I was sure my sauerkraut needed a special starter culture to be good

For years, I just used salt and cabbage, thinking that was the 'real' way. Then a friend from Milwaukee gave me a jar of her kraut made with a bit of whey from plain yogurt, and the flavor was so much more complex and developed faster. I tried adding just two tablespoons of whey to my last batch, and it was ready in about 10 days instead of three weeks. Has anyone else found a simple addition that really sped up their vegetable ferments?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tyler15d ago

Honestly, my first kraut attempt was so bad it could have been used as a bio-weapon. I see @jakejones' point about letting it go slow, but after that disaster, I'm all for a little whey to speed things up and add some safety. Two tablespoons seems to be the sweet spot for getting something edible without the weird funk.

piper77915d ago

Milwaukee kraut with yogurt whey sounds like a total game changer for fermentation speed.

jakejones15d ago

Gotta disagree on that one. Adding whey from yogurt can mess with the natural bacteria you want for kraut. It might ferment faster, but the flavor can turn out weird and funky. I've had better luck just using salt and letting it do its thing slowly. Rushing fermentation never seems to work out right for me.