Fermentation of cabbage is the easiest and widespread way of processing for its preservation for long term. Sauerkraut shouldn't be soft, sticky and gray. Especially well manual fermentation affects gustatory qualities.
In order that sauerkraut didn't turn out soft, you don't hurry to ferment it right after cleaning. In heads of cabbage cabbage still long time proceeds process of accumulation of sugar therefore they have to have a complete rest. For example, late grades of cabbage can be made sour only after December. Sauerkraut from early grades in most cases doesn't get the necessary hrustkost and it turns out soft. One more reason that sauerkraut became soft can become the fact that it was frozen after cleaning, or cabbage contains too many nitrates. In that case it has an unpleasant odor and sweetish smack. The most common cause of the fact that sauerkraut became soft is the wrong process of ferment. For example, you kept cabbage more than five days at a temperature above 20 °C (optimum hold time from two to three days), or didn't pierce the fermented cabbage to release from it surplus of carbon dioxide which is formed at fermentation. But, perhaps, put in salt: it is necessary to take only pickling salt for fermentation. According to the traditional recipe for fermentation of cabbage take strong and healthy heads of cabbage, such grades as "Glory", "Moscow winter". You shouldn't take the begun to rot, friable, sluggish or frozen heads of cabbage for fermentation. Then cabbage is cleaned from a topmost leaves, sliced and accurately mixed with salt. It isn't necessary to rumple the cut cabbage at all, otherwise it will turn out soft. It is also important to prepare correctly a container under cabbage that cabbage didn't deteriorate and it didn't turn out soft. Best of all wooden barrels and glass jars or the enameled buckets are suitable for fermentation of cabbage. The main thing that enamel was without splinters and intact. Aluminum ware won't be suitable for fermentation of cabbage because it will turn useful snack into very dangerous dish. As walls of ware are corroded by the lactic acid emitted by sauerkraut at storage hazardous substances can get to an organism.