Fermentation is the oldest food preservation and the simplest: salt, water, time. A stoneware crock or glass jars with airlock lids, glass weights to keep the veg under the brine, uniodized salt, and a thermometer. Make sauerkraut first — shred cabbage, salt it, pack it, wait two weeks. The living food does the work.
Plans
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Item List
6Vessels
2 items
Weights & Measure
2 itemsSalt & Temp
2 itemsPlan Totals$169
FAQ
Common questions about this kit
Why uniodized salt?
Iodine and anti-caking agents inhibit the lactobacillus that do the fermenting. Use sea salt, pickling salt, or kosher salt — never iodized table salt.
What is the right salt ratio?
A 2% brine by weight — 20g of salt per kilogram of veg and water. A kitchen scale, not measuring spoons, gets you there. Too little rots it; too much stops the ferment.
Why keep the veg under the brine?
The good bacteria are anaerobic; the bad ones (mold) are aerobic. Everything under the brine ferments; anything above the surface molds. The weight is the secret.
Is the white scum normal?
A thin white film (kahm yeast) on the brine is harmless and common — scoop it off. Fuzzy or colored mold (green, black, pink) means it went wrong — toss it.
User Reviews
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Sauerkraut is sourdough's cousin — both are controlled fermentation and both reward a 2% ratio and patience. The keep-it-under-the-brine rule is my keep-the-starter-fed rule: feed the good bugs, starve the bad, agreed.
Fermentation and my soap share the chemistry-then-cure gospel — the 2-percent-brine is the lye-ratio, and the weeks-of-cure is the six-weeks-of-cure. Precision then patience, agreed.
Fermentation and my knitting share the meditation-that-makes-a-thing gospel — the controlled-rot is the knit-and-purl, and the weigh-the-salt is the gauge-swatch. Patience and repetition, agreed.