Daily living · Food storage and safe preservation · living-12

Ferment vegetables safely

Fermentation uses salt and natural lactic acid bacteria to preserve vegetables such as cabbage. It needs no power, but salt level, submersion and temperature must be right.

How

Start with sauerkraut from a tested extension recipe, such as NDSU or Clemson Extension.
Use only glass, stoneware or food-grade plastic containers. Avoid aluminium, copper, brass, galvanised or iron containers.
Weigh salt carefully: about 3 tablespoons of canning or pickling salt per 5 lb (2.3 kg) of cabbage, which gives a final salt level of about 2.25 to 2.5 percent.
Keep the vegetables 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in) under the brine using a plate and weights or a brine-filled bag. Top up with brine of 1.5 tablespoons salt per quart of water.
Ferment at 16 to 18 C (60 to 65 F) for about 5 to 6 weeks, or 21 to 24 C (70 to 75 F) for 3 to 4 weeks. Below about 16 C it may not ferment; above about 24 C it may go soft.
Check 2 to 3 times a week if using jar weights and skim off scum.
When fermentation ends, refrigerate for several months or can it in a boiling water bath following the tested recipe.

Safety: Do not taste a ferment that smells bad, is slimy, has visible mould or soft, discoloured texture. Throw it out.

Do these first

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Sources

Making Sauerkraut. Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center, accessed 2026-11
Sauerkraut: From Garden to Table (FN433). North Dakota State University Extension, accessed 2026-11

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