sauerkraut? What's the best way to get started?

[jroc]

When I make kraut I have a 5 gallon bucket that is food grade. I bought one of the screw on lids with a gasket in so the top seals, you can get them a Home Depot for about $8.00 I got an airlock off amazon for about $5.00. I drilled a hole big enough forthe tube to the airlock in the screw on lid and hot glued it to the lid. Now you have the same thing as one of the $100.00 crocks for about $20.00.

With the air lock on their you don't get any of the crud and scum and the kraut is as good as any. I make the same as other people have said. 5 lbs cabbage and 3 TBS. of any non iodized salt. The iodized salt will kill the fermentation. I keep layering until About 3/4 full crushin and mashing with a ballbat. Push down and put 3 or 4 dinner plates on it to keep the cabbage submerged. Screw the lid on fill the airlock with waterand set it in the basement whwere it will stay around 70°, in about 4 weeks you will have some good kraut.

When it's done and to where I like the taste of it I put it in vacuum seal bags, suck it down to where you just see the liquid going up the bag and seal it before any liquid is sucked out. Store it in the bottom of the fridge out in the garage. I don't ever process in canner as this will kill the good stuff in it that is supposed to be so healthy for you. Hardly a week goes by that we don't eat kraut one way or another. Way better than any store bought stuff JMO. jroc

[MaryB]

I figure 2 gallons will be plenty for me for a year, my main use is for sandwiches. But I do collect rib tips in vac bags over the summer as I BBQ to make rib tips in kraut. Serve over mashed potatoes with lots of butter on top to make it more fattening! And I use a lot when I make sausages in the house. I brown them under the broiler then steam on a bed of kraut so the fat drips down and flavors it.

[ColdBlueSteel]

You just wrecked my diet Mary B

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I figure 2 gallons will be plenty for me for a year, my main use is for sandwiches. But I do collect rib tips in vac bags over the summer as I BBQ to make rib tips in kraut. Serve over mashed potatoes with lots of butter on top to make it more fattening! And I use a lot when I make sausages in the house. I brown them under the broiler then steam on a bed of kraut so the fat drips down and flavors it.

That [highlighted] is a simple genius idea, I wish I had thought of it.
Like most folks, I buy the grocery store packed pork ribs and grill everything in the package ...the Tip end always comes out tough. Yeah, I'm gonna start saving 'em. Tips and kraut it will be Thanks for the great idea.

[MaryB]

I pull the tips out and cool until I can handle them, pull all the meat off the cartilage and put it back in with the kraut and reheat it. Good stuff on a cold winter day!

[coleman]

You can add the cores of the cabbage(cut the bad end off) to the mix also, Makes for a semi crunchy kraut core.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I pull the tips out and cool until I can handle them, pull all the meat off the cartilage and put it back in with the kraut and reheat it. Good stuff on a cold winter day!

Oh ? I was gonna save them in the Raw...actually, I already did save a couple...Yesterday I grilled two racks (they were in the 'reduced for quick sale' bin). I suppose I'll miss out on the smoky flavor added, unless I grill them the day I make the kraut and tips. OK I'm just thinking out load now. lol.

[GSM]

For small batches wide mouth half gallon mason jars work well. It is how I have made it for years until I broke down and bought 2 German made fermenters last year. Waiting for cooler weather to make kraut though, 75+ is to warm! This is the crock I picked up(well 2 of them so I can make bigger pickle batches). http://www.amazon.com/Schmitt-Gairto.../dp/B00BMHZL5Y smaller crock is also easier on my bad back when full!

MaryB and others:

What would be a good temp to give the kraut process a try?

All this talk about kraut & pickles is tough. It might be 4 months until I get a chance to try any of them

Cabbage & pork. Mmmmmmmm.

[jroc]

GSM 67-70° is about perfect, once the fermentation starts if temp drops a little but no less than 65° would be okay. I will say keeping it on the cool end make a sweeter and less tart kraut. We always did our kraut late fall, my granny always said that cabbage that had been touched by a light frost made the best kraut. I could never tell any difference it was all good. After kraut is done I pack in vac seal bags lightly vacuumed. It can also be put in jars without processing and either way stored in the bottom of the refrigerator. If you process in a canner you kill the stuff that makes it so good for you. jroc

[MaryB]

I save them in the raw, that is after cooking in the kraut! You want all those good pork juices to cook into the kraut!

Oh ? I was gonna save them in the Raw...actually, I already did save a couple...Yesterday I grilled two racks (they were in the 'reduced for quick sale' bin). I suppose I'll miss out on the smoky flavor added, unless I grill them the day I make the kraut and tips. OK I'm just thinking out load now. lol.

[johnson1942]

why is cabbage so good for you? sulfur is the answer. sulfur is the basic mineral for all cells. it heals and gives longlife. i remember when i was a teen and now im 72 their was a man from minn. that lived to over 100 years old. the local paper interviewed him and asked the typical question, what is the secret of your long life. cabbage. he ate it every day in one form or another. it also heals stomach ulcers. sulfer is the key. okra is also good for long life. it has slica in it which hardens the bones and the teeth and helps the lungs stay good. also if you want to really feel relaxed and good in you muscles and joints have a glass of dry red wine every day with 4 calcium tablets from wall mart. its the best way to get calcium to where it is needed. cabbage. okra, red wine and calcium. thats a secret i want to share with every one. i sometimes juice a lot of cabbage and let it ferment into sour juice and drink it cold, man does it taste good and make you feel good. makes a good basic stock for russian borsche soup. man a person could live well and long on that stuff. my son has a friend who came from russia with his mother when he was 8 years old, they eat borsche every week at leaste once. a very funny side bar, he is 16 now and doesnt speak russian but stays with my son over night alot. my son says he talks in russian in his sleep all night long but cant remember it in the morning. the first time it happened it scared the **** out of my son. now he is used to it. anyways eat a lot of cabbage in any form you can, it is the best of the best.

[quilbilly]

I have only made one batch in a food grade 5 gallon plastic bucket. It turned out great.

Ditto! I liked it so much I planted enough cabbage in the garden to do three batches providing our fences keep the deer out. I was amazed at how long the kraut kept in our refrigerator after the batch was done. Went great with our venison polish sausages last fall. This year I plan on adding a few carrot strips and herbs to the various batches.

[MaryB]

Eating it fresh(not canned) gives you tons of probiotics others spend way to much money for!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Eating it fresh(not canned) gives you tons of probiotics others spend way to much money for!

OK you sold me...
I've always canned Kraut.
My neighbor (who has now passed away) who taught me how to make kraut and would borrow me his kraut cutter (before I bought one), would always freeze the kraut after it's done with it's 6 to 8 weeks of fermenting...Maybe I'll start doing that instead of canning it.

[WRideout]

why is cabbage so good for you? sulfur is the answer. sulfur is the basic mineral for all cells. it heals and gives longlife. i remember when i was a teen and now im 72 their was a man from minn. that lived to over 100 years old. the local paper interviewed him and asked the typical question, what is the secret of your long life. cabbage. he ate it every day in one form or another. it also heals stomach ulcers. sulfer is the key. okra is also good for long life. it has slica in it which hardens the bones and the teeth and helps the lungs stay good. also if you want to really feel relaxed and good in you muscles and joints have a glass of dry red wine every day with 4 calcium tablets from wall mart. its the best way to get calcium to where it is needed. cabbage. okra, red wine and calcium. thats a secret i want to share with every one. i sometimes juice a lot of cabbage and let it ferment into sour juice and drink it cold, man does it taste good and make you feel good. makes a good basic stock for russian borsche soup. man a person could live well and long on that stuff. my son has a friend who came from russia with his mother when he was 8 years old, they eat borsche every week at leaste once. a very funny side bar, he is 16 now and doesnt speak russian but stays with my son over night alot. my son says he talks in russian in his sleep all night long but cant remember it in the morning. the first time it happened it scared the **** out of my son. now he is used to it. anyways eat a lot of cabbage in any form you can, it is the best of the best.

I frequently do the red wine treatment, for health reasons. When I moved to Southwest PA, I discovered that a lot of people put sauerkraut on top of mashed potatoes, like gravy. I wouldn't have thought it, but it's actually good. My German heritage requires that I eat sauerkraut from time to time. It's also why I am so stubborn.

Wayne

[johnson1942]

sauerkraut on mashed potatoes with gravy over it now that sounds very very good. another thing over mashed postatoes is a good thick chili.my wife is also makeing chicken cacciatore for supper and that is good with a nice thick sauce over mashed potatoes.

[Iowa Fox]

Late White Dutch cabbage makes the best kraut. We grow our own started from seed so we know what we are getting. We use another cabbage for coleslaw.

[44man]

I heard the old timers did not can it. They just left it in the crock and took out what they needed.

[charlie3tuna]

I heard the old timers did not can it. They just left it in the crock and took out what they needed.

That's true. But my father told me the kraut got VERY strong come spring...charlie

[jroc]

I don't can any kraut. I am sure it would definetly get a lot stronger if it wasn't cooled to a point where fermentation was halted. I store approximately 1 lb vacuum bags in the bottom of refregerator in garage. It will last in there until I run out which is close to a year.