(7 of 9) Sandor Katz - How to Make Sauerkraut: Salting & Massaging 

According to Sandor, there isn't a requirement for salt. Some people make sauerkraut without sat! Salt adds flavor, most importantly, but it also slows down the fermentation which allows more flavor to develop and keeps things more crisp. Without salt, a fermentation process will happen very quickly and the veggies will get soft and mushy. You can certainly try with just a teaspoon and see how you like it. Try tasting it every day so you know when to stop. You may only need to ferment it for a few days or a week instead of the usual 2+ weeks most people prefer.

I have & love both pickle pipes &pickle pucks from Mason Tops. Glass 'pucks' are actually what is used to keep the kraut from floating up. The 'pipes' keep the air out of the jar , & allow carbon dioxide to be released. I often use both a cabbage leaf with a pickle puck on top of it, double insurance that the kraut will remain submerged.

There is a page called Haphazardhomestead here on YT. If you are picking plantain and pickling it then you might get some good ideas and hints from her page... She does a lot of different stuff. ru-vid.com

Any ones that do not contain Oodine its not good for fermenting etc.

His book "The Art of Fermentation: An In-depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World" has mentioned that people have and can ferment without salt. Like he mentioned in the video you can always easily add more salt than remove salt from a jar of fermenting/fermented ingredients. Removing salt by adding more water can help, but also reduces the number of beneficial bacteria (mentioned in the book, but also from personal experience making my first sauerkraut). The minimum amount of salt isn't something set in stone I would say because various factors such as ambient temperature, freshness of ingredients, duration of fermentation. The book does say that the most important thing is to keep the ingredients submerged under the liquid to prevent or minimise mould. Hope this helps. P.S. I'm not paid or sponsored in anyway for this post mentioning his book. Just someone who is tired of current food processing practices & waste & wants to learn about simple & healthy food/eating.

a rule of thumb is to weigh the vegetables and use 2% of that weight as salt. If you do that once you can see the volume that you used for that size of fermentation vessel and that grind of salt.

I use the 2% of veggie weight recipe for dry fermentation and a 2% brine for wet fermentation and alway get a great final product that isn’t too salty.

I have. I made a kimchi-like kraut using seaweed instead if fishpaste.

@@kiahamann3854 what kind did you use? Nori, Wakame, Kombu?

Sure - we use it all the time! You want to try and avoid iodized salt (like regular table salt) but other than that, most salts will be perfectly acceptable.

I believe you should use kosher salt in preference to other kinds as its pure

I've heard to avoid kosher salt because it has anticaking agents!

@@jamie5mauser Mortons does, Diamond doesn't - check the packinging.

Masontops fermentation tools are all BPA-free and food safe (so yes, lead-free glass). Thanks!

There's a lady on Instagram who does just that! She ferments them and then fries them.

The short answer is "it is up to you" and largely a matter of personal preference. For a more detailed answer on this exact topic, check out this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xR-83ms8L68.html

ferment ginger or pickle it? I like what is served in japanese restaurants.

He's right, you know.