Yeasty kraut?!

[Iheartcabbage]

hello - I made my first batch of sauerkraut 2 weeks ago - I followed all the directions and it was going great - but about 4 days ago I noticed a yeasty smell and a whitish- scum on the surface. It wasn't mold and i couldn't really skim it off. I left it while I went in search of help. I was away for the weekend and now it has a strong yeast smell and the surface had a light brown layer on it that looked like some kind of yeasty growth (but not mold). I took out the plate (The brine was above the plate/cabbage surface) and tried to scoop it off but it seems like it's most of the brine. The packed down cabbage actually looked pretty dry, even though it was under the brine, if that makes sense. I dug down into it and it looks fine, its crispy etc. I packed it into jars - there wasn't much brine left in there (which is weird since it had brine on top - maybe I packed it TOO Hard?). It does have a slightly yeasty taste over the expected sour flavour. I'm choked because the sourness and texture are great, but I'm concerned about that yeasty smell etc. any ideas - is it ruined? what shoudl I do differently next time?

thanks!!

[photonicgirl]

My fourth batch of saurkraut has the exact same thing. I usually don't leave it in the basement fermenting for more than a month, but this time I did, and now the yeasty thing. Help! Should I feed it to my llamas and goat?

Jules

[fermented-vegan]

Hello Iheartcabbage and photonicgirl, :)

I'm assuming you are fermenting in an open container, rather than a sealed Harsch type crock. The white bubbly scummy stuff is bad yeast that you do not want in your ferment. You need to skim it off as soon as you see it appear. And then continue to do so daily, or twice daily depending on how fast it grows. I learned this the hard way with my first attempt at sauerkraut. I didn't know what this white bubbly stuff was, and just assumed it was normal, until four day into the ferment it produced the most god awful spoiled smell. I composted the whole thing. But I probably could have saved and continued to ferment a portion of it beneath the top layer that was nasty tasting.

You really need to keep an eye on your ferment on a daily basis. This is my second attempt at sauerkraut. And in both I noticed white bubbly looking scum forming by the next day after packing it in the crock to ferment. You have to get that stuff out of there if you want to have edible sauerkraut.

Have a look at my first post here on my experiences. Maybe it will shed some light on what went wrong.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=165

I honestly have no idea if you should feed it to your llamas or goat. The question in my mind, is would they eat? LOL I guess there is always the compost otherwise.

Peace & Love from a vegan :)

[megmaine]

I wonder if you are fermenting it at a cool enough temperature? My first kraut-making was this winter, after getting The Book by Sandor Kraut for Christmas, and I have been making it ever since without ever encountering this, but then again, I live in Maine, and had to start my first batch under a drafty bedroom window because the basement was too cold in winter, and right now in May, the basement is fine... so I have never yet had to deal with a yeast problem or any other scum.

Do you have a cheap wall thermometer you can leave right next to your kraut fermenting container, to keep tabs on temps? He did mention an ideal temperature range for kraut-making, and I think it was in the 60's F, which is cooler than a lot of yeasts like.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!