My sauerkraut turned out way too salty after a 5-day ferment

I followed a recipe that called for 2 tablespoons of salt for a big head of cabbage. After letting it sit in a crock for 5 days, the taste was just overpowering. I think I used fine sea salt instead of the coarse kind the recipe probably meant. It made the whole batch basically inedible. Has anyone else messed up their salt ratio like this? What's the best way to fix it or should I just start over?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wendy2mo ago

Been there, ruined a whole batch the same way. You can try rinsing a small portion under cold water to see if it helps, but honestly it's probably a lost cause. Fine salt dissolves way too fast and over-salts everything before the ferment even starts. Next time, weigh your salt instead of using tablespoons, and always go with coarse kosher or pickling salt.

the_sam2mo ago

Come on, it's just salt. People have been fermenting stuff forever without a scale. Maybe the batch is fine.

foster.jordan2mo ago

Tell me about it lol, I once turned a whole cabbage into a leather boot because I just dumped the salt in. The texture was so wrong it still haunts me. It's not just about the salt going in, it's how it works in the water it pulls out. That fine table salt coats everything instantly and you can't fix it. Trust me, a cheap scale saves way more money in lost veggies than it costs.