kraut first-timer: worried about slow ferment, Botulism

[cupofnestor]

I started a batch of kraut at least three weeks ago. Tore the outer leaves off a store-bought cabbage, packed it in salt and placed it in a crock with a bowl to weigh it down. After a week, it seemed *very* salty, so I removed half of the juice and replaced it with fresh. It only really began to take on that kraut "stink" (rather than a brassica one) in the last week. There has been no bloom of any kind. I'm wondering:

1. Is it still to salty, it tastes as if it is, I'd certainly have to rinse it to eat it. Should I replace the juice again.

2. Should I be concerned about Botulism, especially with the long time it has taken. I may have covered the crock too well, with a lid and towel, and I fear it may not be getting much O2.

[Tim Hall]

1. Is it still to salty...should I replace the juice again.

Salt content is definitely one of two major factors (temperature being the other) that determines how quickly it ferments. Diluting the brine might be a good way of getting it to go faster. But if you just let it go, it will eventually reach a good sourness, and the saltiness will become less and less pronounced...unless it just has way too much salt.

2. Should I be concerned about Botulism...I fear it may not be getting much O2.

Short answer: No. When you went to mix up the kraut you had a lot of oxygen dissolved in the brine, and you had the oxygen in whatever head space you had above the level of the brine. And if you can smell the kraut, you have oxygen exchange going on.

The lactic acid bacteria has started doing it's work, acidifying (even if not much) the ferment. That along with the salt content and the initial oxygen you had makes this a hostile environment to Clostridium botulinum.

Botulism is really only a concern with the more modern technique of canning, which is extremely new in the history of preserving food. When you can food the heating process drives off all the oxygen and kills off all the competing bacteria. This absolutely sterile (except for C. botulinum which can endure extreme temperatures), oxygen-free environment is what makes for botulism.

Your ferment is far from sterile, as it should be, and far from truly oxygen-free.

[Tim Hall]

Also many people report very rapid fermentation times for kraut, but a month or more is not unusual.

[cupofnestor]

Thanks, Tim. I may replace some juice with water today: I'm eager to finish the kraut, as I've got a home-cured corn beef waiting in the wings. That, along with homemade prepared mustard and some fresh baked bread will be the sandwich of the year!