Sauerkraut is one of the most popular homemade preparations, which every housewife has tried to prepare at least once. The dish has an unforgettable taste and is also a source of many vitamins. But not everyone can cook tasty crispy cabbage. Often after salting, cabbage does not crunch or becomes slimy. We have collected all the basic rules, the observance of which will help to avoid problems with the preparation of this tasty and healthy dish.
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The main secrets of correct fermentation
The taste and quality of the product directly depend, first of all, on the cooking technology.
Basic conditions for proper fermentation of cabbage:
- The amount of salt. An excess of salt will spoil the taste, and if there is a shortage, the cabbage simply will not start fermenting and will not let the juice out. Correct salt concentration guarantees long-term storage without loss of flavor. When pickling cabbage, put 20 g of salt per 1 kg of cabbage. The juice must completely cover the cabbage to avoid softening and the formation of harmful bacteria. The liquid must have a way out - leave room for it and not fill the container completely or place the container on a pallet with high edges.
- Don't put in a lot of carrots. Carrots give a nice look to the finished dish, but too much carrots can spoil the taste and quality of the finished product. For 1 kg of cabbage, 30 g of root vegetables are enough.
- Temperature conditions. Do not allow the temperature around the container to rise above 17 ° C during fermentation. Keeping in a warm place while fermenting, cabbage can eventually become slippery. But even below the recommended temperature, the result will not be better - the cabbage will acquire a bitter taste.
- The cabbage, without crushing it, is mixed with salt, tightly packed into a container and a load is placed on top. This will prevent bacteria and mucus from growing.
- Excess carbon dioxide. During fermentation, carbon dioxide is formed, which must be removed periodically so as not to spoil the taste of the finished cabbage. To do this, salting is pierced several times with a wooden stick.
To make the cabbage crunchy
In addition to the correct recipe for cooking, there are several more points that affect the quality of sauerkraut.
To get a crispy finished product, you should:
- Pick the right variety. Early varieties will not be able to release a lot of juice when fermenting, therefore, only late varieties are used for harvesting, such as Snow White or Moscow late.
- Take only ripe, strong, fully formed heads of cabbage for salting.
- Do not overdo the cabbage. The fermentation process should be completed 5 days after salting. As soon as bubbles cease to form on the surface, the product must be removed to a cool place.
The most subtle mistakes
In addition to the main reasons, there are several more unimportant at first glance factors that can ultimately greatly affect the taste and appearance of cabbage:
- Late harvest. If the cabbage was removed from the garden after frost, then the dish will be sweet and with an unpleasant odor.
- The increased amount of nitrates in the vegetable helps to soften the product during cooking.
- Before processing, the heads of cabbage should stand a little after harvesting from the garden.
- Use only glass, enamel or wooden containers for fermentation.
What to do with spoiled sauerkraut?
If at the beginning of fermentation you find that the mucus has affected only the upper part, then you can try to avoid spoilage of the product - mix all the layers and complete the fermentation process in the refrigerator.
If it was not possible to create the necessary conditions for proper fermentation, then in the end the cabbage will most likely turn out to be soft and covered with transparent mucus. But you should not throw away such a product - it can be used to make cabbage soup or pies.
What is important to remember:
- If the cabbage turned out to be soft or slippery during pickling, then when consumed it is better to subject it to prolonged heat treatment during cooking, frying or baking.
- Before further processing, the slippery cabbage is washed with water.
As you can see, getting tasty and crispy sauerkraut is not so difficult - the main thing is to choose the right variety, as well as strictly follow the recipe and follow the rules of preparation. We have listed the main points to look out for when salting cabbage in order to get great results.
Do you know how not to spoil cabbage when pickling?
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