Can sauerkraut develop a mother?

My last batch of sauerkraut was different from what I usually make. I used the same ingredients and followed the same steps, but after three days of fermenting on the countertop, the liquid was somehow more viscous that usual. Especially at the top, almost like a mother in the making. I've never had this happen before and I'm puzzled.

My recipe isn't a true sauerkraut because I add grated carrot and apple. I've been doing this for about a year now, and always had typical lacto-fermented results with liquidy "juice." Maybe the apple caused it? Odd, because it's never done it before.

The only difference in my preparation was that I added some of the liquid from my previous batch to the brine for the new (usually I add whey).

It smelled and tasted delicious, but I'm wondering about it and curious if anyone else has had this happen. Or has a possible explanation.

Sweet contents in a brine ferment sometimes cause gloopy dextran to form. I mostly see this with beets, but sometimes carrot. Often, but not always, if you just let it ferment longer, the next wave of bacteria to come online (or something...that's how I think about it but I don't really know what's going on) will metabolize it away. When it's all snotty like that it's pretty unappealing, but once it's gone it's back to normal. And the dextran isn't unhealthy, just gross.

Thanks Christopher, that makes sense. I did rinse it off before we ate it, lol. It's just odd to me that it's never happened before. Right now it's in the fridge because it's tart enough for our taste. But I'll have to experiment to experience what you describe.

There are 52 mentions of dextran at the Wild Fermentation support forum, which is where I first learned about the phenomenon. I'm not sure if any of it is particularly useful or interesting, but a shortcut to get there is:
https://wildfermentationforum.com/search.php?keywords=dextran

(Probably there is some interesting discussion but also a lot of "hey, my carrots are slimy" followed by someone explaining about dextran at the newbie level that would have to be waded through.)

The sugar in apples (and carrots) ferments to alcohol, which ferments via mother into vinegar.

Christopher Weeks wrote:There are 52 mentions of dextran at the Wild Fermentation support forum, which is where I first learned about the phenomenon. I'm not sure if any of it is particularly useful or interesting, but a shortcut to get there is:
https://wildfermentationforum.com/search.php?keywords=dextran

(Probably there is some interesting discussion but also a lot of "hey, my carrots are slimy" followed by someone explaining about dextran at the newbie level that would have to be waded through.)

I haven't been able to use the link for the wild fermentation forum that you posted ...it says
'403
Forbidden
Access to this resource on the server is denied'

I can't tell if it's my phone or the link itself?

Judith Browning wrote:
I haven't been able to use the link for the wild fermentation forum that you posted ...it says
'403
Forbidden
Access to this resource on the server is denied'

I can't tell if it's my phone or the link itself?

When you get that error, it's emitted from the server. So my first thought is maybe you have to be logged in (which I always am) to use search, but I just opened it in a "private" window where it didn't know who I was.

Anyone else see that?

I get the same error code.  

EDIT: ERROR in brave on Android. The site opens fine on Firefox on Android.

I went to the forum home page, https://wildfermentationforum.com/, and then put "dextran" in the search box. It came up with 52 matches and I could read the posts. I'm not a member of that forum, so it looks like that's the workaround.

Lots of interesting stuff there.

Well that's an unpleasant can of worms. ChatGPT tells me:

---

A 403 Forbidden error means the web server is actively refusing to serve the page to your browser, even though the site itself is online. The fact that you see it in some browsers but not others usually points to differences in how each browser presents itself to the server. A few common reasons:

🔑 Likely Causes

User-Agent Blocking
- Some web servers are configured to block certain browsers (or versions) based on their User-Agent string.
- For example, if the server is set to deny requests from crawlers, outdated browsers, or anything that looks “suspicious,” you’ll get a 403 in that browser but not others.

Security/Firewall Filters
- The site might be using mod_security, Cloudflare, or another WAF (web application firewall) that decides—based on headers, cookies, or IP reputation—whether to allow a request.
- Different browsers can trigger different rule sets (e.g., missing Referer, different TLS settings, or aggressive ad-blocking headers).

Cookie / Session Issues
- If a browser tries to connect without the cookies the site expects, it may be denied access.
- Some privacy-focused browsers block certain cookies or referrer headers, which can look “hostile” to the server.

HTTPS/TLS Handshake Differences
- A few older browsers negotiate SSL/TLS differently. If the server is configured strictly, it may reject the connection—or treat it as a “forbidden” request.

Geo/IP Blocking (less likely here, but possible)
- If the site uses IP reputation services, one browser’s traffic (say via a VPN plugin, or through different DNS resolution) might appear to come from a blocked region.

What You Can Do
- Compare headers: Use a tool like whatsmyua.info in each browser to see the User-Agent string. If one looks unusual, that may be the culprit.
- Try private/incognito mode: Removes cookies and extensions from the equation.
- Disable browser extensions: Privacy/ad-blocking add-ons sometimes modify requests in ways servers don’t like.
- Check TLS settings: Make sure your browsers are up to date so they can negotiate HTTPS properly.

👉 In short: the site’s configuration (very likely its security/firewall rules) is treating one browser’s request as “okay” and another’s as “forbidden,” usually because of headers (User-Agent, referrer, cookies) or extensions modifying the request.

I have all the Moderatorial powers within phpBB over there, but no access at all to the server or environment.