Warning: I thought burping jars was the only way to go for sauerkraut

My last batch in a regular mason jar kept overflowing and got moldy after about 5 days. A friend in Portland told me to just use a ziplock bag filled with salt water as a weight and airlock instead. I put a small bag right on top of the cabbage inside the jar, filled it with brine, and sealed the jar lid over it. It created a perfect seal, no burping needed, and the batch came out crisp after 3 weeks. Has anyone else tried this bag trick with different ferments?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas.parker18h ago

It's a clever hack because the bag molds to the jar and keeps everything under the brine. You could probably use the same trick for pickled onions or fermented hot sauce. Just make sure that bag doesn't have any tiny holes in it.

the_parker20h ago

So the Portland friend saves the day with a ziplock bag full of salt water. That's the most Portland solution to a ferment problem I've ever heard. Next they'll tell you to use a recycled kombucha bottle as a weight and charge you twenty bucks for the idea. Honestly though, if it works and keeps the mold out, I'm not even mad.

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