scrapcan
03-16-2007, 12:40 PM
As promised in other thread here is a recipe from the old country for making Kraut.
Each year a co-worker and his wife make this and distribute for the rest of us. My return contribution is usually hefeweizen or pale ale homebrew. Here is their recipe.
We hope you enjoy this sauerkraut, as we sure liked making it, as well as the memories it brought to mind. The recipe is from Grandpa (William) and Grandma (Jessie). The recipe was given to Jessie when she was in her 20’s, by a lady who was in her 80’s, and when we learned to make it Grandma was in her 80’s. If you try a batch, bear in mind that we were shown how to make it nearly 20 years ago, and nothing was written down till now. The ingredients are simple and few:
100# cabbage, ~2½# pounds salt, ~3# pounds sugar, ~3 ounces mustard seed
These ingredients should be sufficient to allow one to season a ten gallon batch to taste. Your batch can be sized accordingly, by proportioning the ingredients. You will also need a ten gallon crock (several food grade plastic buckets will work), a slaw cutter (or finely slice the quartered cabbage heads), a wooden base ball bat (or something to pound down the cabbage), and a weighted cover to loosely fit inside your crock or bucket (a sanitized platter and stone work well). The preparation is a follows:
First, shred a layer of washed and cored cabbage into your container (we cut two heads per lift before stopping to season). Set the cabbage cores aside, for now. (I understand they can be placed between layers, and they make a ‘special treat’ once the kraut has cured!)
Next, season each lift or layer, as you fill the container. Start with one small palm full of mustard seed, one medium hand full of salt, and one slightly larger hand full of sugar (adjust to taste on subsequent layers, as necessary).
Then, pound and firmly compact each layer. The ultimate objective is to crush the cabbage to the point where the released juices form the liquid portion of the brine, and just cover the kraut (it will take several lifts before the juices will begin to accumulate).
Repeat these steps, until the crock is full, making sure to taste the bat along the way to see if it is tasting right (‘right’ is when you can not taste any one ingredient over another - if you taste the salt, next layer use less salt, etc.).
When the crock is full and there is liquid on top (from the pounding), put a clean plate on the kraut with a heavy object on top of it (we use a rock like Grandpa and Grandma did), and then cover the crock with a clean dish cloth. It will need to be in a warm place a few days until the fermentation begins. Then put it in a cool place that will not freeze (basement, crawl space, garage, etc.). It should be fully cured in 6-8 weeks. You may then put it in jars, can it, or simply leave it in the crock and use it as needed.
Each year a co-worker and his wife make this and distribute for the rest of us. My return contribution is usually hefeweizen or pale ale homebrew. Here is their recipe.
We hope you enjoy this sauerkraut, as we sure liked making it, as well as the memories it brought to mind. The recipe is from Grandpa (William) and Grandma (Jessie). The recipe was given to Jessie when she was in her 20’s, by a lady who was in her 80’s, and when we learned to make it Grandma was in her 80’s. If you try a batch, bear in mind that we were shown how to make it nearly 20 years ago, and nothing was written down till now. The ingredients are simple and few:
100# cabbage, ~2½# pounds salt, ~3# pounds sugar, ~3 ounces mustard seed
These ingredients should be sufficient to allow one to season a ten gallon batch to taste. Your batch can be sized accordingly, by proportioning the ingredients. You will also need a ten gallon crock (several food grade plastic buckets will work), a slaw cutter (or finely slice the quartered cabbage heads), a wooden base ball bat (or something to pound down the cabbage), and a weighted cover to loosely fit inside your crock or bucket (a sanitized platter and stone work well). The preparation is a follows:
First, shred a layer of washed and cored cabbage into your container (we cut two heads per lift before stopping to season). Set the cabbage cores aside, for now. (I understand they can be placed between layers, and they make a ‘special treat’ once the kraut has cured!)
Next, season each lift or layer, as you fill the container. Start with one small palm full of mustard seed, one medium hand full of salt, and one slightly larger hand full of sugar (adjust to taste on subsequent layers, as necessary).
Then, pound and firmly compact each layer. The ultimate objective is to crush the cabbage to the point where the released juices form the liquid portion of the brine, and just cover the kraut (it will take several lifts before the juices will begin to accumulate).
Repeat these steps, until the crock is full, making sure to taste the bat along the way to see if it is tasting right (‘right’ is when you can not taste any one ingredient over another - if you taste the salt, next layer use less salt, etc.).
When the crock is full and there is liquid on top (from the pounding), put a clean plate on the kraut with a heavy object on top of it (we use a rock like Grandpa and Grandma did), and then cover the crock with a clean dish cloth. It will need to be in a warm place a few days until the fermentation begins. Then put it in a cool place that will not freeze (basement, crawl space, garage, etc.). It should be fully cured in 6-8 weeks. You may then put it in jars, can it, or simply leave it in the crock and use it as needed.