I finally saw a kraut explosion at the farmer's market in Boise

I was at the Saturday market about three months ago, and a vendor had a big jar of fermenting sauerkraut on display. The lid was on too tight, and it popped off, spraying brine and cabbage shreds everywhere. It made a huge mess on their table. Now I'm always super careful about burping my jars, but my friend says a loose cloth cover is better than a sealed lid you have to remember to open. What's the safer way to go for a beginner, a tight lid you burp or a cloth cover with a rubber band?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyd851mo agoMost Upvoted

I had a jar of pickles blow its lid in my pantry once, what a sticky mess. For beginners, a cloth cover with a rubber band is way less stressful because you can't forget to burp it. It lets the gas out on its own so you don't have to remember. Why risk another kraut explosion when the cloth method does the work for you?

stone.sarah1mo ago

Totally, why mess with lids at all?

emery_hall21d ago

Cloth covers are fine and all but nobody's talking about the real risk with those. I left a cloth covered jar on my counter once and a fruit fly got under the rubber band and laid eggs inside the brine. Took me forever to notice the little larvae swimming around. Now I'm team tight lid with a scheduled burp reminder on my phone. It's not that hard to remember if you just do it every morning with your coffee. Plus you get that nice satisfying hiss sound when you crack it open.