If the sauerkraut gives little juice. Snotty cabbage, causes and solutions

Why didn't the cabbage release any juice when fermented?

In fact, any white cabbage should release its juice immediately when you grind it with coarse rock salt. But the author, according to him, did not grind the cabbage, but crushed it! And he crushed the cabbage along with the carrots. You can't do that.

Cabbage never wrinkles during fermentation, this is wrong! It rubs with force, that is, aggressively. The process of grinding cabbage is reminiscent of the movements of a hardworking washerwoman intensively washing dirty laundry. Take a handful of cabbage slices in both hands and forcefully rub one against the other until abundant juice appears. Only after the entire volume of cabbage has been successfully ground with salt can you add carrots and mix the cabbage with carrot shavings with light movements from bottom to top.

Now about how to save cabbage. Alas, if cabbage (along with carrots!) has been standing without juice for two days already, that is, the fermentation process is completely absent, then there is only one way to save such a valuable product - put it in a pan and simmer with butter. Otherwise, in cabbage without the resulting juice, the process of rotting will begin very quickly, the cabbage will acquire a gray tint and will become unsuitable for food.

I talked in detail about how to properly sauerkraut at home in my article: “Sauerkraut is like witchcraft.” Follow the link: and try the starter again. I wish you success.

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The cabbage did not release enough juice.

The reason may be the cabbage variety. Previously (in Soviet times), we used cabbage of the "Slava" variety for pickling (if I'm not mistaken). It was a good juicy cabbage, and when pickled it released a lot of juice.
Now there are different varieties of cabbage on sale, and most of them are not juicy enough, they store well, do not dry out - this is convenient for trading.
This cabbage can be fermented. When grated with salt, it gives little juice, and you need to add a sufficient amount of boiled cold water to the grated cabbage (more is better than less). The brine must cover the cabbage crushed under pressure.

It may not be too late to save your cabbage. Add water, mix, compact and apply pressure. During the fermentation process, stir the cabbage once a day.

If after the end of fermentation (after 3 days), the unpleasant smell of cabbage turns into a pleasant specific smell, the rescue operation was a success. Good luck!

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How to save sauerkraut if it does not produce juice.

I will immediately say thank you to everyone who tried to help. I asked this question via phone and there have already been attempts to extinguish it as Yulia (Jusha) suggested. But I managed to save the cabbage and even ferment it, and we ate it for dinner three days later.

If the cabbage has not given juice and has not yet begun to deteriorate, then

You need to take a glass of water boiled and cooled to room temperature, dilute two tablespoons of sugar in it and pour it over it.
- Mix thoroughly and compact the cabbage so that the brine covers the cabbage itself.
- Put under oppression.

A day later, the brine was already sour, and on the fourth day after the start of my experiment, the cabbage turned out to be tasty and pickled.

Why did I choose sugar? The fact is that the process of fermentation (fermentation) of cabbage is associated with beneficial bacteria (I don’t know which ones, probably the lacto group), which are found on cabbage leaves by default. And they love sucrose.

If there is no brine, add it yourself and feed your cabbage with sugar, but do not add vinegar or acid.

(the difference between my answer and Viktor Nikolaevich’s answer is that I added water with sugar dissolved in it, which served as a catalyst for the process. I also did not change it every day, but simply forgot about it)

Alexander Gushchin

I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

Content

Many experienced housewives are familiar with the process of fermenting cabbage, but even they, if all the rules are followed, are faced with the fact that instead of fermenting the vegetable preparation takes on a musty smell. Why does cabbage not ferment, but rot, and how to avoid failures in this process? Is it possible to save a failed pickle? How to choose the right vegetables and make delicious pickling?

Why does cabbage not sauerkraut?

The fermentation process is a chemical reaction that results in the formation of lactic acid bacteria, thanks to which the cabbage reaches the desired degree of fermentation. To multiply these bacteria, it is necessary to maintain a certain temperature in the room - from 17 to 21 ° C, the proportion of salt, and the cleanliness of containers and vegetables. Hence the answer to the question: “Why doesn’t the cabbage turn sour?”

Why does cabbage go rotten?

It would seem that you have done everything correctly, but instead of the expected sourdough, the product deteriorates - it acquires a dark color, a characteristic musty smell and an excessively sour unpleasant taste appear; instead of crispy, it becomes soft and slippery. You can find out why cabbage does not ferment, but goes rotten. There are a number of reasons why the workpiece may deteriorate after cooking:

1. The required amount of juice was not released. Before putting shredded cabbage into a container, you need to mash it until the juice releases.
2. The quality and proportion of salt are not met. When preparing, you should use rock salt or regular coarse salt, without additives. It is recommended to add 1.5-2 tablespoons of salt per 1 kg of vegetables.
3. “Choked” by fermentation gases. On the 3rd day, the contents of the jar must be pierced with a wooden stick to release the accumulated hydrogen sulfide (carbon dioxide). This should be done at least 3 times a day.
4. Air access. Do not allow oxygen to enter the product container. You need to make sure that the brine completely covers it.
5. There is a fungus. On the 2nd or 3rd day, foam appears on the surface of the workpiece. It must be removed until it disappears completely, otherwise it contributes to the formation of fungus, which leads to attenuation.
6. Using inappropriate varieties. Late (winter) varieties of cabbage heads are suitable for fermentation. They are collected at the end of September - beginning of October.

How to revive sauerkraut

In some cases, pickles can be returned to the normal fermentation process and the product will again delight you with a pleasant color and smell, and eating it will become tasty and healthy. When the product begins to smell musty, nothing can be done, so carefully monitor the process in the container from the moment you put the jar to ferment in order to save all the contents in time.

If it doesn't ferment

On the 2nd day, the prepared product should begin to ferment, but upon inspection it is clear that the process is not moving. In this case, if the cabbage does not ferment, but has a normal appearance and smell, you will need to follow a few simple steps to save it:

1. It is necessary to add a little sugar diluted with water to the container with the product - 2 teaspoons per 1 kg of vegetables.
2. Adjust the temperature of the environment where the cabbage is fermented. She does not like cold environments and extreme heat. The temperature that needs to be maintained has been discussed above.

If you oversalted

The product can be revived when oversalting occurs and it becomes tasteless. Ways to restore salt balance:

1. It is necessary to remove the contents from the container and mix with previously prepared fresh vegetables (carrots, peppers, apples, etc.). They will absorb some of the salt and add a piquant taste to the cabbage.
2. If the brine has already managed to separate and cover all the cabbage shavings, then you need to scoop it out with a tablespoon (but not all of it - just on top) and add boiled water at room temperature.

If these methods do not help reduce excess salt, do not despair. This preparation can be used in cabbage soup, borscht, in dressing for gravy, filling for pies, to make hodgepodge with the addition of meat and rice, which will draw off excess salt. Can be eaten as a separate dish, but first generously season it with vegetable oil and onions.

How to make sauerkraut correctly

Sauerkraut is a naturally fermented product containing a rich complex of vitamins and nutrients: Vitamin C and fiber help improve intestinal function, ascorbic acid strengthens the immune system. In terms of the amount of minerals, this product is among the leaders. The fermentation process must be approached very carefully, taking into account all the features: using a certain variety, selecting a container, adjusting the temperature of the external environment where the container with the starter will be located.

Variety selection

The variety of cabbage to be pickled plays an important role in preparation. It must be of late varieties. Suitable varieties for obtaining juicy, sweet fruits are the following: “Moskovskaya late”, “Valentina F1”, “Kharkovskaya zimnyaya”, “Geneva F1”. These varieties are late-ripening and must be harvested in late September–early October. Such forks have a yellowish color; when cut, they release juice; the leaves are of medium thickness, elastic, with a sweetish taste.

Proportions

For delicious sauerkraut, it is important to maintain the proportions of ingredients: salt, spices, carrots. Some people like to add hard apples and pomegranate seeds to fermentation. It's up to your taste. The main thing is that you need to put 2 tbsp of salt. spoons per kilo of product. Failure to comply with the proportions will lead to over-salting or under-salting of the product, and under-salting will lead to spoilage. Vegetables should take up no more than 1/4 of the volume of cabbage.

Conditions

The container must be either glass or wood. Plastic and metal containers are contraindicated - plastic can give off its odor, and the metal will oxidize. Be sure to place a weight or other pressure on top of the cabbage shavings that have been cooked and placed in a container. The oppression should not be stone or metal. Between the oppression and the leaven you need to lay a pre-prepared linen or cotton cloth. If it is fermented in a bottle, then oppression is not necessary. Some housewives believe in omens and prepare fermentation according to the recommended days of the lunar calendar.

Video

Is it possible to correct the situation when sauerkraut is over-salted, what to do with such a snack or should you just throw it away, and also why this might happen. Read about all this below.

The benefits of sauerkraut

Does it ever happen to you that not only the sight or the smell, but the mere thought of sauerkraut literally makes your mouth water? Most likely, this is because the body does not have enough of the substances contained in this product. Cabbage prepared by pickling is very healthy.

You should start with vitamin C. In this regard, sauerkraut simply has no equal, especially considering that the peak of its consumption falls precisely during the period of colds and seasonal infections. The joint work of vitamins B, A, E and K has a positive effect on the entire body, but primarily on the gastrointestinal tract.

It has been proven that regular consumption of aromatic snacks in food promotes the healing of wounds and ulcers of the stomach and duodenum.

Because of the iodine, it is recommended to make sauerkraut a mandatory component of the diet of pregnant women, and thanks to the huge number of lactic acid bacteria, due to which it actually turns sour, there is an improvement in the intestinal microflora and the fight against dysbiosis.

Sauerkraut is not only tasty, but also very healthy.

And it is also considered one of the most proven ways to prevent the development of cancer cells.

Why does oversalting happen?

Some housewives salt cabbage, strictly following the recipe, while others use it “by eye.” But unpleasant situations happen in both cases. Oversalting most often occurs in the following situations:

• incorrect or untested recipe;
• the recipe indicates the amount of coarse salt, but fine salt is used;
• salting time exceeded;
• The cabbage did not receive enough air for fermentation and did not ferment, but simply became salty.

Much depends on experience, but in any case, no one is immune and every housewife needs to know what to do if she over-salts the cabbage when pickling.

How to save cabbage

This situation is quite common, so there are many options.

Let's look at the main ones.

If you are unable to get rid of excess salt, do not despair.

You can use this cabbage to prepare cabbage soup, borscht, vinaigrette, etc. You can also serve it as an independent appetizer, just generously season with vegetable oil and add more onions.

If you over-salt your sauerkraut, try making stew with it.

Surprisingly, for this recipe, cooks specially oversalt it.

Meat (preferably pork) is cut into large cubes, fried over high heat, and placed in a saucepan.

Onions and carrots are fried in a small amount of vegetable oil. Squeeze the cabbage and mix with the remaining ingredients.

Add a little tomato paste, a little water, seasonings and fresh herbs to the saucepan. Simmer for about 30 minutes. The salt from the cabbage will be evenly distributed and, on the contrary, will become a highlight in the finished dish. Try it, you will like it.

And to avoid over-salting, take note of the following recommendations for pickling cabbage:

• choose late varieties of cabbage;
• the fruit must weigh from 0.8 to 2 kg;
• do not use cabbage that shows signs of rotting;
• Before placing them under pressure, the chopped vegetables must be grated until the juice appears;
• To release the gases formed during fermentation, you can pierce the cabbage with a long knitting needle.

There are no hopeless situations, so don’t be upset if you over-salt your sauerkraut. Now you know what to do. Happy cooking! And finally, we offer you a proven video recipe for delicious sauerkraut.

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Sauerkraut is considered a healthy and tasty dish. It was also prepared by Russian princes, as it well compensated for the lack of vitamins during the winter period. There are many rules for its preparation, but all methods adhere to the same standards. But sometimes, if all fermentation technologies are followed, the cabbage turns out snotty. The brine is cloudy and at the same time there are strange slimy threads in it. How to avoid this?

Reasons for appearance

Fermentation is considered the most acceptable way to preserve the vitamin composition. But why does snotty cabbage show up in the recipe? The main reasons are as follows:

1. It is important to choose special varieties for sourdough. Late varieties with white heads of cabbage are suitable. If you choose a vegetable with green leaves, the dish will taste bitter. The heads of cabbage should be dense, juicy and have small stalks. Sweet cabbage leaves give pickling a good taste.
2. If the cabbage is snotty, then a possible cause may be the addition of sugar. It can provoke a slimy condition.
3. The appetizer acquires a pleasant taste if fermentation occurs at a temperature from twenty degrees Celsius to 25 degrees.
4. It is important to rinse the container when preparing for sourdough. In addition, it is better to select dishes from natural materials; it is advisable to avoid plastic. Wood or glass will do.
5. When the cabbage becomes snotty, you need to check the quantity and quality of salt. The spice should not be small and it should not be finely ground. Coarse salt is suitable for fermentation.

But the main reason that the cabbage turned out snotty is the non-compliance with the cooking technology. Excess air causes the wrong bacteria to grow, resulting in a snack with an unpleasant odor and mucus appearing in the brine when scooping.

What can be done

How to save an already cooked dish? What to do with cabbage that has changed its appearance and quality? You shouldn’t immediately throw away the result of your labors. You can no longer eat such a snack in its natural form, but it can be used to prepare some dishes, for example, cabbage soup.

To use snotty cabbage for certain recipes, you should rinse it well and thoroughly before adding it to the dish.

Folk signs

There is an opinion that it is best to trust men with salting and not to do the cooking when the moon is full. This has not been scientifically proven, but many people believe folk superstitions to avoid the appearance of snotty cabbage.

If the cabbage does not produce enough juice during fermentation - enough to cover it completely, then it will be bitter, dry and tasteless, and then it may completely fade and become moldy.

This rarely happens with late white cabbage; it is very suitable for pickling, but if this happens, then read how to salt the cabbage if it turns out not to be juicy.

What to do if sauerkraut does not produce juice? Usually you just add water and salt.

Perhaps you chose the wrong variety or the cabbage was stored incorrectly after harvest. Don't despair, everything can still be improved!

Cabbage is fermented after the first frost - this is the best time, because then the cabbage dries out and freezes.

You need to ferment cabbage on the waxing Moon; cabbage may not turn out on a full moon, when the moon is in the Zodiac signs of Cancer, Virgo and Pisces and on women's critical days. It is also recommended to salt cabbage on women's days of the week - Wednesday, Friday, Saturday.

You need to choose late-ripening varieties of cabbage, with ripened, white heads of cabbage; they contain a lot of sugar necessary for the fermentation process.

It is better to use an enameled wide pan or basin as a container for pickling cabbage - the larger the area of ​​contact with air, the better the fermentation process.

You cannot use iodized salt; the cabbage will not ferment.

When placing cabbage in a container for fermentation, be sure to compact it with a wooden rolling pin so that a large amount of juice appears in the groove from the rolling pin. And then press the cabbage in the pan with your fists so that it is all covered with juice, put a plate and press down with pressure, for example, a 5-liter plastic canister filled with water. It is easy to adjust the weight of the oppression.

Some housewives who ferment cabbage in three-liter jars, if the juice does not come out and the cabbage on top turns out to be dry, simply throw it away, leaving only the part that is soaked in juice. The remaining cabbage turns out as tasty and healthy as always.

Order an energy saver and forget about the previous huge expenses for electricity

If the cabbage is not at all juicy, try it.

Proven recipe for pickling cabbage

This is a classic way to prepare sauerkraut for the winter - without adding water and vinegar.

Only cabbage, carrots and salt.

The result is crispy, not very sour, tasty cabbage, which can be served as an appetizer, stewed, or added to cabbage soup and vinaigrettes.

Ingredients:

• head of cabbage - 2.5-3 kg
• carrots - 2-3 pcs.
• salt to taste or 1 matchbox per 1 kg of shredded cabbage

The cabbage should be white and juicy, ideally flat. Elongated cabbage (Amager variety, for example) becomes soft and “snotty”.

The juiciness of cabbage can be determined by crushing a cabbage leaf in your hands. It should not be very hard and dry.

How to make juicy sauerkraut:

1. Cut the head of cabbage into 4 parts and remove the stalk; it may contain nitrates. Chop into thin strips and hang.

2. Peel the carrots, rinse them thoroughly and grate them on a coarse grater.

3. Mix everything, adding salt and rubbing the cabbage with your hands so that the juice is released, but not too much so that it does not become soft.

It is useless to grind cabbage that is not juicy; it will still not give juice, but it will acquire unnecessary softness.

4. Piece by piece, place the cabbage in a fermentation container, compacting it with a rolling pin. When it's full, smooth the surface with clean hands, pressing down to coat the cabbage with juice.

5. If there is not enough juice, add cool boiled water with salt in the proportion of 1 heaped tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of water.

6. Cover with a plate, press down and place pressure - a jar of water or a scalded stone, dumbbells.

7. After a day, the cabbage will begin to bubble. Every day, pierce it with a knitting needle to the very bottom along the entire surface so that gases escape. Otherwise the cabbage will taste bitter. Then apply pressure again.

8. The cabbage will be ready in 3-4 days. Taste to see if the cabbage has fermented; even a beginner can understand it.

Can be put away in the cold. Make sure that the cabbage is always covered with brine.

Bon appetit!