batch.

Appreciation post: My neighbor's 'quick pickle' in a jar with a loose lid almost ruined my whole batch

I mean, I saw him just put cucumbers in vinegar with a regular jar lid barely on, saying it would be fine for a week. That's not fermenting, that's just making vinegar salad, and it can let bad stuff in. My own sauerkraut in a proper airlock crock next to it was totally fine after 3 weeks. Has anyone else had to explain the difference between pickling and fermenting to a friend?

Showerthought: My kraut went from a 3-day ferment in a bowl with a plate on top to a 6-week project in a proper crock after a batch molded in my Houston kitchen last July.

What's the longest you've let a vegetable ferment go, and did the flavor change much after the first month?

A talk with my brother-in-law about kimchi brine

He's a chef in Chicago and told me he never reuses brine from a finished batch to start a new one, calling it a 'lazy shortcut' that muddies flavors. I've always done it, thinking it gave a head start. But after trying his method with just salt and fresh cabbage for my last jar, the taste was much cleaner and sharper. Has anyone else moved away from using old brine as a starter?

Honestly, that $80 pH meter I bought for my kombucha almost ruined a whole batch

Ngl, I was so excited to get precise readings. But after a week, the readings started jumping all over the place. Calibrated it twice with the solution it came with, no good. My SCOBY looked fine, but the meter said the pH was way off. I almost dumped it. Used my old paper test strips instead and it was perfectly acidic. Total waste of money for something that nearly caused a panic. Has anyone found a reliable digital meter that doesn't freak out after a few uses?

Went with a 2-gallon crock over a ceramic jar for my first kimchi batch

The wider mouth made packing way easier, and after 5 days the ferment was perfect. Anyone have a good gochugaru source that won't break the bank?

Update: I just learned from a book at the library that sauerkraut can have more vitamin C than an orange, per cup.

Found it in 'The Art of Fermentation' while looking for a kimchi recipe, and now I'm wondering what other surprising nutritional facts people have stumbled across in their ferments.

My sauerkraut experiment turned into a science fair volcano

I tried a 3% brine for a red cabbage batch last week, but I guess I packed it too tight. Came home to find the airlock clogged and a purple geyser all over my kitchen ceiling. Learned the hard way to leave more headspace. Anyone have a good trick for keeping kraut from getting too active?

Question about getting a sourdough starter going in a dry apartment

My place in Phoenix is super dry and my first two attempts at a starter just dried out and died after a couple days. I tried putting the jar inside a big plastic bag with a damp towel at the bottom, and that kept the humidity up enough for it to finally take off after about 5 days. Has anyone else found a good trick for this kind of dry air problem?

My new pH meter was a game changer for my hot sauce batches

Spent about $80 on a decent one after my last ferment went fizzy and weird. It lets me check acidity before bottling, so I know it's safe. Anyone have a good target pH for a habanero ferment?

Showerthought: My kraut turned into a $20 science experiment

I bought a fancy fermentation weight online for my first batch of sauerkraut, but it didn't fit my jar right and the cabbage floated up anyway. The whole thing molded after a few days, so I lost the food and the money for the weight. What's a good cheap weight you all use that actually works?

My neighbor swore by a 2% salt brine for kraut and I thought it was just fussy nonsense.

I always just eyeballed it until a batch went slimy. Tried his exact 20 grams of salt per liter of water, and the crunch was perfect after 10 days. Who else has a strict rule that actually works?

Rant: My sauerkraut turned to mush because I forgot about it in the back of the pantry

I started a big batch of red cabbage kraut about six weeks ago, using my usual 2% salt ratio. Life got busy and I just left the jar sitting in a dark corner. Checked it yesterday and the texture was completely gone, just a slimy pink mess. I think the temperature in that spot must have spiked during a hot week last month. Has anyone else had a ferment go bad from a simple storage mistake like that?

Shoutout to my friend in Boise who finally got me to try fermenting peppers without vinegar. I thought it was just for pickles.

My kimchi jar looked dead for a week so I stuck it in the garage during a cold snap and it exploded overnight.