Your own homemade sauerkraut is slowly getting done, but make sure to take care of it regularly

Have you tried your sauerkraut yet or are you still waiting for it to settle down? We started to marinade and press our cabbage at the beginning of October and we have tried it today, and it was excellent. This is largely due to the fact that we took a very good care of it. Yes, you have to take care of your sauerkraut during the fermentation processbut do not worry it is not complicated, but the old saying “No pain, no gain” applies here too. So what do you need to do?

Keep it constantly under the juices

It is extremely important that the cabbage is constantly under the juice that has been created at the beginning when it was pressed and stored in an earthenware container. As soon as the cabbage reaches the surface it will catch a mould, which will multiply very quickly. If this happens to you, boil a slightly salted water and top up the level in the earthenware container. Do not forget to add to the salt, otherwise the cabbage will lose acidity. Those of you, who poured an extra juice out at the beginning and stored it, use it to top up the level.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Watch out for mould

Most likely a little mould will appear sooner or later. Most often it appears on the stone you used to weigh the cabbage down. Wash the stone at regular intervals to get rid of the unpleasant coating. You must also remove small pieces of cabbage that float on the surface as these will get infected by mould eventually.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Remove the white coating from time to time

A white coating usually forms on the surface of the earthenware pot. This is normal, but you should remove it from time to time. Use a regular dish sponge to do so. When you do that the coating breaks into small pieces, but you should be able to get most of it out.

Photo: Radek Štěpán

Watch the water seal plug

The water plug must be sealed properly. Water slowly evaporates and may disappear completely. Refill regularly. Most likely you will be able to tell when the water has evaporated because of the smell because the plug works as a filter.

Preview photo: Radek Štěpán