Eating Bad Sauerkraut...yikes

[Lunar*Fey]

What can happen to me if I ate a good amount of sauerkraut that has gone bad? I feel kind of sick and something is telling me it is the sauwerkraut I just ate...I didn't notice anything during consumption because I mixed it into a huge shredded cabbage salad.
If the sauerkraut was really bad...like I messed it up...should I be concerned???
uh oh!

[Revvell]

You'll poo, you'll puke, it'll come out of your system. Done.

How are you feeling now? IF you're going through the above, get some acidolphilous or living culture in any form you can ~ even in plain yogurt (no fruit/sugar at ALL) and that will counteract any "bad" bacteria. If you can find it in capsule form, open the caps, pour it into unfiltered apple juice and drink it down.

Revvell

[carolg]

Maybe you ate too much and it was too acid to your body. I think sometimes I overeat it myself so now going to go much lighter on it. I am more careful on what I eat. I may eventually include a digestive enzyme for easier when I eat such foods. My body is very sensitive to what I eat.

I have kraut around for months in refrigerator and still alive and doing great in flavor. Nothing to show signs of bad at all.

carolg

[puffysmom]

When i was growing up on the farm we had a crock with sauerkraut. We would go out and dig under the top kraut as that would get mold on it. I know we got some of that mixed in with no one getting sick or worse. I wonder if sauerkraut can even go bad. Never heard of it seeing as how it has so much sodium in it. I know it can get mold on the top but that u would see. It could just be to much of it. High in sodium so that could make a dif.

[carolg]

Did you add enough salt as once I thought you wrote not enough?

I never saw mold on my kraut, but always had it covered with enough liquid and a heavy weight to bring the liquid up. I don't use a lot of salt, but was checking it daily to see if it needed more. I always start with "less" and then can "add" later is my thinking. Made tons of batches this summer and truthfully still looking and tasting like just made. I'm super impressed on my end, but may have to take it "easy" and not being a "pig" about what I love. May start giving some away to my church folks who are used to soul food. Maybe they can get excited on "plain" foods. I know the massage bed place loves my food so they may actually get some and not the churdh sisters.

Right now I have a stash in my kitchen refrigerator that is fabulous.

carolg

[RowanC]

Those of you who are telling people it is ok to eat sauerkraut that doesn't have enough salt in it are waaaay off base unless you are being VERY clear.

The salt is a preservative. WIthout it, before the proper fermentation, and without any refrigeration, it is VERY possible to get Botulism!

Botulism has NO FLAVOR, NO SMELL. There is literally NO WAY you can tell it's there until you are very sick or even dead.

Low acid canned foods contain too little acidity to prevent the growth of microorganisms that cause botulism. The botulism bacteria produce a toxin that can be fatal if ingested. All fresh vegetables except tomatoes are a low acid food. Some vegetable recipes have acid added to them, or they go through a fermentation process (such as pickles or sauerkraut). These foods are not considered low acid. HOWEVER, without using salt, what appears to be fermentation could be SPOILAGE. To me, it's not worth the risk.

Yes, I know.. people say they make sauerkraut with no salt. But I'm telling you, you'd better do some research, especially before feeding this to a child.
Some people are just plain lucky, imo...:mad:

[puffysmom]

I never heard of making sauerkraut without salt. I know people eat to much salt but some is important to our bodies. I don't do much salt but if i can have sauerkraut i will make sure it is the only sodium that I have......aside of what is naturally in raw foods.
Making sauerkraut without salt is not the real thing. I would not even bother or take a chance with it. To me that means it is just rotted cabbage and I sure would not take a chance with it.
Keep safe all. Do it right.

[carolg]

Some people are heavy on the hand adding salt, so starting with less and then adding it works for me. So far with many jars under my belt, it's working.

At some one point, maybe not this thread I thought Lunar didn't have any salt around or added very little. Just commenting on Rowan's coment: "Those of you who are telling people it is ok to eat sauerkraut that doesn't have enough salt in it are waaaay off base unless you are being VERY clear."

My kraut has more than enough salt, but maybe to someone who loves LOTS of salt, it's not enough for their tastebuds. Of course add salt.


carolg