At Wise Goat Organics, the emphasis on quality & care to provide the most nutritionally dense and healthy fermented foods is quite literally our business. Making sure our customers understand what’s happening inside of our jars is equally as important to us–so, let’s dig a little into a frequent concern: exploding kraut!
We ferment our sauerkraut anywhere from 4-6 weeks at a time, depending on the season, the vegetable content, and the length of time needed for peak beneficial lactic acid bacteria–the probiotics we want. Per our methods of lacto-fermentation, we only ever combine small quantities of organic vegetables, salt, and enough water to cover the batch in a non-plastic vessel. After enough time in an anaerobic environment, our ferments are jarred and ready to enjoy!
This still gives room for fermentation to continue, however, and sometimes you’ll notice the lid of your sauerkraut jar is puffed up a bit and bulging. This is totally normal! In the canning / preserving world, a bulging lid is a major red flag that there could be the potential for harmful bacteria including botulism and that they must discard the food. Thankfully this is not the case with fermentation.
During the preservation process of canning, food is heat-treated via pasteurization, which kills any bacteria; a puffed lid in that case means that the seal has been broken and it is likely contaminated. However, “lacto” fermentation creates lactic acid, which not only acts as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria (it’s too acidic of an environment for bad bacteria to survive), but also increases bioavailability of nutrients and tons of beneficial lactic acid bacteria. Think of a puffy sauerkraut lid as trillions of probiotics that are excited to be eaten! It also means that upon opening the jar there may be fizzing, bubbling, or even an explosion of kraut! IT’S ALIIIIVE!
While it can get messy at times, the fermented food is completely safe to enjoy. We recommend opening every jar of fermented food SLOWLY over a bowl in the sink to catch any of the brine that may spill out. The kraut may even puff out of the jar 1-2 inches. Again, totally normal. Pack it back into the jar, pour the liquid back in and store in the fridge. Technically it can never spoil however we recommend enjoying it within a year of purchase.
Thank you for enjoying our wildly fermented foods!
