lex, I've never made kraut in jars, so I can't help with some of your questions, but I can answer a couple.

First, spackling tubs are indeed a no no. The containers must be "food grade". My local WalMart will give away the plastic buckets that frosting and such come in, if you ask at the deli.

Pans would also be out, some are "reactive" and I wouldn't try to ferment anything in a metal pan anyway.

I use canning salt and kosher salt interchangeably and haven't noticed a difference. (shrug) Kosher is my salt of choice, though, only because that's what my old recipe calls for.

Don't tighten the lids tight, just give the band a screw or two. (grin)

You shouldn't need to add water, the cabbage/salt mixture makes enough "juice" usually. If it doesn't, you can add a bit of "brine", which is salt and water.

I never add more salt after it's packed and fermenting, if I need more liquid I add brine to the jars when I process them.

I hope this helps and that someone who has made kraut in quart jars will step in with answers to more of your questions.

Annie

You don't want to use table salt because it has iodine in it. Canning salt is just fine.

Annie,
Thank you...as always you are right there when I have questions! I'll make sure to ask walmart about their frosting buckets next sat while shopping.

I was looking at the size of my cabbage heads and thought I'm sure gonna need to use a whole lot of jars to hold all that cabbage. I was very surprised that using my meat tenderizer thingy I could push one very large and heavy head of cabbage into almost 2 quart jars! Since I had so much cabbage to cut up I would put some salt...used the canning salt on the cabbage that I had shredded while shredding rest of head. This actually produced quite a bit of "water" and I would pour it out of the jar to make more room for cabbage.

So I know I don't need to add water or brine to start.

I think my biggest question now is..do I fill the quart size jar to the top or leave a little space? Hopefully someone who has done this method can let me know.

Also thank for the screwing tip :) I knew that table salt is a no no but didn't realize that the kosher salt and canning salt were interchangable. thank you for that also.

I hope this method works out well because the idea that I won't have to skim nasty stuff off everyday sure sounds good to me lol

off the topic...but just had the strangest thing happend while previewing this message...an ad for ivillage took over my computer browser and wouldn't move off it even though i clicked on skip this message. I have pop-up blockers and still it popped up two different times with extra ads. Ever have that happen on this site?

Hi lexilani,

I've made in quart and pint jars & screw the lids down finger tight like you would for canning and I don't open them until the ferment is finished. (usually)

My ferments are more 'watery' than would be if used weights to keep the cabbage below the brine & I'm possibly the one you refer to that shakes the jars so the gas bubbles can escape. I use a starter to get the ferment going more quickly than normal so don't have to use such a heavy salt brine. The brine should be above the cabbage at the start.

Use non-iodized salt.

Is there a USDA approved method of fermenting cabbage for kraut?

jt

Hi John,
thanks for your response. If you don't usually open until they are done...how can you tell they are done? I thought it was more of a taste test to see if they tasted good? Also does this mean because of the lid being on they water/brine stays over the top of the cabbage? If the cabbage isn't covered by the brine would you open it up to add more to it?
I ended up with a total of 6 quarts crammed so tight that when I would pour off fluid to add more cabbage and turned the jar upside down the cabbage didn't come out. I think I read somewhere that the tighter the cabbage the better...hope so anyway cuz it's tight lol

Thank again for your tips.

The brine should be 1/2" over the cabbage and the jar only 80% full.

I know when they are done because have done it so many times and I use a starter for a more controlled result.

Some of this should be of help:

Sauerkraut & Pickled Veggies

Wild Fermentation

John...
Thanks for that info....I'll have to take some out of all the jars and put into another jar because I have them filled almost to the top. I saw some posts about using a starter. I didn't use it with mine.
I'm going to check out the two links...they look like new ones that weren't in the other posts.

I just started on one of the links, Sauerkraut and pickled veg...... at the bottom of pg14.jpg it talks about using the glass canning jars. It says you have to have a tight seal...I thought you're not supposed to make it tight because it could burst and to let the leakage come out?

So now I'm confused again....screw the band tight or don't screw the band tight...it even says that if using a "used" lid to check the seal for damage because it won't make a tight enought seal.

I have purposely tried to get jars to blow up by screwing lid down as tight as I could. Which is rather stupid, but that's me. Finger tight. Just like you would for canning something. I use Golden Harvest and Ball canning jars and not recycled mayo etc jars.

Have you posted the recipe that you used? Do you intend to can the kraut when finished? The recipe on page 21 is fantastic.

jt

lol about trying to get the jar to blow. Things don't seem to happen when you try to make them happen do they? :)

No I didn't post the recipe because used one that was here on the board in an old post. Really all is was ...was shredding cabbage...I did let it set with salt on it as I shred all the heads(this wasn't mentioned in the how to)...push it into the jars and put the lids on.
I believe this method was Beejay's posted by someone else.

When the kraut is done just process in BWB for 5 mins. And I saw Beejay sometimes adds a little white vinegar. I really like these simple easy things lol.

I'll take another look...you mean page 21 on one of the links you gave me right?

One more thing...do you know if the lids (some of lids I used were new) are they still good for canning once the kraut is done?

I ended up with 8 quarts now that I took out about 20% of the cabbage in the others.

Just looked at the recipe you mentioned...It's for red cabbage...I only have white. lol actually don't have the caraway or berries either. That's definately a thought for next year if I plant the red cabbage.

> One more thing...do you know if the lids (some of lids I used were new) are they still good for canning once the kraut is done?

That's for one of the experts here to answer. I personally never reuse lids and the screw bands don't seem to last very long anymore either.

The cabbage color won't make much difference. Time of year harvested and size might.

John,
I've noticed this morning that even though I took out 20% of the cabbage from all the jars ...that the cabbage is swelling to the top again and I'm not seeing much brine.

Should I keep taking out cabbage to make it 80% filled? Should I top off with brine if I don't see any? Or should I just leave it alone now and let it do it's thing?

I think once this is done I'm not going to reuse the lids for processing....couple lids aren't worth taking a chance on not sealing. I have noticed that my screw bands seem to get rusty very fast the past two years. Good thing I have lots of them.

For today I would turn the jars upsidedown for maybe 15 min to let the brine cover what is now the top to prevent nasty stuff from growing. Put paper towels under the jars after you right them to catch any liquid that might get forced through if gas is actually being produced already.

There should be a visible brine level maybe 2/3 up or higher if the gently rock the jars back in forth. I bang the jars on my countertop to settle the cabbage and release gas bubbles. Do it on a rubber mat or folded towel.

Once the ferment is working the gas will protect like the brine is now.

Sure wish you had a web cam or something so I could see what is going on.

jt

Thank you John. I wish I had a web cam too lol...I think maybe I took it "too" literally when I read to pack the cabbage in real tight. maybe I just packed it in tighter than I should have. I'm going to go do what you said right now. I have them setting in a pan right now to catch anything that might come out...hopefully this will fix it and I won't have to bother you anymore about it.

When we made kraut in the jars in our class we weighted the down with baggies filled with dry beans with a twist tie on them. You use weights as opposed to using the lids to keep it submurged under the brine. It is a good idea to sit the jars in something in case they bubble over.
Yes, there are USDA guidelines for kraut.
You could use those lids, but you may have some failure.
This link has the USDA guidelines,along with some info on suitable fermenting containers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fermenting foods.

Hi Linda lou
Yep, I have the jars sitting in large baking pans. When I turned them over yesterday as John suggested I saw there was still brine in them and when it starting leaking I turned them back over.

I was very surprised to find that it has already started smelling like sauerkraut! Not real strong but it's there so something is happening right :)
Thanks for the link I will check it out. I figured there were USDA guidelines for kraut since there seem to be guidelines for everything and anything canned. lol

I started kraut 1 1 1/2 wks ago and it was kinda warm. Well there are no bubbles going on. Does that mean it's done and I have to take it out and put it in the fridge or just leave it alone? With instructions that kraut takes 3-4 wks, how can it ferment that long?

I don't like trying to do small jar batches.

Way too many potential problems. In kraut making, there's safety and harmony in going with a big batch.

As for the bucket, try stopping at your local donut shop. They will often give away the 2 gallon size mini buckets that donut icing comes in.

I have several of those from Dunkin Donuts, one of which I use exclusively for kraut. Packed with 15 pounds of cabbage it's not even half full.