It could simply be that the warm temperatures accelerated the process and your batch of kraut is done. Before you taste anything, how does it look? Is the liquid cloudy? It should be yellowish in color. Red, pink, brown, etc., are strong indications that something has gone bad. How does it smell? If it smells sharp, crisp, a bit yeasty, and sour, chances are that it's fine. If it has an off, putrid, or "non sauerkraut" smell, trust your nose. Scald a fork and fish some out. Rub it between your fingers. How does it feel? Does it feel slimy, gooey, or very soft? That's a strong indication that things have gone south. If, however, it feels clean and crisp, not unlike fresh, but wet, cabbage, and it sort of squeaks when you rub it together, that's a very good sigh. Finally, and ONLY if it passes all those other tests, taste a very small piece. If it tastes like kraut, it's kraut. If, however, it tastes wrong, spit it out and rinse very thoroughly with Listerine.

To answer your question more directly: I am sure the color in the brine is not due to leaching out a dye from the plastic plate. I've never seen a plastic that would do that. Also, a great many old crocks were glazed inside with Albany slip, a clay which melted to a dark brown coating when fired and which contained no lead. The outside of these crocks were often salt glazed, which produced a light gray color with a slight orange peel texture. They were marked or decorated with cobalt blue. If your old crock is one of these, there is nothing to fear. Jim

Ahh that's what I was afraid off. That method has been discussed here many times but not always in full detail. Usually the discussions assume the reader knows the basics of making kraut. That particular set of instructions doesn't cover it all. It doesn't make clear the part about mashing and squeezing the cabbage with the salt to create the brine. When making kraut it is worked heavily with your hands before packing the jars. You work the cabbage with your hands in a bowl first squeezing and pressing until the liquid begins to develop - the salt pulls the water out of the cabbage. You then pressing it down into the jar - as bejay says, "tightly packing it, VERY tightly". In the process of doing that more brine is made and the level of liquid begins to rise in the jar. You keep packing and pressing until most all the cabbage is surrounded by the liquid. Within a few days more brine will develop and may begin to over flow the jar and that is why the lids aren't screwed down tight and you set the jars in a container to catch the overflow. You can dump those 3 jars into a large bowl and assuming you used the correct amount of salt (1 tsp. per pint) begin to work it well with your hands (some use a wooden mallet to actually beat the cabbage) until liquid starts forming. Then repack it into jars and press it down hard as you go. Those 3 jars will likely turn into 1 1/2-2 jars. Here is my copy of the more complete instuctions. Bejay Kraut instructions Regular canning jars - wide mouth pint jars. Shredded the cabbage, and added 1 tsp salt per pint, mixing it in well to the cabbage and then pressing the cabbage down hard in the jar. I used a regular canning cap and lid. Then set the jars in a plastic container - to catch drips. The covers should not be screwed down too tightly, as they will leak some. These are then allowed to ferment in a protected space - not completely sealed. After several weeks, the juices will flow out of the jar a bit and bubbles appear in the jar - smelling good. From time to time, open up and taste test - I don't remember how long, but when I think it tastes right to me, I go ahead and process it. Processing: Sterilize pint jars and lids (you know how already). Drain the kraut, bring the juice just to a boil. I taste the juice, and sometimes add a bit of white vinegar (my preference). Add the juice back to the kraut and heat just to boiling point - don't overcook. Pack in jars and seal, process BWB 5 minutes. (just long enough to seal jars). Hope this helps. Dave

Bejay, both my husband and I so enjoy the crunch of my sauerkraut, that I have no desire to can it, and lose the texture as I am sure I would. I can't imagine that spoilage will be a problem, since my last batch is still very crisp and tasty and I've discovered several friends that like sauerkraut...my last batch I used 10 pounds of cabbage...made much more sauerkraut than I and my husband will eat before Fall, and certainly takes up more room in my fridge than I'm willing to deal with. Cabbage is cheap, now that I know how, I can always make more! :D Now, as someone who has misty memories of my Nana buying corned beef at the local market, which had a barrel in a dark, cool corner...grey and not particularly tasty looking, but my, once it was cooked (YUM!)...learning to corn my own beef is high on my list!