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Visited a small farm in Vermont last weekend and saw their kraut setup
They had these huge ceramic crocks with weights sitting in a root cellar that stays around 55 degrees year round. It made me realize my kitchen counter is way too warm for consistent fermentation cause their batch came out super crispy and mine always ends up mushy. Anyone here use a basement or cooler spot for their ferments or am I overthinking this?
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the_jana3mo ago
You're definitely not overthinking this. My kitchen counter ferments usually end up tasting like a science experiment gone wrong, mushy and sad. I actually tried using a cooler spot in my unfinished basement last fall, like a corner that stays around 60 degrees, and the difference was night and day. The kraut stayed crunchy and had that perfect tang without me having to babysit it. Who knew temperature control was the real secret and not just good luck?
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wendyk633mo ago
Oh man, that basement trick is gold. My friend Brenda tried fermenting on her counter last summer and ended up with this weird slimy mess that smelled like wet socks. She moved it to her cellar where it's like 55 degrees and her next batch of pickles came out perfect, nice and crisp. Temperature really is the secret, I guess.
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