To get the correct culture within your krauts, it's important to ensure your ratio of salt and water is correct.
Chef's notes
If you don't need a full liter of brine solution, use either 2 tsp per cup for a 3% solution or 3 tsp per cup for a 5% solution.
Steps
1
Preparing the Brine
Ingredients
30 g salt per L water (or 1 oz salt per qt) for a 3% solution
50 g salt per L water (or 1 1/4 oz salt per qt) for a 5% solution
Heat water in a non–reactive pan, add salt, and stir until dissolved. Cool thoroughly before using.
The 5% solution is perfect for most fermenting applications, whereas the 3% is less salty and will help encourage a faster ferment.
Brine solution is used when a bit of extra liquid is needed to keep the ferment submerged to anaerobic fermentation.
