White cabbage heads (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) cv. Storema RZ and cv. Lennox, which had been grown under standard conditions and harvested in October 2012, were donated by Rijk Zwann Company, Marne, Germany. Three cabbage heads were used from each cultivar, after removing core and outer layers, the cabbage heads were shredded into 2–3 mm thick slices using a food processor (Major Classic KM 800, Kenwood). The shredded plant material was mixed well with 0.9% salt and transferred into fermentation pots (150 mL glass containers with lid). The salted cabbage material was tightly pressed into the pots, pots were closed and placed into vacuum desiccators and kept under vacuum for 5 min to remove residual air. The pots were kept at 19–20 °C throughout fermentation and when a pH value of about 4.0 was reached (Day 9), the pots were stored in a refrigerator and continuously analysed.