Sauerkraut

Hey Frank, I'm interested in how this comes out for you.... Care to share the recipe? I considered giving it a try last year but I didn't follow through...

I had been "kicking around" the idea of making sauerkraut for some time. Then I saw an episode of Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives a few weeks ago that featured homemade kraut. It's really nothing more than cabbage and salt. The lady on the show said that it takes 28 days for the kraut to mature. They used a huge cabbage cutter like this:

To cut the cabbage I used a chef knife and I think I got it a little too thick. What I sampled today is still pretty crunchy (after 18 days) but has a good taste. I'm hoping another ten days or so will soften it up slightly.

I ordered a two gallon stoneware crock that came in Monday. I'm using a food-grade 1 gallon, plastic bucket for the current batch.

I'll let you know how it comes out and share what I've learned along the way.

I'm still looking for tips and tricks for making the BEST kraut.

Sauerkraut came to Europe via Asia, where people have been pickling cabbage for thousands of years. Because of its high vitamin C content, it was very useful in preventing scurvy and keeping people healthy throughout the winter months when no fresh food was available.

To make your own sauerkraut you will rely on the bacteria found on the cabbage leaves. The salt draws out the water and kills off the spoilage bacteria. You will need between a 0.6% and 2% salt concentration, which equals 3/4 to 2 teaspoons of table salt per pound of prepared cabbage.

Makes 1 quart. This is for making kraut in a Mason Jar. (We use Mason Jars for everything in The South)

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
•8-10 cups shredded cabbage, loosely packed (about 2 lbs), about 1 cabbage
•10 juniper berries
•1 tsp. caraway seeds
•1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
•1-2 tsp. un-iodized or pickling salt
•1 c. filtered water mixed with 1 tsp. salt
Preparation:
In a clean, non-metallic bowl, mix cabbage, juniper berries, caraway, mustard seeds, and salt. Stir cabbage to release juices. Let rest 10 minutes then mix again. You may let this rest longer (1-2 hours) if needed.

Sterilize jar and lid by boiling for several minutes in water and draining on a clean dishcloth.

Pack into a sterilized quart-sized, wide-mouthed jar, pushing down with a wooden mallet. Add filtered, or non-chlorinated, salty (1 teaspoon salt per cup of water) water to rim of jar and cap loosely with a sterilized canning lid. Place jar on a tray to catch overflowing juices. Keep jar between 65°F and 72°F for 2-3 weeks.

After bubbling stops, check container and top off with salty (1 teaspoon salt per cup of water, warm slightly to dissolve completely) water if level falls below rim. Skim any (harmless) white spots or film from the top, close jar tightly, wipe off outside of jar and store in the refrigerator until you use it up.

Can't help you on making sauerkraut from scratch, but some old German war brides taught my wife how to make a "quick" batch for use at our local Octoberfest and Faschingfest gatherings many years ago. They would buy several gallon cans of sauerkraut from the store and drain and completely wash out it. They would then put it in a large turkey cooker and slice up some apples and a little sausage in it and simmer it for 6-8 hours before serving it. I don't recall her adding any additional ingredients, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to do so. It didn't taste like store bought sauerkraut at all and was very delicious.

Mom used to make sour kraut in a large pottery jug (3 gallons or so). mmmmm good.

I've been trying to find kimchi in the local groceries, as I heard it was good, but have never tried it.

Didn't they used to use large clay urns, cut cabbage up and pack it in with salt and water, cover with a board with a rock on it to make it sink. Then wait for it to sour. That seems to be what I remember reading anyway. Don't know how it was kept after making though.
jud

KIMCHI

> I've been trying to find kimchi in the local groceries, as I heard it was good, but have never tried it.

Kimchi is really pretty easy to make. It only takes about four or five days to ferment. I made a batch four days ago and it is gooooddaa. I think I'll let it go one more day and then jar it up. Here is were I got my information, although I did change the spices around a little and I used fish sauce and crab paste instead of fresh oysters:

Can't really take sauerkraut anymore, used to like it.

The Ky State Penitentiary is in the county I live in, as well as 2 prison farms where they grow a loyt of their own food.. The summer I got out of high school I got a state job at one of the farms as a "Junior Agriculturalist". Since they were short on guards to watch the inmates, I ended up being the one to ride from the farm to the big house, (guards were not insured to drive the farm vehicles, only the inmates)about 10 miles, with the loads of various vegetables and meat (they also had a slaughter house). Some of the loads were cabbage to be made into sauerkraut and canned at the cannery. They would back up to the dock, the inmates would shovel out the cabbage onto the concrete floor, worms, dirt and all. The smell was pretty rank. Ever since that, no more saurkraut for me.