Sauerkraut

[guajolote]

The kraut is done! I tasted it and it's much more acidic than commercial sauerkraut. The acidity is close to that of lemon juice. The little bit I tated was really good. I wish I had chopped the cabbage a little finer. I put the kraut in quart canning jars (4) and am storing it in the fridge. You can can it, but I didn't.

Next week I'm going to make a choucroute garni, I'll report on the taste.

[Toliver]

I am very surprised that it has retained it's green coloring. Having grown up with the jarred/canned stuff, which is a pale white, your homemade 'kraut provides quite the verdant contrast.

Let us know if you cook with it (Mmmm...pork roast & sauerkraut).

[guajolote]

If you really like sauerkraut you have to try this. It's very easy.

Next up is fermented pickles.

[slbunge]

Oh my word! I started monitoring this site at the right time. I have seen some amazing cabbages this year at the farmers' markets and was thinking about trying sauerkraut. Thanks for the posts, I'm going to try it myself.

By the way, I have tried a couple of batches of crock pickles this summer (I think they may be similar to what you mean by fermented pickles). First batch was pretty good. Second batch was in the brine too long and got softer than I wanted. Let us know if you try pickles yourself.

[Toliver]

The kraut is done! I tasted it and it's much more acidic than commercial sauerkraut. The acidity is close to that of lemon juice. The little bit I tated was really good. I wish I had chopped the cabbage a little finer. I put the kraut in quart canning jars (4) and am storing it in the fridge. You can can it, but I didn't.

Next week I'm going to make a choucroute garni, I'll report on the taste.

I thought I would haul this thread back up to find out if you ever did make the choucroute garni (I googled "choucroute garni"...good gosh, how many different meats can they put into one dish?). Talk about a hearty meal!

Also, was your attempt at fermented pickles a success?

[guajolote]

I've eaten one jar in a psuedo choucrout garni and it was very good. I wish I had shredded the cabbage a little finer. I'm making a full-blown one for my birthday party.

My pickles were a complete flop. I think a yeast started growing on them. I think jackal is doing a class on canning, I'll ask him what went wrong.

[woodburner]

Ahh, a fellow krautmiester!

Four of us, construction type guys get together the first week of October to pound our cabbage's!

Typically we start with two full cases of locally grown cabbage, shred with an authentic "Krauthobel", which consists of a small wooden box, which slides on two wooden rails, that has razor sharp blades that cuts the cabbage's into perfect thin slices.

We have four or five, ten gallon ceramic crocks that we start to fill with the perfectly cut shreds. We use the assembly line approach, one person stripping the outter leaves of the whole heads, coring, and cutting each head into quarters. Worker #2, takes the quarters and skillfully wacks the krathobel back and forth, leaving nothing but fine cabbage shreds in the crocks. Worker#3 with the aid of a sawed off baseball bat, pounds his bat up and down, into the shreds releasing the savory juices from the shreds, adding just the right proportions of salt, during his pounding. Worker #4 is the pivot man, spelling each worker from thier exhaustive tasks, periodically.

At the end of the evening the crocks are filled to the top with whole leaves that were previously removed and the whole kibbodle is weighted down.

Crocks are covered with a wet muslin cloth, and the fermenting process begins.

Two weeks later we all reassemble to can ten cases of quarts.

I have a killer recipe for Sauerkraut crackers, I'll have to dig out.

woodburner

[Jinmyo]

woodburner, welcome to eGullet.

How about if your fourth guy takes some photos and you post them for us here in October?

[woodburner]

woodburner, welcome to eGullet.

Thank you for being part of the welcoming committe.

My post was meant to reasure guajolote, that my rendition of kraut was her/his adaptation, on steriods. In no way was it meant to override the terrific information that was previously introduced into evidence.

I'm pretty sure with a blessing from guajolote, we could find a way to post some pictures of my endevour.

To cut to the chase, I would be happy to inform anyone with a visual, as long as it stays on the same thread.

I get touchy about infringing on others great information.

woodburner

[sladeums]

woodburner, welcome to eGullet.

Thank you for being part of the welcoming committe.

My post was meant to reasure guajolote, that my rendition of kraut was her/his adaptation, on steriods. In no way was it meant to override the terrific information that was previously introduced into evidence.

I'm pretty sure with a blessing from guajolote, we could find a way to post some pictures of my endevour.

To cut to the chase, I would be happy to inform anyone with a visual, as long as it stays on the same thread.

I get touchy about infringing on others great information.

woodburner

woodburner, please be forthcoming with any pertinent information on this topic.

I can assure you that any and all pics or other explanatory info will be absolutely welcome.

(note: we all LOVE pics!)

That's why we're all here...to read, discuss and learn.

guajolote is a he, by the way.

[guajolote]

I made another batch 3 weeks ago. Malawry's method of using the cusinart w/ shredding blade for the cabbage made it much easier.

checked the sauerkraut today and there were 2 beetles floating in it.

lesson: cover your sauerkraut with a towel.

[woodburner]

I made another batch 3 weeks ago. Malawry's method of using the cusinart w/ shredding blade for the cabbage made it much easier.

checked the sauerkraut today and there were 2 beetles floating in it.

lesson: cover your sauerkraut with a towel.

We covered our crocks with a muslin cloth, and defoamed every couple of days. Make sure the muslin cloth does not overhang on the sides of your crock or container. Inadvertently left to overhang the sides will allow a wicking of the juices from the crock onto the floor.

We notice the level of liquid in the crock, can quickly change daily. Some mornings it was about to overflow and other mornings it would be lower than the top by about an inch. We suspect barometric levels are responsible.

Anywho, our kraut turned out a bit sweeter this year than past attempts. Much to our liking.

We put up over 70 quarts for the 4 of us. No pictures this year, as I have no place on the web to post them.

woodburner

Long live the krautmeister

[jackal10]

I've eaten one jar in a psuedo choucrout garni and it was very good. I wish I had shredded the cabbage a little finer. I'm making a full-blown one for my birthday party.

My pickles were a complete flop. I think a yeast started growing on them. I think jackal is doing a class on canning, I'll ask him what went wrong.

What were the symptoms?

IF you have the salt level high enough and a little vineagr to ensure it starts acid, you will favour lactic fermentation. You may get a mould or scum on the top, but it is harmless - just skim it off.

Of course these pickles don't have a long life, maybe a few weeks, even in the fridge. If you want to keep them long term you will have to can them, but loses a little of the crispness.

[Susan G]

The type and amount of salt you use can be a determining factor. Coarse kosher salt works for me.

Kosher salt is, I think, the salt of choice: Iodized salt halts the fermentation process.

[helenjp]

This is the time of year when I start to watch the temperature...another month and a bit more, when daytime temps are around 17degC, I'll start making sauerkraut.

It's easily the most reliable fermented cabbage/Chinese cabbage pickle I know for areas which don't get really cold in the fall, and apart from tendonitis from chopping up all that cabbage and the smell it's a pleasurable experience.

I found out how to do it from some midwestern university extension site (which I will look up when I'm on a faster computer).

This year I'm ready for some variations. Anybody have any favorite flavors or methods?

[gariotin]

No, but it brings back wonderful childhood memories of my grandmother Bertha turning the kraut over in the crock. I've always loved kraut - even as a kid. Glad to see someone is still making it at home! Good luck.

[Toliver]

eGullet poster guajolote did a sauerkraut blog, of a sort:

"Sauerkraut, Homemade"

Unfortunately, the pictures are missing now.

[Smithy]

eGullet poster guajolote did a sauerkraut blog, of a sort:

"Sauerkraut, Homemade"

Unfortunately, the pictures are missing now.

←

Too bad about the photos; I'd love to have seen them. Thanks for the blog pointer, anyway!

Where do people get ceramic crocks that don't cost a fortune? I can get good antique Redwing Pottery crocks at the local flea markets, but I don't really want to spend that kind of money.

Is a ceramic crock necessary? Will a 5-gallon plastic bucket work instead?

[Toliver]

Is a ceramic crock necessary?  Will a 5-gallon plastic bucket work instead?

←

Yes! A big white plastic bucket is exactly what guajolote used.

[ronnie_suburban]

Here are guajolote's pictures...

I'm sure he'll stop by to elborate.

=R=

[guajolote]

nothing is more exciting than pictures of shredded cabbage

helen, a cookbook i have, the joy of pickling, has a recipe for kraut with gewurtztraminer, which i have been wanting to try. it's much easier to shred the cabbage using a food processor w/ a shredding disk installed.

this pic is a little more exciting:

[JennotJenn]

As usual, my grandma made kraut this year without informing me that it was krauting time (I beg her to tell me when she's doing it so I can come help/watch and she never does). She makes hers in a stone crock, but when I try to make it (hopefully this fall...the people in her community start around the middle of August...too hot here), I'll probably go with plastic. Anyway, I guess I'll have to read the blog for advice, since my lovely-but-eccentric grandmother keeps "forgetting" to teach me. Too bad, too, she makes great kraut.

The only variation I know of isn't so much a variation...it's just the way my family makes it. We drop a whole, fresh cayenne pepper into each canning jar. It doesn't make it hot at all, oddly enough, and I've never noticed that it gives the kraut any flavor to speak of.

[ronnie_suburban]

Damn! That choucroute garni looks better today than it did (almost a year ago ) when I was elbowing everyone out of the way to get at it

=R=

[Smithy]

Here are guajolote's pictures...

I'm sure he'll stop by to elborate.

←

Wow! How exciting! (I know, that's what guajolote said, too ) I'm fired up to try this; it looks beautiful and tasty!

I would like some elaboration, though, especially on the photo that's half shredded cabbage and half whole leaves. (Just try to write that bit clearly.)

[phaelon56]

Anybody have any favorite flavors or methods?

No.... but I can attest to being a convert. The only sauerkraut I'd ever tried until a few years ago was Silver Floss and some other grocery store brand that's popular i this area. They were both much like the stuff that dirty water hot dog carts have available to put on your dog - not very good.

Then I began frequenting a small local Polish restaurant where every order and all the food is made by hand and to order. What a revelation! Their kraut has just the right balance of crispness and to be positively ethereal. The place where it really shines is in the potato pancakes that are made with sauerkraut and bacon mixed into the batter.

I'd best stop all this blather as they're not open on Mondays and I'm only torturing myself.