PSA: A customer said my fermenting jars smelled like a dirty gym sock

I used to think a little extra sulfur smell meant my kraut was getting complex. But a guy at the farmer's market told me it smelled like a dirty gym sock and he wouldn't buy it. That made me check my salt ratio and airlock seal more carefully. Turns out I was using about 2% salt instead of the 2.5% I needed for cabbage in my cool basement. Has anyone else had to adjust salt after someone called them out on smell?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_julia1mo ago

Jumped in to say this kind of thing happens way more often than people want to admit. It's like when you get so used to a small problem that you stop noticing it, whether it's a slightly off smell in your ferment or a weird noise your car's been making for weeks. Someone from outside has to point it out before you realize you've been living with it. I've definitely had that with other hobbies too, where I thought something was normal until a friend was like "uh, that's not right." Makes you wonder how many other little things we're just tuning out every day.

rayc381mo ago

Did you try bumping it up to a full 3% salt to see if that kills the gym sock smell completely? I had a similar issue with my hot sauce ferments where the smell was off-putting, and adding a little more salt and waiting another week fixed it right up. It's surprising how much difference a half percent of salt makes, especially in a basement that stays around 60 degrees. Managing the salt ratio and keeping the airlock clean has been the main thing for me to avoid that stink.

charlesowens16d ago

Hang on though - that gym sock smell might not be a bad thing. Some of the best kraut I ever made was a little funky and a guy at a tasting event told me it reminded him of strong French cheese in a good way. Low salt ferments bring out different bacteria that some people love. Maybe your customer just wasn't into complex flavors. You might be overcorrecting by adding more salt. Not everyone wants that crisp, clean sour taste. A lot of traditional recipes from colder climates actually use less salt because it lets more wild bacteria grow. Maybe that gym sock smell was just the start of something deeper.