My neighbor Karen gave me her expired sauerkraut jar and said 'fix it'

She brought over a mason jar of sauerkraut she'd left in her fridge since July, with fuzzy white mold on top, and dead serious said 'you're the fermentation guy, just scoop off the bad part.' I had to explain that some things aren't worth saving, even with brine. Has anyone else had someone hand you a science experiment and expect a miracle?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.faith1mo ago

My friend Rachel got handed a jar of kimchi from her aunt that had been sitting in a garage since LAST winter. It was all dried out with this crusty brown liquid at the bottom and the cabbage was basically see-through. Her aunt said "just add some vinegar and shake it up, it'll be fine" like it was a salad dressing or something. Rachel had to explain that fermentation needs the RIGHT bacteria, not whatever mutant stuff grows after eight months in 100 degree heat. Her aunt got really offended and said "well I thought you were the expert." Now Rachel just says "sorry, I'm booked solid" whenever anyone brings her expired jars of anything.

oliverhernandez1mo ago

Eight months in a garage in the summer? Yeah that's nasty but I feel like people on here act like a little bit of expired kimchi is gonna kill you. I've eaten some funky stuff out of my fridge before and I'm still standing. The aunt probably just had a jar of weird pickles basically, not like it was gonna explode. Rachel sounds a bit extra if she's gotta cancel plans over a jar of cabbage.

lindag331mo ago

Guilty as charged, I'd probably eat that weird cabbage too.