Help !! Cultured Food Problem ??

[RawSar]

I know I've said why eat rotten food which is what I think cultured/fermented food is however I have been curious to try it. I have heard lots of good things about it and for me I have digestive issues thought it might be a good thing for me... I didn't want to buy any from a store and it sounded easy to make myself. So here is what I did.

I shredded one red cabbage with a few carrots, beet, cucumber and one apple.
I put it in a large glass jar. It didn't fill the jar so I took a few cabbage leafs and covered the shredded stuff in the juices. Put a lid on it and I've stored it in my pantry.

I made this a few days ago. I took a look at it and there is a slimy brown layer at the top..... eeww and it doesnt smell good anymore. Did I do something wrong here or do we take that top layer off before eating it or has this top layer messed up the rest of it???

Thanks for you help. !
Here's a pic so you can really see what I'm talking about.

[katchmoleen]

I've heard you can just remove the slimy layer. However, did you use some salt? Did you weigh down the top so that all the veggies were under the liquid? I am no expert but that is what I have read that you need.

[RawSar]

No I didnt use salt. I heard you can do it without the salt so I wanted to try that first since I am not a fan of salt.
I didn't weigh it down but it is covered.....

[DebB]

I'm no expert, I've only made 3 (one gallon) batches of sauerkraut. I added the salt plus 1 probiotic capsule. The cabbage remained submerged the whole time (like katchmoleen, everything I've read says it must be submerged). I used the perfect pickler. I had 3 great batches. I love the Perfect Pickler!

[kaybee]

i wonder about the apple.... i havent heard of mixing apple into cultured veg but maybe im just behind the times... wonder about the cukes too...i know pickles are fermented, but .... hmmm. i think cultured is different from rotted...and i wonder if your apple rotted?

[centaurea]

I'm no expert, I've only made 3 (one gallon) batches of sauerkraut. I added the salt plus 1 probiotic capsule. The cabbage remained submerged the whole time (like katchmoleen, everything I've read says it must be submerged). I used the perfect pickler. I had 3 great batches. I love the Perfect Pickler!

Oh my goodness. I looked up the perfect pickler and they charge WAY too much for a bubbling airlock! You can pick one of those up from a home brewing supply place for just a dollar or two!

[stellaJewels]

If it smells bad I wouldn't eat it...

The purpose of the salt is to keep the 'rotting' bacteria at bay while the lactobacilli and other 'good' bacteria get going. The apple and cuke are fruit, so provided even more sugar for the rotters to overtake the good guys.

Start with a simpler combo, like just red and green cabbage with salt or cabbage with ginger, garlic and salt. Or if you're totally anti-salt Sandor Katz of Wild Fermentation has some salt-free krauts you could try

Good luck and happy fermenting!

[anniez]

I don't have a Perfect Pickler, I have a gallon sauerkraut jar from Mike Snyder's website. I love it! Yes, I coule have gotten an airlock cheaper, but it would have entailed a lot of busy-ness and other stuff besides just the airlock. My jar has the airlock and the weight to keep it submerged. Works like a charm! And, I don't think you can ferment without salt - salt is a preservative. I also added probiotics to mine. The sauerkraut is great, but I am not a big sauerkraut lover! I eat some every day, trying to develop a taste for it, because I know how good it is for us.

Annie

[DebB]

Hi Annie ~ That's what I've got too. I thought it was called the Perfect Pickler, maybe not - ha! But, I bought it from Mike's site and have been so happy with it.

I've got a batch ready now. I love adding 1 head of purple cabbage because it's all a beautiful deep pink color then.

I met a woman 2 weeks ago at our raw food meetup that just returned from Ann Wigmore's Hippocrates H.I. (don't know if I have the name correct) in Puerto Rico and she said they make their sauerkraut with Rejuvelac (no salt). She said she'd teach us how they make it, so that will be interesting! *Ü*

[Veganforlife]

from: http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/pre1.php

Cabbage Rejuvelac {Probiotic}

Rejuvelac is a fermented drink. Cabbage is a vegetable that is teeming with lactobacteria, which makes up 95% of the good bacteria in the digestive tract. No starter is needed for making this rejuvelac.

The rejuvelac seems to be more successful using green cabbage, which is organic or certified organic, however purple cabbage can also be used.

Ingredients

3 cups cabbage, fresh, coarsely chopped and loosely packed

1st Batch: 1 3/4 cups water, non-chlorinated - see note

2nd & Subsequent Batches: 1 1/2 cups water, nonchlorinated, plus 1/4 cup of fresh rejuvelac (from the prior Batch)

Note: The water must not contain chlorine. In order to remove the chlorine boil the water for 30 minutes or leave the water in an open container for 24 hours.

How to Make the 1st Batch of Rejuvelac (takes 72 hours):

Start one morning by putting the cabbage and the water in the blender.

Start the blender at low speed and then advance the blender to high speed and blend for 10 seconds or less. Be careful not to blend it too much.

Pour the blended cabbage and water into a glass jar with a tightly fitting lid (a quart jar is excellent to use).

Ensure there is at least 1 inch of space above the mixture/liquid to allow room for expansion, and screw the cover on tightly.

Keep the jar in a place that is about room temperature for 3 days. Room temperature is about 72°F or 22°C.

After 3 days (72 hours) strain off the liquid rejuvelac, and save it (liquid) in a glass or jar, and discard the cabbage - the cabbage can be used to make other dishes, i.e. sauerkraut, kimchi, etc. - see Uses for Leftover Cabbage from Rejuvelac.

It is the liquid that is the fresh rejuvelac, which you drink for its probiotics.

After straining off the fresh rejuvelac liquid make your 2nd batch of rejuvelac, which uses 1/4 cup of fresh rejuvelac from your 1st batch, as follows:

The first batch of cabbage rejuvelac takes 3 days (72 hours) to ferment, but the 2nd and all subsequent batches take only 1 day (24 hours) each.

How to Make the 2nd & Subsequent Batches of Rejuvelac (takes 24 hours)

Put 1 1/2 cups of purified water and 3 cups of coarsely ground, loosely packed fresh cabbage in the blender.

Start the blender at low speed and then advance the blender to high speed and blend for 10 seconds or less. Be careful not to blend it too much.

Pour the mixture into a glass jar with a tightly fitting lid and add 1/4 cup of the fresh rejuvelac. just strained off from the previous batch. Leave at least 1inch of space above the mixture/liquid to allow room for expansion.

Screw the cover on tight, shake, and let it stand at room temperature until the next morning (24 hours).

After 24 hours strain off the liquid rejuvelac, and save it (liquid) in a glass or jar, and start your next batch.

How to Make Cabbage Rejuvelac without a Blender

Chop up 2 1/2 cups of cabbage very fine (replacing the 3 cups in the recipe above), and use the same amount of water (1 3/4 cups).

Put the cabbage in a glass jar and pour the 1 3/4 cups of water over it. Follow the rest of the recipe above.

What Should Good Quality Rejuvelac Taste Like?

Good quality rejuvelac tastes similar to a cross between carbonated water and the whey (liquid) obtained when making yogurt. Bad quality rejuvelac has a much more putrid odour and taste and should not be consumed.

Avoid using tap water because chlorine will interfere with the production of the bacteria. Boil tap water for 30 minutes uncovered to remove chlorine or let tap water sit in an open container for 24 hours.

If the rejuvelac is to be kept overnight, refrigerate it. Discard any rejuvelac on hand 24 hours after it is poured off of the cabbage.

How to Take Rejuvelac

Drink 1/2 cup of cabbage rejuvelac three times per day, preferably with meals.

To implant a healthy population of lactobacteria in the intestinal tract take cabbage rejuvelac for 1 to 3 months or longer.

[DebB]

This is probably what she was talking about Vfl - I remember her saying you'll have sauerkraut in about 1 day, and that's what it indicates for second batches and beyond. This should be fun! *Ü*