Fermented cabbage....

[bakerjw]

Is it that time of the year again. The crocks in the house are blurping regularly.
We make Sauerkraut almost every year. Usually just the typical kraut but we do variations as well.
We have a crock with 15# of cabbage going with cabbage hearts, carrots and cucumbers.
The smaller one has 8# of cabbage with hearts, carrots and cucumbers as well as Korean red pepper and garlic similar to Kimchi.
I'll pick up another big crock soon and start another batch in another couple of weeks.

What makes all of the difference in the world is using salt that has not been processed and has a lot of minerals in it. The bacteria love it. We use pink Himalayan salt.

Anyone else make sauerkraut?

[Oily]

What is 8# of cabbage with hearts?

[Oily]

Similar to kimchi sounds awesome to me as well as the home fermented sauerkraut. A friend of my grandfather gave me a pint of his sauerkraut and I wish I had that recipe! As a youngster I hated sauerkraut as my mother used it from the can. Ive learned to like bavarian style from the can but it does not compare with that older recipe.

[M-Tecs]

Sauerkraut is the easiest of pickling or fermenting. Slice add 3 tablespoons of non ionized salt and ferment.

[abunaitoo]

Have you tried hawaiian salt????
How about black salt?????
We use hawaiian salt on everything that needs salt.
Not as salty as table salt, but it's purer.
Never used black salt.
It's a little expensive.

[Walks]

Why am I glad that I can no longer eat any kind of cabbage ?

If my Grandmother were alive today she would do nasty things to anybody that mentioned Sauerkraut & kimchi in the Her House. She thought kimchi was the root of all evil.

She made the Best Sauerkraut in the History of the World.

I know that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. But Geez...................................

[bikerbeans]

I know that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. But Geez...................................

Maybe you should follow your own advice.

BB

[smithnframe]

I love homemade sauerkraut! I had a neighbor in PA that used to make a few 55 gallon drums of it every year!

[MATT HELM]

I live in Pa. A friend of my Mom ( Ukrainian born) made a Homemade sauerkraut using a European recipe.
Then when she cooked it with Kielbassa & country pork ribs, seasoned with Dill & Caraway . ( onion & celery ) mixed in to her perfect proportions.
I wish she could be back with us, at least, one more time to make her own Pork & Sauerkraut !

[bakerjw]

What is 8# of cabbage with hearts?
It is the cabbage hearts. We cut the hard cores out the cabbage heads before shredding the cabbage and toss the hearts in to ferment as well. So the small fermenter got 8# of cabbage with everything else thrown into it.

Both fermenters are happily doing their thing so we play the waiting game. I've only tried traditional pickling salt and the Himalayan salt. We noticed that the Himalayan was much better. I'll have to try some Hawaiian salt in the next batch. As long as the salt is not overly processed it should work. I would expect that other salts with differing mineral makeups would alter the flavor to a degree. It is well known in beer brewing that yeasts will impart different flavors on beer depending on the minerals that are in the water.

I did the Kimchi style a couple of year ago but we let it go too long and it got all mushy, so I ended up dumping it out. What I didn't realize was that the bottom half was like normal kraut. We kept a small bit of it and it was very good. We have a local Korean place and their KimChi is to die for.

Our church used to have a Septemberfest every year. One of our priests was German and he'd rinse the brine from canned sauerkraut and cook it with pork neck bones and caraway seeds. I don't like caraway seed flavor but cooking it like that really softened it up.

One other thing to add. The probiotic nature of sauerkraut really helps the digestive system.

Now, Vietnamese fermented fish sauce... I will pass on that.

[MaryB]

Rib tips and kraut in the crock pot, thicken the juices with a little instant mashed potato and serve over mashed with butter... no this is not a healthy meal!

[Wag]

I've love sauerkraut since I was a little kid. Just started making it for the first time a year or two ago and never looked back. Best food on the planet, especially home made.

Ya gave me a craving there!

--Wag--

[abunaitoo]

Never tried to make it.
I'm the only one that eats it, so I just buy the can type.

[Hardcast]

Sauerkraut cooked in a crock pot with pork ribs served over mashed potatoes is one of my all time favorite meals. Just made it about a week ago. Never tried home made. I buy Frank's Sauerkraut with caraway seeds in 32 ounce jars.

[elmacgyver0]

I love homemade sauerkraut! I had a neighbor in PA that used to make a few 55 gallon drums of it every year!

Bet he didn't have any constipation problems.

[reloader28]

It amazes me how store bought kraut does NOT taste like real homemade kraut. Not even close. At least nothing I've had.
When people say they don't like sauerkraut, 90% of the time its because they've had nothing but the cheap imitation store bought garbage.

[MaryB]

Franks in the bag in he meat section of the grocery store is close to homemade in flavor.

[biffj]

German Granny used to make saurkraut and it was wonderful. I've not found any in the US I could eat besides hers though. The wife thought I was full of crap until we went to Germany and she tasted some real Kraut. Might have to look into making our own. I never got grannies recipe as she thought men should not be permitted in the kitchen and threw things at me when I tried to watch. Usually they were sharp things....

Frank

[HangFireW8]

It amazes me how store bought kraut does NOT taste like real homemade kraut. Not even close. At least nothing I've had.
When people say they don't like sauerkraut, 90% of the time its because they've had nothing but the cheap imitation store bought garbage.Not amazing at all. Vinegar and cabbage is not the same as fermented cabbage that makes its own vinegar.

[Lance Boyle]

I live in Pa. A friend of my Mom ( Ukrainian born) made a Homemade sauerkraut using a European recipe.
Then when she cooked it with Kielbassa & country pork ribs, seasoned with Dill & Caraway . ( onion & celery ) mixed in to her perfect proportions.
I wish she could be back with us, at least, one more time to make her own Pork & Sauerkraut !



Nice, I have also done the variation of onions and apples in lieu of the spices. Lots of black pepper though.


It’s a good meal done in a Dutch oven while you’re in the woods hunting. Get home and fill your bowl to tender country ribs.

[redhawk0]

I'm 1/2 PA dutch, 1/4 German and 1/4 Irish....I grew up on Sauerkraut. I started making it myself last Fall and can't wait to start up again. I ferment it for just 3-4 weeks then pack it in freezer bags to store it. I'm almost out from last years batches...so...I'll be firing up my crock shortly too.

I like and make mostly plain old sauerkraut...but I have a deli style caraway seed recipe that's also really good in a Grilled Reuben.

Mmmmm mmmmm.

redhawk

[Markopolo]

i do it... but most folks will laff me out of the forum....

this is me...

https://youtu.be/UqU9i_0oM2A

[Wag]

Eh. Clean feet is just as good as clean hands!

--Wag--

[kens]

ferment it?
do you add yeast to ferment?
a wine yeast?
bread yeast?
beer yeast?

[M-Tecs]

ferment it?
do you add yeast to ferment?
a wine yeast?
bread yeast?
beer yeast?

Nope. Cabbage and non iodine salt is all that is required. https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-193124

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

So, Last year I froze the Kraut, fresh out of the crock, I put the Kraut in 1 Qt jars, and left a generous head space for expansion and put them in the freezer. Best thing I ever did. Each time I thaw out a jar, it tastes fresh, like the day I took it out of the crock.

Every other year, I've processed (pasteurized) the filled jars in a hot water bath...then the Kraut gets that cooked flavor, besides having all the beneficial bacteria being killed.

[redhawk0]

JonB...I do the exact same thing. It doesn't have any heat applied to kill off the good bacteria... I weigh mine out to 16 oz...so if a recipe calls for a lb...we know what we've got. I always have some thawed out in the fridge too...just for that "emergency" snack....hahaha

redhawk

[bakerjw]

We've only hot packed ours in the past.
I might freeze some up this year though. Freeze it and then vacuum seal it.

Our big crock and little one are still blurping away.Can't wait to try the cucumbers that we put in there this go round.

[gbrown]

Similar to kimchi sounds awesome to me as well as the home fermented sauerkraut. A friend of my grandfather gave me a pint of his sauerkraut and I wish I had that recipe! As a youngster I hated sauerkraut as my mother used it from the can. Ive learned to like bavarian style from the can but it does not compare with that older recipe.

Old thread that is in the archives. From 7 years back. Some good info on it.

castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?...Anybody-else-make-Sauerkraut

[bakerjw]

I am feeling nostalgic this morning.

When I was a youngster, I wouldn't eat Sauerkraut to save my life. I had a tumultuous first year or 2 as a toddler so I was afraid of almost everything, men especially which is a long story for another time.
My mom had 4 brothers and they were all wonderful men to have known. During WWII Uncle Bub stayed home but Uncle Artie, Clarence and Joe all fought in the South Pacific. The war affected them all to a great degree. Clarence was stoic, Artie was heart warmingly friendly and Joe was larger than life. Each different but still monuments to the greatest generation. As it was, everyone in my moms family looked up to Joe like he was the rock of Gibraltar. He had been the first to leave and go travel the world and travel he did.
With my history as it were and looking back, I find it surprising that I would take to Uncle Joe as a young child. He was big with a deep voice and his presence filled the room. His visits were one of those things that was looked forward to in a manner similar to those of Santa. One particular Summer day when Joe arrived, I sat next to him in a high chair, of all things, to eat lunch. Sauerkraut was on the menu and there was no way that I was going to eat that. But... Uncle Joe was going to have some and questioned me on my refusal to try it. It didn't take much persuading from him to get me to try it and I know that it brought him great joy to know that he had gotten me to eat something that my mother never could.
It was eerily reminiscent of the latest visit of Elia, my granddaughter, where my daughter in law advised that there was no way that Elia would eat fish. She didn't like it. But... Elia had never caught a lake trout with her "John Dad" as I am called. Nor had she ever watched as John Dad cleaned a fish and explained what all of the inner parts were called and what they did. Elia ate a lot of that lake trout that evening for dinner.
Anyway, I digress a bit. I only tried Sauerkraut because of my Uncle Joe.

Fresh out of boot camp in the Army, my Uncle Joe was 17 years old and walking to the mess hall one bright December morning at a naval base in Hawaii. He did what was needed on that Day of Infamy. At Guadalcanal, he was hit by a bullet and survived. He remained in the Army, fought in Korea and was a Viet Nam era vet. He excelled at marksmanship and earned Distinguished badges in pistol and rifle. He went on to establish marksmanship ranges at one of the bases where he was stationed. After retiring from the Army, he became a federal officer. before he passed, he gave his NM1 Garand and 1911 match pistol to close friends who really cared for him and deserved them. I was supposed to get his .22 match pistol but that went to someone else. I have several of his shooting award plaques and trophies that adorn the military room in our house. Included in there are Uncle Joe's purple heart and his Pearl Harbor Survivor watch.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141466634/joseph-martin-klues

Uncle Artie joined the Marines and fought in the South Pacific as well. He would never talk about it other than to say "The things we saw."

Uncle Clarence also joined the Marines. He only spoke about it to my Aunt Gena. When Clarence passed, I received what is my most prized possession. There is no material thing in the world that I cherish as I know the sacrifice that it witnessed. It is his USMC issue Kabar knife. He carried it as he hit the beaches of Iwo Jima and carried it as they fought and took Suribachi.

So, when I am eating sauerkraut, I think of uncle Joe and other men that were true monuments of their time.

[Hardcast]

bakerjw, awesome post! Thank you for sharing. :)