# Does hot-pack canning of homemade sauerkraut destroy the pro-biotic benefits?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-pack-canning-of-homemade-sauerkraut-destroy-the-pro-biotic-benefits/630205>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 2, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-pack-canning-of-homemade-sauerkraut-destroy-the-pro-biotic-benefits/630205 "2012-08-02T18:19:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Super\_Kapowzler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Super\_Kapowzler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Kapowzler)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-pack-canning-of-homemade-sauerkraut-destroy-the-pro-biotic-benefits/630205/1 "2012-08-02T18:19:59Z")

</div>

Say I let it ferment a good 6 weeks, brang it to a boil, sealed in 1-pint jars and into hot water and brought to boil for 10 minutes. This negates any pro-biotic things, right?

Thank You.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-pack-canning-of-homemade-sauerkraut-destroy-the-pro-biotic-benefits/630205/2 "2012-08-02T18:36:21Z")

</div>

You get pro-biotic benefits from sauerkraut? Huhn. I did not know that.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-pack-canning-of-homemade-sauerkraut-destroy-the-pro-biotic-benefits/630205/3 "2012-08-02T18:51:04Z")

</div>

I would guess that the processing destroys all living organisms, or close to, so yes the “pro-biotic” flora you captured during fermentation will be killed.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-pack-canning-of-homemade-sauerkraut-destroy-the-pro-biotic-benefits/630205/4 "2012-08-02T18:55:16Z")

</div>

Why can it though? Who keeps sauerkraut around long enough for it to go bad?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-pack-canning-of-homemade-sauerkraut-destroy-the-pro-biotic-benefits/630205/5 "2012-08-02T19:45:26Z")

</div>

Yes, you will kill off any good bacteria you have fostered if you do that.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-hot-pack-canning-of-homemade-sauerkraut-destroy-the-pro-biotic-benefits/630205/6 "2012-08-03T15:09:42Z")

</div>

> [@Alpha\_Twit](#):
>
> Why can it though? Who keeps sauerkraut around long enough for it to go bad?

This is a good point. In a properly cold fridge (36F) it will keep for weeks and week.