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My sauerkraut brine level kept dropping for a solid month and I couldn't figure out why.
Turns out my kitchen was just way too dry from the heater running all winter. I had to top it off with a 2% salt solution like every other day. Anyone else deal with crazy evaporation in a dry house?
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cameronb521mo ago
Yeah, the dry house thing is real. I had a batch of pickles go totally sideways last year because my apartment air was like a desert. They ended up way too salty and weird, total bummer lol.
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lee_gibson1mo ago
Huh, that's interesting about the dry air. I mean, I've always heard it's more about the brine strength than the air itself. Maybe your salt to water ratio was off? I've had pickles turn out fine even in winter when my place is super dry.
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jamienguyen27d ago
Yeah, not to be that guy, but brine strength is actually separate from evaporation. The salt ratio stays the same even when water evaporates off, it's just the amount of liquid that goes down. So if you topped off with 2% solution, you were actually keeping the salt level where it should be the whole time. Did you seal the jar tighter after you figured out the dry air was the issue?
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