TIL that using a cabbage leaf as a jar weight actually works

I was making sauerkraut last month and ran out of my glass weights. My friend told me to just cut a big piece of cabbage and push it down over the shreds. I thought it would just rot and ruin the batch. After 3 weeks, I opened the jar and the ferment was perfect, no mold at all. The leaf kept everything under the brine and just got soft. Has anyone else tried this instead of buying weights?

3 comments

3 Comments

stellanelson11d ago

Of course the cabbage works, it's just doing what it was told by its boss (the jar).

the_viola12d ago

That trick with the cabbage leaf is a total game changer for fermenting!

kevin_west12d agoMost Upvoted

It's wild how the best fixes are usually the simplest ones. You see it everywhere, not just in the kitchen.