Vent: heard a guy at the farmers market say salt is salt for sauerkraut

I was picking up some peppers last Saturday and this dude was telling his friend that any old table salt works fine for fermenting cabbage. Man, I had to bite my tongue. I've ruined two 5-gallon batches using iodized salt back when I started. Has anyone else had to explain the difference between anti-caking agents and pure salt to a newbie?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_murphy1mo ago

Ugh, that farmers market guy had no idea what he was talking about. I feel your pain with those ruined batches, I trashed a whole crock of kraut once because I grabbed the wrong salt from the pantry. The anti-caking agents in regular table salt just make everything slimy and off, it's such a bummer to watch weeks of bubbling go down the drain. I had to explain to my neighbor last month that pink Himalayan salt has too many minerals and can mess with the brine pH too. It's wild how many people think salt is just salt, especially when you've learned the hard way.

hayden1441mo ago

Have you ever had someone argue that sea salt is basically the same thing? I had a buddy once insist that Celtic grey salt would work for fermenting because it's "natural" and expensive, but that stuff is practically wet sand with how much moisture it holds. You end up weighing it wrong and your brine ratios are all off, plus the minerals can turn your pickles greyish and soft in a weird way. It's like people don't get that fermenting is basically a chemistry project where salt is the only variable you can't mess up. The farmers market crowd always wants to recommend the fanciest salt they can find, but plain old canning salt or kosher salt (no additives) is the real secret weapon.

logan2361mo ago

Bet on the right fancy salt and you'll never go back, though.