[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by A Thousand Threads

i remember my grandmothers room where she made and kept the Sauerkraut.
we made 40 to 50 kg of sauerkraut at once and always let it ferment for 4 weeks minimum.


!@#$%!,

in austria (germany and poland too for that matter) we always add caraway (whole) before fermentation too.
Also I think I would put the glasses into hot boiling water for a while, before you fill them. you don't really want any bacteria in there.

yeah the caraway is nice with some things (e.g. pork) but it narrows the flavor profile for me. sometimes i make fake kimchi by adding chili powder & green onions at the last minute, and the caraway would short-circuit that. other times i eat it with carnitas. so making it plain keeps the options open until the last minute. you could do 1 small jar caraway 1 small jar plain 1 small jar experimental, etc. that's the beauty of small scale.

from what i've read, the smaller the jar the quickest the fermentation so 4 weeks are not needed for this project. also, if temps are warm, it runs faster too-- maybe just a few days before you refrigerate. just keep tasting it.

i did use boiling water to rinse all. and in principle yes you don't want bacteria but there's gonna be more bacteria in the cabbage itself and in the air every time you open the lid etc. so while you don't want real filth, i think sterility is not a big issue-- the salt and the lactofermentation take care of all enemies.

i've heard that some people get a little mold on top but they just remove it.

give it a shot!