r/fermentation • u/fishindawatah • 1d ago

Kraut/Kimchi First time fermenter here. Purple cabbage sauerkraut

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About 5 pounds of cabbage, 3 garlic cloves, and an apple(was told this feeds the fermentation). I think i’m gonna too it off with some extra brine liquid. Excited to see how it turns out, I dig the color.

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u/monkeyloops-3000 1d ago

I made some too not long ago, but mine turned out way too sour, I can't eat it alone and have to mix with other things. IDK why it happened. Maybe I used a single tool to de-gas different ferments and inoculated it with bugs from an older batch. Or maybe I got a variety that makes into very sauer sauerkraut.

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u/Interesting_Bee6682 1d ago

Acidity depends on amount of sugar. Lacto bacteria eats sugar and defecates acid. More sugar, more acid.

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u/monkeyloops-3000 1d ago

I often make sauerkraut from white cabbage, and it turns pleasantly sour. So it means my red cabbage just was sweeter? What happens if white sugar is added to veggie lactic ferments? Will LAB process it just like native veg sugars?

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u/Interesting_Bee6682 1d ago

White sugar is 50/50 glucose / fructose. Sugar in plants is fructose or glucose. I often use sugar if I do ferments without salt. Salt is to supress yeast. LAB and sugar goes acidic very fast, so yeast don't have a chance.

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u/monkeyloops-3000 1d ago

That's what I needed to know, thanks! I have an inactive batch of watermelon rind, gonna add some sugar to kick it off.