← Fermentation and pickling H54-01 · Module 1 of 7 · Pages: 21 · Worksheets: 6

Fermentation basics

How lactic acid bacteria turn salt and vegetables into food that keeps: how much salt, what temperature, which vessels and how you know it is safe

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Fermentation basics

In short

  • Salt is weighed: for sauerkraut 2–2.5 % of the weight of the vegetables (20–25 g per 1 kg), for cucumbers in brine 40–50 g per litre of water.
  • The best starting temperature is 18–22 °C (64–72 °F). Below 15 °C fermentation stalls, above 24 °C the vegetables go soft.
  • Vegetables always under the brine. Anything that sticks out above the liquid spoils.
  • The goal is pH below 4.6 by day 4 (18–22 °C), and 4.0 or lower for the finished product. If it still isn't below 4.6 on day 7, throw it out. Measure with a strip.
  • Only vessels of glass, ceramic without lead glaze, wood, stainless steel or food-grade plastic. Never aluminium or galvanised metal.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. What fermentation is and where to find it
  2. How lactic acid fermentation works
  3. Salt: how much and which kind
  4. Temperature and time
  5. No air: submerging and weighting
  6. Vessels and equipment
  7. Hygiene and starters
  8. pH: how you know it is sour enough
  9. Storing the finished product
  10. Common mistakes
  11. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Fermentation calendar
  • Salt calculator
  • First batch plan
  • Batch log
  • Equipment and shopping
  • Labels

Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.

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