My kraut volcano ruined a brand new pair of jeans

Honestly, I was so proud of this batch of kimchi I started in my kitchen last Tuesday. I had it in a big glass jar on the counter, burping it twice a day like you're supposed to. Tbh, I got busy with a big tree job in Tacoma and forgot about it for a full 48 hours. I came home, saw the lid was bulging, and went to open it over the sink. Ngl, I was not prepared. The second I cracked the seal, a fountain of bright red brine shot straight up, hit the ceiling, and splashed down all over me. My favorite light wash jeans are now permanently tie-dyed with gochugaru. I spent the next hour cleaning fermented cabbage juice off of everything. Has anyone else had a ferment erupt that violently, and what's your trick for remembering to burp when life gets crazy?

3 comments

3 Comments

torres.thea8d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, that's a classic ferment fail right there. I read a whole blog post once about how the pressure can get crazy high in just a day if your kitchen is warm. @ray356 is right that an alarm helps, but my trick is to keep the jar in a big plastic bowl just in case it decides to overflow anyway. At least then the mess is contained. That red stain might be a cool story, but I feel your pain on the cleanup.

ray3569d ago

A kraut volcano sounds a bit dramatic. It's just some spilled brine, not a real disaster. You can probably get most of that stain out with some baking soda and sun. Setting a phone alarm to burp your jar is a pretty basic fix for being forgetful.

tessa_murray8d ago

Yeah, I used to think "just spilled brine" too until a real mess changed my mind, like @torres.thea said.