"Deidzoeb" > wrote in message
...
On Sep 24, 8:36 pm, Mark A.Meggs > wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:31:23 -0700 (PDT), Merryb >
> wrote:
>
> >I have a quick question for the experts. On Saturday, I started my
> >first ever attempt at sauerkraut using the directions in the Ball Blue
> >book. According to the recipe, I'm suppossed to remove any scum that
> >forms. Am I suppossed to take off the weight & lid and check that, or
> >just the liquid on top without removing weight & lid? Thanks for your
> >help!
>
> The scum will grow on the surface of the brine and will form a ring
> around the inside of the container you're fermenting the kraut in.
>
> If the weight is completely covered by the brine, there shouldn't be
> anything on it to clean off. The lid shouldn't need cleaning until
> the kraut is done.
>
> Some techniques I've read suggest using a double-bagged bag of water
> as the weight, big enough to cover the entire surface. This seals off
> the brine from air and prevents the scum from forming.

Instead of bags of water, the recipes in "Joy of Pickling" suggest
that you use excess brine from the first steps, or mix extra brine of
the same proportions of water and salt, so that it doesn't ruin things
if it leaks down into your kraut or whatever.

Either way, I've had good luck with baggies as weights for turkish
pickled cabbage and cukes. If you pull the brine bag out every day or
two and rinse off the surface, it seems to minimize the scum. Another
nice thing is that you can experiment with crocks or pots or jars of
different sizes and you don't need to find weights that fit in every
one of them -- one gallon-size baggie with the right amount of brine
or water inside will conveniently spread out to cover all different
size openings.

The whole idea about having a bag of water is to create a air lock. and
prevent skimming. every time you remove it it gets a fresh shot of air,
totally defeating the purpose of the air lock . If you must peek , wait
at least a week.
by that time it should be actively fermenting