c/fermentation-station

Found out my sourdough starter is older than my car

I was cleaning out my fridge and found a note stuck to my starter jar from 2018. I've been feeding this same culture for over six years now. I looked it up and a healthy starter can basically live forever if you take care of it. My car is a 2019 model, so this jar of goop has been bubbling longer than I've owned my ride. It's wild to think I've kept something alive that long just by adding flour and water. Has anyone else had a starter hit a big milestone like that?

The week my first batch of kimchi turned the whole garage into a science project

It was a Tuesday in October when I noticed the jar lid had popped and brine was slowly dripping down the shelf. The smell was so strong my dog wouldn't go in there for three days. Anyone have a good spot for a 'fermentation station' that doesn't take over a whole room?

My sauerkraut was always too soft until I tried a trick from a book

I was getting mushy kraut for months, even with good salt ratios. The book 'The Art of Fermentation' mentioned adding oak or grape leaves for tannins to keep it crisp. I tossed in a few clean oak leaves from my yard with my last 5-pound batch of cabbage, and it totally worked! The texture is perfect now. Has anyone else tried this with different leaves, like raspberry or black tea?

Just found out my city's tap water has 2.5 ppm of chlorine, which explains why my last three kombucha batches turned out weird.

A guy at the farmers market in Boise told me my kraut was 'too clean'

I was selling my first batch of sauerkraut last weekend, and a man in his 60s stopped to look. He picked up a jar, held it to the light, and said, 'This is too clean, kid. You're not getting the good bugs.' He explained that he only ferments in his cool basement, never scrubs his crock with soap, and just wipes it with a saltwater rag. He said my shiny kitchen and new jars were making my ferment weak. It got me thinking about how sterile we try to make things. Has anyone else had an old-timer challenge their whole process like that?

Just saw a restaurant in Austin charge $18 for a tiny jar of pickles

I was at a spot on South Congress yesterday and they had 'house fermented' pickles on the menu. The jar was maybe 4 ounces, and it cost more than my beer. The waiter said they take 3 weeks to make, but come on, that's just vinegar and cucumbers. It felt like they were just using the word 'ferment' to jack up the price. Has anyone else seen places do this with simple ferments?

TIL most commercial sauerkraut isn't truly fermented

I was reading a food science article from the University of Wisconsin and found out a lot of store-bought sauerkraut is just cabbage with vinegar added for sourness, not actually lacto-fermented. They said one major brand's process takes only 3 days, which is far too short for proper fermentation. I always assumed the jarred stuff was the real deal. Has anyone else discovered a favorite brand that actually uses the traditional method?

I was at the farmers market in Asheville last weekend and saw a vendor selling fermented hot sauce in old kombucha bottles

My friend in Denver swore by a 3% salt brine for kraut, but my grandma's recipe always called for 5%.

We got into a friendly debate over beers last summer about whether the lower brine makes for a crisper, more flavorful ferment or if it's just asking for a moldy mess, so what's your take on the ideal salt percentage for classic sauerkraut?

Visited a new brewery in Asheville and their fermentation room was a total mess

I was on a tour at the new Riverbend Brewery last weekend and they let us peek into the fermentation area. All the carboys were just sitting on the floor, no temperature control, and one had a really cloudy airlock. The guide said it was 'ambient fermentation' but it looked more like a recipe for a batch of vinegar. Has anyone else seen a setup like that and had it actually work out okay?

I used to think my basement was too cold for fermenting anything

Last month, I tried making sauerkraut in my Michigan basement where it stays around 58 degrees. I figured it would just sit there and do nothing. After about three weeks, I checked it and it was perfectly sour and crisp, no weird smells at all. Has anyone else had a slow ferment turn out better than expected in a cool spot?

Vent: My sauerkraut batch hit 7.2 pH and I didn't expect it to drop that fast

Checked it after only four days and the reading was way lower than my last few attempts. I used a new brand of sea salt from the co-op this time. Has anyone else noticed a big change when they switch their salt source?

I thought my grandma's pickle crock was just an old thing she kept around...

Heard a guy at the farmers market say his sauerkraut was too sour

I was picking up some veggies last Saturday and the vendor was talking to another customer. The customer said his last batch of kraut was so sour his family wouldn't eat it. The vendor just asked, 'How warm was your kitchen?' I always thought time was the only thing that mattered, but he explained that a warm spot can speed things up a lot, making it more sour faster. I've got a batch going now in my cooler basement closet to see if it makes a difference. Has anyone else had a batch go too fast because of the heat?

Pro tip: check your airlock water level before a big trip

Left a batch of kimchi going for 5 days while I was in Chicago. Came back to a dry airlock and a krausen explosion all over my kitchen counter. The lid was sealed but the pressure built up and pushed through. Anyone know a good way to keep them topped up for longer ferments?

My sauerkraut went from mushy to crunchy after I started weighing it down

I made a batch of red cabbage kraut about a month ago and after two weeks, it was weirdly soft. I was just using the cabbage's own juice as a weight. Last week, I started using a small glass jar filled with water as a weight to keep everything submerged. Checked it yesterday, and the texture is totally different, super crisp now. Has anyone else had a texture turn-around like that just from changing how you weigh it down?

My sauerkraut bubbled over for 14 days straight and I've never seen that before.

Usually my ferments calm down after a week, but this batch in a half-gallon jar just kept going. Has anyone else had a ferment stay that active for so long?

My cousin's kimchi brine overflow story made me check my own setup

He said his 2 gallon crock bubbled over after 3 days and ruined a cabinet. I realized I've been filling my jars way too full, leaving maybe half an inch of headspace. I checked my current sauerkraut batch and it's already pushing brine up the airlock. From now on, I'm leaving a full two inches clear at the top for the active stage. Has anyone else had a mess because they underestimated how much their ferments expand?

PSA: My whole sauerkraut batch went slimy because I was too gentle with the salt

I've been making kraut in my 2-gallon crock for about a year, always aiming for that perfect crunch. I'd measure my salt with a scale, aiming for that 2% everyone talks about. Last batch, I got a little worried about it being too salty, so I eyeballed it and probably went closer to 1.5%. Everything looked fine for the first week. Then I checked it yesterday and the whole thing had this weird, slick, almost ropy texture. It wasn't moldy, just gross and slimy. A quick search told me that not enough salt can let the wrong bacteria win early, making that slime. I had to dump the whole batch, about 5 heads of cabbage. I felt so dumb because I was trying to be careful. Has anyone else had a batch go slimy, and how do you make sure your salt weight is spot on every time?

My 'experimental' hot sauce went from a mild green to a glowing pink in just 48 hours.

I threw in a whole beet from my garden on a whim, and now it looks like something from a sci-fi movie, but honestly it tastes pretty great on eggs.

PSA: I had to choose between a $12 airlock lid and a loose cloth cover for my first kimchi batch.

I went with the cloth, and after 3 days my whole kitchen smelled like a science experiment gone wrong because fruit flies got in, so what's the cheapest way to do this right?

I was convinced my sourdough starter needed a fancy jar... then I saw my friend's setup in Portland.

My grandma's old pickle crock is still going strong after 40 years

I was helping her clean the basement yesterday and she pointed at it, saying 'that thing has seen more brine than the ocean'... It's just a simple stoneware pot, no fancy airlock or anything. She still uses it every fall for her sour pickles. Made me think about how we get caught up in all the new gear sometimes. Anyone still using a family piece like that, or is it all modern jars now?

My sauerkraut came out way too salty after 5 days, like brine from the ocean.

I used 2 tablespoons of salt for my head of cabbage, but I think my scale was off. Anyone have a good salt-to-cabbage weight ratio they trust?

I finally figured out why my kimchi was always too fizzy

I kept seeing bubbles after just a day and it was way too sour. Turns out I was leaving it in a spot that was way too warm, like next to my oven where it's 80 degrees. Anyone else have a good spot in their kitchen for a steady cool ferment?