My kraut went pink in the jar after a week in my basement

I was making a big batch of sauerkraut in my 5-gallon crock, and after moving it to the basement where it's a steady 68 degrees, the whole top layer turned a weird pink color. My neighbor, who's been fermenting for 20 years, came over, took one look, and said 'your salt ratio is off, that's a bacterial party you don't want.' How do you guys test your brine strength before a big ferment to avoid this mess?

2 comments

2 Comments

tylerw728d agoMost Upvoted

Man, "a bacterial party you don't want" is such a perfect way to put it. That pink color is such a gut punch after putting in all that work. I've been there with a batch of carrots, and it just feels awful to have to toss it. Your neighbor is right, it almost always comes down to the salt. For a crock that big, are you weighing your salt and cabbage, or just going by volume? I've found a cheap kitchen scale is the only way to really be sure.

nancys908d ago

That "gut punch" feeling is so real. I had pink kraut once and switched to weighing everything on a kitchen scale, just like you said. It made all the difference for getting the salt right.