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My brother told me to skip the airlock and just burp the jar, and my kraut turned to mush
He said a tight lid was fine for a quart of cabbage, so I left it on the counter for five days. When I opened it, the smell was off and the texture was slimy, not crunchy. I lost the whole batch, about three bucks worth of veg. Has anyone else had a ferment go bad from not using an airlock?
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abby1898d ago
My grandma in Wisconsin never used an airlock in her life, just a plate and a rock in a crock. She made perfect sauerkraut for fifty years. The problem is probably your jar wasn't clean enough or the cabbage was old. Airlocks are a new gadget for an old process.
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karen_nelson408d ago
Ugh, that's the worst. Did your brother at least offer to buy you a replacement cabbage? I was reading a fermentation book from the library last week, and it said a tight lid can let pressure build up but still allow bad stuff in when you burp it, which might cause the slime. Airlocks are cheap for a reason, they keep that steady environment. Sorry about your kraut, that's a bummer.
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