Changed my mind about adding sugar to my sauerkraut

For years, I was convinced you needed a spoonful of sugar to kickstart the fermentation. My grandma's old recipe from Milwaukee always called for it, so I never questioned it. Then, about three months ago, I ran out of sugar mid-batch and just went with the salt and cabbage. The ferment took off just as fast, maybe even faster, and the final taste was way more crisp and tangy, not muddled by that hint of sweetness. I did a side-by-side test with my next two jars, one with sugar and one without, and the sugar-free one was clearly better. It made me realize the natural sugars in the cabbage are totally enough for the lacto-bacteria to do their thing. Now I skip the sugar every time and my kraut has never been better. Anyone else ditch an ingredient they thought was totally necessary?

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elizabeth4387mo ago

Your grandma's recipe actually came from Milwaukee? That's wild, I thought that sugar thing was maybe a regional quirk from somewhere else entirely.

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blake_lopez577mo ago

Wait, so your grandma's recipe had sugar? Did she ever say WHY she added it, or was it just one of those things nobody asked about?

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kim_nelson6mo ago

That side-by-side test is a great idea. Did your grandma's recipe also use a specific type of cabbage, like Danish Ballhead?

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