I finally got my sauerkraut to stop going soft after 5 days

Jake Carter · 2026-03-17T19:40:09.790197+00:00

My last batch in a half-gallon jar was turning mushy by day five, which was a total bummer. I realized I wasn't packing it down enough when I started it last Tuesday. This time, I used a wooden tamper and really pressed it for a solid ten minutes until the brine fully covered everything. After a full week, it's still super crisp and tangy. Anyone have a good trick for keeping the cabbage submerged without special weights?

nathanwalker7mo ago

Hey, mason.cole might be right about the brine, but I've found temperature swings can ruin the texture just as fast.

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davidwright5mo ago

Got to be honest, five days to mush sounds like a you problem. Maybe your kitchen is just cursed.

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mason.cole7mo ago

Actually, a soft kraut after five days sounds more like a brine issue than just packing it down.

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