It's not that scientific, when it is to your taste (and that assumes 'sour' is to your taste) it's done....
Main reason it might fail would be not being underwater and getting contaminated with aerobic bacteria.
I make mine the way i like it,
Not shredded too finely and left for about two weeks so it is still pretty crisp (fine shredding gives a softer kraut), and then it still matures slowly once it is in the fridge.
I use cabbage, carrot, celery, turmeric, ginger, garlic and chilli, but almost anything is ok (didn't like capsicum, very slimy)
"the minimum time is about three days, though the kraut will continue to ferment and become tastier for many days after that. As simple as it sounds, the best rule of thumb is to keep tasting the kraut and refrigerate (or take it cellar temperature) when it tastes good to you. "
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-mak...on-jar-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193124
Three weeks would definitely be a softer mushier kraut, but that's how most of the world likes it?
as one guy put it on another forum........
"But now. Here's the kicker. This sauerkraut contains something that (most) commercial probiotics don't: dead bacteria.
It's been shown that the real benefit to eating sauerkraut and other fermented foods is not necessarily the living bacteria, but the dead bacteria. These dead bacteria are sensed by your immune system much like it senses the dead viruses in a flu shot. Your immune system sees this onslaught of dead bacterial cells and ramps up its protective abilities"
nor i'm a sure i can trust this source of information.
length of time or probiotic count?
probiotic count?.....
The numbers will vary sooooo much, what vegies, what bacteria, how long, what temperature, etc
"Four main species of lactic acid bacteria are commonly present in sauerkraut: Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus brevis, Pediococcus pentosaceus and Lactobacillus plantarum. Sauerkraut also can contain other species, such as Weissella species, Lactobacillus curvatus, Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus coryniformis, Lactococcus lactis subsp lactis, Leuconostoc fallax, Leuconostoc citreum and Leuconostoc argentinum, according to the December 2007 issue of "Applied and Environmental Microbiology." Each batch of sauerkraut can contain different species of gut-friendly probiotics in different proportions, making your sauerkraut a different combination of probiotics each time."
http://www.livestrong.com/article/413921-does-sauerkraut-have-all-the-probiotics-i-need/
"I’ve seen numbers as low as 1-1.5 billion per 25 gms (.9 oz) serving of sauerkraut [1] to vegetables started with a probiotic starter culture having 10 trillion [2]. Trillion. Yup, I said trillion. Dr. Mercola had some of his fermented veggies tested and the results were astounding.
Pills on the other hand typically contain between 50 million-10 billion bacteria units per pill. 10 trillion would be more than a whole bottle of probiotic pills."
http://www.picklemetoo.com/2012/10/26/fermentation-friday-probiotic-pills-vs-fermented-food/
time to ferment before refrigeration........
opinions vary, it's a personal thing (which quickly becomes dogma with some people
Carrot Kale Kraut
"3. Leave at room temperature for 3 to 7 days. In the first 24 hours, open the jar and press down firmly on ingredients a few times to make sure liquid is fully covering the mixture. Transfer to cool storage."
http://stellametsovas.com/probiotics-or-cultured-food-which-is-better/
The 3 Biggest Fermenting Mistakes You’re Already Making
"This is the biggest mistake I see people making — not leaving their ferment on their counter longer before transferring to cold storage. If you want maximum probiotics in your sauerkraut (and I think we all do!), you’ll want to let your ferment go through the three stages of fermentation.
Refrigeration slows down food spoilage; I think we all know this. In the case of fermenting, you are also slowing down the bacterial action. The LABs (lactic-acid producing bacteria) dislike cold, and they cannot truly thrive in it (read: prolifically reproduce). So, you want to leave your sauerkraut out a minimum of four weeks to give time for your sauerkraut to go through all three bacteria stages."
http://www.foodrenegade.com/3-biggest-fermenting-mistakes-youre-already-making/
