Kraut - please tell me this was worth it

I make kimchee similarly to Kathy, I cut/shred the veggies, add salt, and then weight it down and let it sit, either on the countertop for a few hours or overnight. The juice comes out and almost always covers the veggies (I think it's easier with kimchee, things like onions and carrots are always fairly wet) and then I pack it into mason jars and ferment until done.

Kimchee does great things for my daughter's digestion, I can see positive changes, our biggest problem is that we can go through a half gallon a week because we enjoy it so much and, well, it _is_ hard to keep up with at that rate.

Ohhhh, you forgot to salt it. That'll do it to you. With the salt, all you have to do is rough it up a little in the bowl and then press down hard as you fill your fermenting jar.

Next time it will do just fine, and you'll be saying it's easy!

The salt definitely is what helps break down the cabbage as you pound it and release the juices. If you can't get enough juice to come up, you can also add salt water to cover.

Just wanted to report that I tried the big-bowl-with-lots-of-plates method - and I remembered the salt! - and it's working beautifully! Thanks!

glad i read this thread before attempting some krout myself!!!!