Guest guest Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 My experience is that if you let kraut ferment too long it goes sweet. In the fridge too. I'm not sure the exact mechanism, but I'm guessing it's like what happens to balsamic vineger: if you keep vinegar a LONG time with air it gets sweet! I'd guess some bacteria eats the lactic acid and produces some kind of sugar. Also, if your cortido is from pineapples ... pineapples have a lot of odd enzymes in them, which probably affects things. My vegies stay crisper if I salt them first. Or, you can lay them out and let them dry out first (get limp). This is sort of non-intuitive, but when you brine the vegies they absorb water, which makes the cells burst and so they get soggy. Drying them out first prevents that. It's also true that the more salt=more crisp. -- Heidi Harpazo Hope wrote: > I just tested out a new batch of sauerkraut, jalapenos, and cortido > (my carrots molded). They were sweet! I even wondered if some how > stevia got into it. This time I tried the nourishing traditions recipe > and used whey and more salt than usual. I really don't like it much. I > hope it gets more sour with some time in the fridge. Has anyone else > had this? Do you know what causes it? > Also, my jalapenos are mushy. I just did not have luck today. How do > you ensure your veggies stay crisp? I have read someone here does not > like using whey because of the mushy factor. I suspect this is my > problem as well. > > Jasmin > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 That's odd... They've been in my not so warm pantry for a few hours short of three days! Jasmin Heidi <heidis@...> wrote: My experience is that if you let kraut ferment too long it goes sweet. --------------------------------- FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Maybe it's the enzymes in the cortido? -- Heidi Harpazo Hope wrote: > That's odd... They've been in my not so warm pantry for a few hours > short of three days! > > Jasmin > > Heidi <heidis@...> wrote: > My experience is that if you let kraut ferment too long > it goes sweet. > > > > --------------------------------- > FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 But my garlic and cabbage turned sweet too. It's still edible. Could it have something to do with my salt? I used real salt. Jasmin Heidi <heidis@...> wrote: Maybe it's the enzymes in the cortido? -- Heidi --------------------------------- FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 I have found that cabbage this is freshly picked is sweeter than older cabbage. Older cabbage can also make a hot sauerkraut. --JoAnn Heidi <heidis@...> wrote: Maybe it's the enzymes in the cortido? -- Heidi Harpazo Hope wrote: > That's odd... They've been in my not so warm pantry for a few hours > short of three days! > > Jasmin > > Heidi <heidis@...> wrote: > My experience is that if you let kraut ferment too long > it goes sweet. > > > > --------------------------------- > FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Harpazo Hope wrote: > But my garlic and cabbage turned sweet too. It's still edible. Could > it have something to do with my salt? I used real salt. > > Jasmin I don't know, I'm stumped! I've never had a ferment turn sweet except when it was going a long time. What is the temperature like in your kitchen? -- Heidi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 The " thick " ferment means you have a different bacteria growing than the usual lactobacilli. Which might be the culprit in the sweet kraut too. The thing is, when you chop up a mess of vegies and leave them to ferment, it's kind of like plowing up a garden plot. Empty soil, just waiting for something to grow! In a garden, if you plant *nothing*, you get whatever happens to be around ... crabgrass or fireweed, or maybe leftover potatoes. But usually one thing will take over and kill off most of the others. The same thing happens in ferments. One group of bacteria tend to take over. You can " push " the ferment in one direction or another by adding starter culture or ingredients that modify the salinity and/or PH. I've found the safest way to get " tasty " bacteria is to add a bit of vinegar or leftover kraut/kimchi juice to the batch. Traditionally housewives added 2T of vinegar per quart of water. That lowers the PH, and the best bacteria grow at a lower PH. Having enough salt helps too. When the bacteria are growing good they tend to keep the mold from growing too. Mold is usually a bad sign, IMO. -- Heidi Harpazo Hope wrote: > My thermostat was set to 70-72 degrees but I think my kitchen is a > little cooler most of the time. > I had another question about my moldy carrots. The liquid was thick > around them sort of like saliva but a little thinner. Do you know what > causes that? I'm just curious. > > Jasmin > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 I did add leftover cortido juice to the cortido. Hehehe...I'm breaking all the rules! Jasmin Heidi <heidis@...> wrote: I've found the safest way to get " tasty " bacteria is to add a bit of vinegar or leftover kraut/kimchi juice to the batch. Traditionally housewives added 2T of vinegar per quart of water. That lowers the PH, and the best bacteria grow at a lower PH. Having enough salt helps too. --------------------------------- FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 > > I've found the safest way to get " tasty " bacteria is > to add a bit of vinegar or leftover kraut/kimchi juice > to the batch. Traditionally housewives added 2T of vinegar > per quart of water. That lowers the PH, and the best > bacteria grow at a lower PH. Having enough salt helps too. > > When the bacteria are growing good they tend to keep > the mold from growing too. Mold is usually a bad sign, > IMO. > > -- Heidi So Heidi, do you put the vinegar in all of your fermented veggies? Because I've been curious about this. It's been the flavor that I've been missing from mine when I use whey and salt, I think. There does seem to be a tanginess in my ferments but it's just not right somehow. I also did a cortido recipe (from the NT book) a few weeks ago using pineapple vinegar (which to me frankly wasn't very vinegary to start with). DH's first comment when I opened the jar to try it was " What IS that? It STINKS!!!! " It wasn't tangy at all and the cabbage was practically raw. What kind of vinegar would you use? -Caryn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2005 Report Share Posted November 18, 2005 Caryn Schmidt wrote: > So Heidi, do you put the vinegar in all of your fermented veggies? > Because I've been curious about this. It's been the flavor that I've > been missing from mine when I use whey and salt, I think. There does > seem to be a tanginess in my ferments but it's just not right > somehow. I also did a cortido recipe (from the NT book) a few weeks > ago using pineapple vinegar (which to me frankly wasn't very > vinegary to start with). DH's first comment when I opened the jar to > try it was " What IS that? It STINKS!!!! " It wasn't tangy at all and > the cabbage was practically raw. What kind of vinegar would you use? > > -Caryn Yes, I usually add a swig or two of vinegar to vegies (not to kefir cider though: the apple juice is acidic enough and kefir grains will outcompete any bacteria, I think!). It doesn't matter what kind of vinegar though: sometimes I use cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar. You could also use lemon juice. Anything acidic. It takes a long time to make really sour vinegar. My first batch of wine vinegar took 6 months. The kefir cider will turn to vinegar somewhat faster than that. -- Heidi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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