I have been sauerkraut for many years. Always the same, just like they fermented it at home. Even from the wrong American cabbage, I always got very tasty cabbage to eat as a salad or even for cabbage soup.
And for the first time in my life, my cabbage became snotty when fermenting. That is, at first it fermented and foamed, as it should be. I pierced it a couple of times, and it looked and smelled completely normal.
But today, when I decided to pierce it for the last time, planning to put it in jars tomorrow and put it in the refrigerator, I discovered that the cabbage juice had become somehow slightly viscous. The cabbage still looks and smells completely normal. Can this cabbage still be saved or is all that can be done is throw it away?
Now I spent half an hour on the Internet trying to figure out this issue, but to no avail. All discussions on the topic of “snotty” cabbage are related to how to ferment it correctly and who has the best recipe. Nobody writes what can be done with this very snotty cabbage. I don’t need a pickling recipe; All these years I was satisfied with what I used, but I would like to hear methods of salvation, as well as recommendations on how to avoid such misfortune in the future.
True, the advice that cabbage should be of the right variety is unlikely to help me, since cabbage in our country is generally sold, not counting the Chinese varieties, of only one variety, with which until now I have not had any problems. I do not believe in the connection between the beginning of sauerkraut and the phases of the moon, which is given great importance in many Internet discussions on the topic of sauerkraut. I would be happy to read any other ideas and recommendations.
Update:
As I understood from the discussion and from additional reading of Internet sources, the process of “snotting” or, scientifically speaking, sliming of the cabbage brine can occur when the wrong types of bacteria living on the cabbage and in the environment take over during fermentation. I was not able to find out exactly the conditions under which this could happen, because the sources say very little about them and are quite contradictory. For example, some put forward as a possible cause too low, and others too high, ambient temperature at the initial stage of fermentation. I think that this does not apply to my situation, because judging by all these sources, my temperature was ideal.
It seems that this process depends little on us and it’s just that sometimes the cards fall in such a way that even if all the rules are followed and a recipe that has been tested many times is completely repeated, punctures occur.
Since, judging by online sources and comments, the “snotty” quality of cabbage is not harmful to health, and the comments describe cases where the snottyness goes away after being kept in the refrigerator, I put it in jars and put it in the refrigerator. I'll see what happens in a week or two. It’s never too late to throw it away; as a last resort, if it doesn’t work out perfectly, I’ll wash it and throw it into bigos.
Many thanks to everyone who took part in this discussion, it was very informative.
By the way, the simplest and most logical answer came to me by email:
<А отчего эти самые "слизеобразующие бактерии" развились именно в этот раз, а раньше никогда не развивались? Интересно, что этому способствует? >
Nevertheless. "exactly this time." Fermentation is a non-deterministic process. Each time he takes a new path. It's just that most of these paths lead to the result the user expects. Once upon a time, we talked here (in Easy) about botulism when making garlic in oil. Here we have approximately the same case - the procurement conditions were slightly changed or the set of bacteria on the raw material slightly changed - and voila, a certain barrier was crossed.
So. "Why... exactly this time." For whatever reason. The billet temperature was changed. The supplier treated the cabbage less aggressively with chemicals and not everything died. The medium was “contaminated” with something during the fermentation process. There was a dog shaking himself nearby, for example.
"What contributes." First of all, a set of bacteria on raw materials and procurement conditions. Salt and moon phases may play some role, but in your case I would not consider them.
Sauerkraut is tasty, healthy, rich in vitamins, and thousands of people love it. The best time for her is winter. Most housewives are busy preparing this healthy vegetable in the fall. Properly salted cabbage is a tasty and healthy addition to any main dish, holiday or everyday. But it happens that when you look into a jar with a ready-made product, you can find an incomprehensible mucus that looks, excuse me, like snot. And the natural question arises, what to do? Is it possible to eat it and what kind of mucus is it anyway?
What to do if sauerkraut is like snot?
There are several versions regarding this. Here are some of them.
- It's the cabbage itself. More precisely, in its chemical component, it is an overload of nitrates and other harmful substances. Where did they come from? It's simple. When growing, the plant was treated with pesticides beyond measure, and this gave this result. Outwardly, it is no different from the usual one and even better in appearance, but when you eat such a product, many side properties appear.
- The reason for the appearance of snot in the brine may be improper salting. Experienced housewives know that to achieve the best results, it is not enough to simply chop and pickle the cabbage. There are many small nuances, without which the result can be disastrous. First of all, it's salt. You can’t help but add salt to the cabbage, but over-salting won’t benefit the taste either. Secondly, salt again. Many people argue about what kind of salt can and should be added when fermenting. Sea or iodized, coarsely ground or not iodized.
- Another reason for snotty brine is the wrong storage location and temperature. Jars with the finished product should not be left in a warm place; the brine on top will begin to bubble and acquire a viscous consistency similar to mucus ().
- Another seemingly insignificant, but in fact very important point. Proper compaction of shredded cabbage. Experienced housewives pay special attention to this process. It is important to compact it well into the container so that a hollow space does not form inside it.
Let's take a closer look at these points
We will not discuss the subject of vegetables chemically poisoned by pesticides. It is unlikely that everyone has a chemical laboratory in their kitchen that can help identify one chemical from several forks.
There can be a lot of debate about improper pickling, because there are so many people and so many pickling recipes. But there are several general rules regarding salt. When salting, you need to use coarse, non-iodized salt. It does not contain brighteners, dyes or other chemical elements that can cause undesirable reactions during the fermentation of vegetables.
Further . It was experimentally proven by comparing two completely identical cans. The jar that was stored in a cool, dark place after salting did not give any undesirable reaction in the brine, unlike the one that was stored near a warm radiator. In the latter, after a few days, mucus was discovered in the brine, and a pungent odor.
Tamping. This is an important point, although many, without paying due attention to it, get a “slippery” result. Mucus appears in a container where the finished product is not compacted and contains air. Here, as with improper storage, acidic bacteria multiply at lightning speed, which provokes fermentation.
So is it possible to eat such cabbage?
There is nothing wrong with the formation of mucus, it will not cause harm to health, our aesthetic perception may suffer, but this is a subjective question, as they say, not for everyone.
- There is no need to add sugar. It speeds up the fermentation process several times, but at the same time makes the cabbage soft, it can quickly become acidic and become “snotty”;
- Grind the cabbage with salt and other additives by hand in a wide bowl or basin. The more space, the more oxygen there will be, which is so important for fermentation;
- Cabbage is fermented in its own juice. If there is not enough of it, it will darken and be very sour. Sometimes it is permissible to ferment it in brine (1.5 tablespoons of salt per liter of water).
The dish is ready to eat in two weeks. If you plan for longer storage, you need to move the containers to the cold. Otherwise, the cabbage will become soft and begin to rot.
Work on mistakes
It’s very disappointing when sauerkraut doesn’t work out. But the errors are the same, so it’s enough to analyze them once to avoid such situations again.
If the cabbage turned out to be too sour, most likely the containers were located in a room with a temperature above 17-20 degrees. Heat provokes the very rapid development of butyric acid bacteria. They are necessary for fermentation, but if there are too many of them, the cabbage will turn sour.
Bitterness indicates the possible use of frozen cabbage, or that after shredding the vegetable was moved to a too cold place.
If both factors are excluded, and the sauerkraut is too bitter, it is likely that large amounts of harmful chemical fertilizers were used during its cultivation.
A dish covered with mucus is obtained when fermented in excessive heat, and also when the brine does not completely cover it.
Quite often the vegetable may change color. If the white cabbage turns green, it means there was too much air during cooking. If it darkens, it means it was cooked in a metal container and chemical reactions occurred. And if it turns red, it means there was too much salt.
Note to the owner!
For fermentation, you should use only coarse salt. Small and especially iodized ones are not suitable.
Carrots are an integral element of sauerkraut. But if there is too much of it, it can also cause spoilage of the dish. For 10 kg you can take no more than 300 grams of carrots.
Is it possible to eat cabbage if it doesn’t turn out well?
Associated with crunch, pleasant taste and rich aroma. But hardly anyone wants to eat cloudy “snot.” Throwing away? But this is a translation of the product!
If cabbage does not have a putrid odor, but simply looks unpresentable, it can be used to prepare pies, dumplings, borscht and other dishes that require long-term heat treatment of this product.
But if there is a not very pleasant aroma, it is better to throw it away. It is dangerous to give such food even to animals and poultry.
Since ancient times, sauerkraut has been one of the most useful and necessary products. It completely restored the balance in the body and replenished consumed vitamins. Even wealthy boyars and princes prepared it. It is impossible to count the recipes and cooking methods. Everyone will find a taste to their liking. But sometimes, despite proper preparation, cabbage loses its appetizing appearance and becomes “snotty,” and the brine becomes very cloudy, acquires a pungent odor and a slimy consistency.
What makes cabbage look like this?
It is believed that fermentation is a simple and reliable way to preserve vitamins. But sometimes it fails too. There are quite a few reasons:
- Presence of sugar in the recipe. Sugar can cause mucus to appear.
- Use the right varieties. Not all varieties are suitable for cooking. Only mid-ripening and late-ripening heads of cabbage should be taken. They are the ones that can be stored longer and better.
- Maintaining temperature. If fermentation occurs at temperatures above 25 degrees, then the taste may significantly deteriorate.
- Correct container. The container for the fermentation process must be selected carefully. It is better to avoid plastic and metal. The most suitable would be glass and wood. The dishes must be washed well.
- Quality and quantity of salt. Salt must be added according to the recipe, in the required dose. It is recommended to use coarse salt without any impurities.
- Amount of air. If a large amount of air enters the product, bacteria begin to grow rapidly. This leads to the appearance of an unpleasant odor and mucus.
Folk signs
- It is better for a man to salt cabbage. According to folk traditions, it is a man’s hand that is capable of preparing a high-quality product.
- It's best to avoid the full moon. If the full moon has arrived, reschedule preparations for another time.
- If a girl is fermenting cabbage, doing so on menstrual days is strictly prohibited.
None of the signs has scientific evidence, but despite this, many adhere to these rules.
Can you eat slimy cabbage?
There is no need to rush to throw away “spoiled cabbage”. This product, although it has lost its appearance, is still suitable for use. Of course, in its usual form, you can’t eat it, the smell and consistency are no longer the same. But it is quite possible to cook borscht or cabbage soup.
The most important rule when using is mandatory, thorough rinsing. It is advisable to wash the cabbage under running water. This procedure will remove mucus and odor. After which the product is ready for use.
To preserve unsuccessfully cooked cabbage longer, you can put it in the freezer after washing. Pre-packaged in small bags. Later it can be defrosted and used for different dishes. For example, for everyone’s favorite cabbage soup.
Recipe for cabbage soup with sauerkraut.
Pour half a kilogram of meat with water and cook the broth. Grate the carrots and fry with onions in oil. Wash the cabbage well and squeeze it out. Add to fried vegetables. Put it out silently. Peel a few potatoes and cut into cubes. Add the cubes to the broth. Then add the rest of the vegetables. Salt, pepper, add bay leaf. Cook until done. It is recommended to serve with fresh herbs and sour cream.
Sauerkraut - crispy, refreshing, with sourness - has long taken a permanent place on autumn and winter tables. It is delicious in any form: as a stand-alone salad, a side dish for meat, a filling for pies, an ingredient in cabbage soup and borscht. But everything is not the same if a mistake was made during fermentation. Below we discuss the reasons why cabbage becomes soft and not crunchy when fermented.
Why does sauerkraut come out soft?
During fermentation, an interesting chemical process occurs: under the influence of salt, the vegetable releases juice, which contains sugars. They act on lactic acid bacteria living on cabbage leaves (as well as on other vegetables). This is how fermentation occurs, resulting in the formation of lactic acid, which destroys harmful bacteria and fungi. It is this that gives sourness to cabbage and makes them crispy.
Did you know? Sauerkraut is just as healthy as kefir, because during the fermentation process it produces many probiotics necessary to maintain intestinal microflora.
Thanks to it, the fermented product is stored for a long time and retains the vitamins it contains in almost its entire composition. In order for fermentation to go as expected, you need to take high-quality products in sufficient quantities, suitable utensils, and also adhere to time and temperature restrictions.
The cabbage head for fermentation should be juicy and sweet. If there is not enough juice, then lactic acid is formed in less quantity than necessary, and putrefactive bacteria begin to predominate. This causes vegetables to soften, darken and eventually spoil. Consequently, not all cabbage varieties have suitable characteristics.
The following varieties are unsuitable for fermentation:
- early ripening, since such heads of cabbage are loose, loose, they do not contain enough sugars necessary for fermentation; they are suitable for consumption only fresh;
- not juicy and slightly sweet late varieties intended for winter storage.
Mid-season and late-ripening varieties of white cabbage are best suited. In the fall, when these varieties ripen, the required amount of sugars accumulates in the vegetables, which feed the lactic acid bacteria.
Important! When buying cabbage for pickling, it is better to choose rounded and slightly flattened heads. Late varieties usually have this shape.
Salt is an essential ingredient in almost all winter preparations, including fermentation. You should know that salt does not actually take part in the chemical process of fermentation. Lactic acid is formed only through the interaction of cabbage sugars and lactic acid bacteria.
However, salt is needed for 2 purposes:
- promotes the secretion of juice, which is a source of sugars;
- plays the role of a preservative that prevents spoilage of vegetables.
Therefore, to obtain the desired result, it is necessary to adhere to the correct proportions. The standard dosage for fermentation is to take 20 g of salt per 1 kg of shredded cabbage. A larger amount of salt will make the dish very salty, and if it is not enough, little vegetable juice will be released.
In cabbage mass that is not covered with liquid, the fermentation process is delayed, it softens and spoils. For this dish, it is better to take table rock salt - “extra” and iodized salt are not suitable, as they contribute to softening.
Failure to comply with fermentation temperature and time
It is important to adhere to the temperature regime (+18...+22°C) and time frame (2–7 days). At lower temperatures, fermentation slows down, and at higher temperatures, it speeds up. If you keep an already fermented vegetable in a warm room and do not put it in a cold place in time, it will peroxidize.
Storing the finished dish at a temperature below 0°C leads to freezing of pickled vegetables. In all these cases, the result will be softening of the cabbage, deterioration of taste (bitterness) and smell.
Most sauerkraut recipes are made with carrots. This orange root vegetable is added to add color, flavor and even crunch to the snack. Usually it is added a little, 1/3 or 1/4 of the total amount of cabbage. If you overdo it with carrots, it can interfere with the normal course of fermentation.
Frozen or wilted vegetable
For pickling, you need to take only fresh, unspoiled cabbage heads. A frozen vegetable already has an unpleasant odor and a sweetish taste, and fermentation will only make them worse. Spoiled cabbage that has begun to rot is not suitable for a winter snack, even if the leaves with traces of rot are removed from it. Such a product will not ferment in a jar, but will go rotten.
Did you know? Sour cabbage juice helps not to get drunk when drinking alcohol and cope with a hangover after a stormy feast.
Unsuitable cookware
The fermentation container is no less important than the quality of the products. The material from which the dishes are made is important.
- wooden barrel;
- glass jars;
- enamel pan;
- Plastic container.
Important! Despite all the benefits of sauerkraut, it should not be eaten by people with hypertension, high acidity, as well as diseases of the pancreas, kidneys and gall bladder.
Under no circumstances should you ferment cabbage in a metal container (stainless steel, aluminum, etc.). Lactic acid reacts with metal molecules, corroding the walls of the pan. At the same time, harmful substances get into the snack, which color the cabbage dark, which makes it not only unappetizing in appearance, but also dangerous to health.
In addition to those listed above, there are a few more recommendations that will help improve the taste and texture of cabbage snacks:
- Shredded vegetables should be mixed with salt, lightly squeezing to obtain juice. Squeezing hard will make the snack soft rather than crispy.
- The shredded cabbage mixture should be covered with liquid at all times. If it is insufficient, you can add chilled brine (1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of boiled water).
- During fermentation, you need to pierce the contents daily with a wooden stick to the bottom of the dish to release accumulated gases, otherwise the cabbage will become bitter.
- Sugar is often added to the brine along with salt to speed up fermentation, but if you overdo it, the cabbage strips will soften.
- Together with carrots or instead of it, you can add other vegetables (beets, bell peppers), sour fruits (coreless apples, pitted plums), sour berries (cranberries, cherries), pickled and pickled cucumbers or mushrooms.
- Suitable spices for fermentation: bay leaf, cloves, allspice and black peppercorns, cumin, anise.
There are quite a lot of recipes for making sauerkraut, classic and with a twist. But only by adhering to the correct fermentation technology can you make this snack so tasty that you will lick your fingers.