Saurkraut - Ask Extension
The brine on top of my sauerkraut which I made on 7/4 is brown in color. Is this ok?
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Saurkraut #876385
Asked July 08, 2024, 4:44 PM EDT
The brine on top of my sauerkraut which I made on 7/4 is brown in color. Is this ok?
Hood River County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Linda,
Thanks for your question. The brine will often be cloudy and can be yellowish to light brownish in color. It should not be dark brown. Our warm temps may have caused poor fermentation. Sauerkraut generally does best between 65-75 for fermentation. If it gets too cold or too hot it can prevent the good bacteria from creating the proper fermentation process. You could poor off the brown (assuming it is darker brown?) brine and make your own brine to poor back over the top. (1 rounded tsp salt to 1 cup water).
One other question, did you use green or purple cabbage? Is there anything else in the cabbage mixture (carrots? garlic? greens?) Purple cabbage could result in a more brownish hue of brine.
Here are a few other tips:
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/sauerkraut-problems-solutions-sp-50-745
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/small-batch-sauerkraut-tips-sp-50-1009
Thanks for your question. The brine will often be cloudy and can be yellowish to light brownish in color. It should not be dark brown. Our warm temps may have caused poor fermentation. Sauerkraut generally does best between 65-75 for fermentation. If it gets too cold or too hot it can prevent the good bacteria from creating the proper fermentation process. You could poor off the brown (assuming it is darker brown?) brine and make your own brine to poor back over the top. (1 rounded tsp salt to 1 cup water).
One other question, did you use green or purple cabbage? Is there anything else in the cabbage mixture (carrots? garlic? greens?) Purple cabbage could result in a more brownish hue of brine.
Here are a few other tips:
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/sauerkraut-problems-solutions-sp-50-745
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/small-batch-sauerkraut-tips-sp-50-1009
Thank you, I’d say it’s not dark brown and it was green carnage, nothing else beside the cabbage. I will keep tabs on the temp. Again, thanks for your help.
Thank you Linda. Please reach out again if you have any follow up questions!
Thank you for answering my questions.
