I am having a go at making sauerkraut and put it in a jar with a stopper top, but the pressure kept blowing the top off so I transferred it to a jar ( bigger than required )with a wire fastener. Does anyone know if this will affect the process? Will it still be safe to eat ? and roughly when will I be able to eat it?

Keep the cabbage submerged in the liquid and it will be fine, if everything was clean to start with. How long depends on how sour/tangy you want it and also on how hot it is. Test it after 4-5 days if it’s quite warm and see what you think. Leave it longer if you want a stronger taste. Every batch will turn out a bit different.

Have a listen to this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xxfz5

I prepared my first jar of purple sauerkraut on Sunday and am letting the gas off 3 or 4 times a day, (now two days into the process). Is it OK to be this gassy and will it calm down? It is in a kilner jar with around 4-5 cm space above the mixture and goes berserk when I take the cap off. There is plenty of liquid covering the veg.

Hi Kitty
I’ve made several batches of this (last time x6 the recipe!) and had a few overflows!
I’d say with 4-5 cm head space you should be OK but stand it in something just in case to avoid some nasty stains. I would think you could take the orange rubber seal off the Kilner jar (assuming its a clip top type) safely now (there will be a protective layer of CO2 on top of the Kraut now) until it calms down a bit , to avoid pressure building up to potentially dangerous levels. I usually find it calms down a lot after 4-5 days.

Good luck its worth the effort, its delicious!