Have any of you made sauerkraut? I have questions.

[1Maryann]

I started my first ever batch of sauerkraut last Monday. Today when I looked at it, there were what seemed to be two kinds of furry mold growing around the top. I used a recipe that called for saving the tough outer leaves and using them to cover the surface of the shredded cabbage and to use something to hold the leaves down, keeping all the kraut below the level of the liquid.

It does say that mold may form and you can just remove it, but the black mold seemed to be growing in and on the cabbage leaves. I discarded them and made sure there was no more mold in the jars, and then I removed leaves from a head of cabbage I had in the fridge and recovered the kraut with those.

Since I had both a furry white mold and a black, more slimy mold, do you think the kraut is still okay?

[Tom Denham]

I gave up on making my own sauerkraut after 2 batches. I think I used too much salt with mine. I had some trouble with mold, but mostly did not like the musty taste it had. Various people told me it was easy, but I decided to take a break from trying.

[homerfrizzell]

Maryann, is the mold just on the top and how does it smell?

[1Maryann]

It was only on top, but it regrew, so I threw it out. Might try again another time.

[ApproachingMars]

My personal philosophy on stuff like this is "If I'm uncomfortable with it, toss it." I wound up chucking my first batch of sauerkraut; it didn't have mold, but it didn't look "right" and I didn't want to risk it. The next time I attempted it it just "worked."

If I had one that kept growing the same mold over and over again, I wouldn't have trusted it. I'd have assumed the equipment wasn't sterilized properly.

[lulucandoit!]

I just went to a workshop on this today. The RN who taught us how to make sauerkraut said not to eat anything with mold that was a color other than white. I personally won't eat it with white mold either. Salt should be 1.5 teaspoons/lb. I am going to try my first batch tomorrow.

[1Maryann]

Let me know how it goes, lulu. I still haven't gotten around to trying it again. I have noticed that often there are faint grey 'lines' on some of my cabbage leaves that don't rinse or rub off. When cooking it, I don't give it a thought, but I wonder if this isn't the start of some kind of organism that fermentation doesn't kill?

[missmary]

when I make fermented veggies I use a container with an airlock (this one: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/fermented-vegetable-master-half-gallon.html) and I've never ever had an issue with mold. Might be worth a try?

[Nikol]

My dad makes sauerkraut in big crocks in the garage. The only mold he gets on the inside is white, scummy type stuff--he skims that off everyday and removes any floating cabbage that touches air. The outsides of the crocks get a black tar kind of stuff on them, but never on the inside or on the cabbage. A really critical thing is the temperature. It needs to be a pretty consistent temp in the room. Too warm will cause spoilage problems and too cold will stop the fermentation process. And I would agree with a post above, the smell should be right.