Mine did the same thing. I just waited until the glove deflated and when it was removed everything was fine. Since the system is airtight there was no mold and the very top of the kraut was still a good color. Then when getting ready to can/process it just stir it all in together.

It is fun to watch isn't it? :)

Dave

I added more brine whenever mine got above the liquid. I wasn't using the glove, though, I was using the ziplock full of brine method. I did have some discoloration until I started checking frequently and adding a bit of brine on top.
Whenever I found a bit of dis oration, I just scraped that patch off, added more brine and put my cover back on. My kraut came out delicious.
I froze my kraut, BTW. I didn't want to lose any of the crispy goodness or any of the live cultures.

Just a follow-up: I did not disturb my kraut in spite of the rising tide of cabbage. The glove began to deflate after about a week, and at 10 days I did a taste test, found it to be delicious, stirred it all together and canned most of it. We had a bit of the fresh kraut tonight for dinner with some wursts and German potato salad...really good! Thanks for the advice. Definitely a fun project that I will do again!

Glad to hear it went well. It really is easy to do isn't it? I have 5 more jars waving at me right now.

Jon gets lots of kudos and credit for the gloves.

Dave

I have tons of gloves. Will have to try this method next time I want a small batch of something. Thinking this will work well in a cooler during the hotter months sins I can't ferment much in my house with temperatures above 80 degrees indoors. I could, however do a few quarts or pints in a cooler and manage to keep the cooler below 70 with an ice pack changed every other day.

So what happens when you use the gloves but you still get mold on the top of the jars. I guess my gloves weren't surgical grade enough because they only inflated a bit but not full on wave. Can I just take tongs and pull all of that stuff off or is my batch ruined because the kraut got above the brine and got mold.

~Jeremy

Jeremy that sounds more like a fermentation problem - too weak brine or too warm temps - rather than a glove problem. How many days on the jars?

Dave

Dave,

The kraut has been in the jar for above a week. It was bubbling up the sides of the jars and did expand since I first started it.

~Jeremy

Jeremy so more than 7 days and the glove never inflated? Then yeah I'd say a leak in the glove somewhere that let air in and out. 5 days with good gloves and 70+ temps has always been long enough when I've done it.

So yeah I'd remove the moldy part, make some fresh brine, well heat up the rest in the fresh brine to kill any remaining mold, jar and process.

JMO

Dave

We shall see. I took your advice Dave, took the gloves off, took the top inch or two of kraut off the top and chucked it. Drained off most of the brine in the jar, added some fresh brine with it in a pot and heated it. Put in jars and processed. I did taste some of the leftovers stuck in the pot and it tasted good! I'm guessing I might have to rinse off some of the fresh brine when it's time to go but it had good flavor and a nice snap to the kraut. I didn't go blind from the stuff I ate so I hope I'm good!!

{{gwi:898421}}

Good! As long as you didn't go blind and if the jars don't explode (don't ask me how I know about that) you'll have some great kraut. :)

Dave