TIL my kraut went bad because I popped the lid too often to check on it.

I was in my kitchen last Tuesday and noticed this weird fuzzy mold on top of my sauerkraut batch after 4 days, and I realized I had been burping the jar every single morning to see if it was bubbling, which let in too much oxygen; has anyone else ruined a batch by peeking too much?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaronsullivan1mo ago

Four days seems fast. Were you using a proper airlock or just a loose lid?

the_tessa1mo ago

My buddy Dan tried fermenting with just a loose lid once and ended up with fruit flies swimming in his batch by day five. He learned the hard way that the airlock keeps things clean and lets the CO2 push out the bad air without letting anything in. Four days can definitely work if you've got the right setup and a warm enough spot in your kitchen.

karencampbell1mo ago

Did you use a proper airlock though? A loose lid lets oxygen in and that's bad for the first few days especially. Fruit flies love that sugary CO2 smell so you've really gotta seal it up tight.