Fall sauerkruat

[James R. Coplin]

Cucumber kimchi is great as are dill pickles of course.  My sauerkraut is
straight up simple and wonderful.  I use a food grade plastic bucket with
lid for fermenting.  The ones I use I picked up from a beer homebrew supply
place.  I hate them for beer, I use a stainless steel conical fermeter for
my beer but they work great for pickles, kraut, kimchi, etc.  They are cheap
and readily available here in the US.  I can't imagine they would be
difficult to get anywhere.  Here is the base - multiply and divide as
necessary.

5 pounds green cabbage, shredded 
3 tablespoons pickling salt 
1 tablespoon juniper berries 
2 teaspoons caraway seeds 

For the brine:
1 1/2 Tablespoon of salt per quart of water.


You can either use a cabbage shredder or a large kitchen knife to cut of the
cabbage.  I have a special kraut slicing thingee but I actually prefer my
knives.  I get more consistent size cuts and it really doesn't take any
longer.  I actually like mine cut a little thicker and courser than what is
typically sold in the US.  I find the large pieces have more flavor,
texture, and are better for cooking with.  Of course, you do what you like
but don't feel obligated to cut it up razor thin.  Clean and remove the
outer leaves on the cabbage head until you get down to the more solid part
of the head.  You'll know what I mean once you've peeled off a few.  Cut out
the core.  Keep the outer leaves and the cores, set aside for the moment.
*It is essential to not throw these out!* Using a grater, grate up the cores
and mix them in with the shredded cabbage.  The core contains a lot of sugar
and enzymes that not only help the fermentation along, but also greatly add
to the flavor.

In large mixing bowl, mix shredded cabbage thoroughly with salt, juniper
berries, and caraway seeds, using hands or tongs. If using your hands, make
sure that they are very clean prior to mixing. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Pack cabbage mixture down into a large plastic food container.  And by pack,
I mean take your fists and beat the tar out of it.  You want the kraut
really tight and bruised to get the juices up.  Don't fill your fermenter
more than around 80% full as the cabbage will expand during fermentation.
The fermentation you want is anaerobic so packing it in tightly really helps
prevent spoilage.  Also, molds won't form under water.  After it is all
packed in, top it with the outer leaves you kept from the heads.  If you get
a little mold on top of the kraut, you want these leaves to get ruined, not
your kraut.  I like to have a solid 1" of these leaves as a buffer.  Add
enough brine to just cover the leaves.  How much you need will vary but it
is easily mixed together so make a quart or two and if there is some left,
just dump it.  Now you need to improvise or purchase some crock weights.  I
have a couple of heavy ceramic weights that I use but a large plate with
some canning jars full of water etc will also work.  Basically, you need
enough weight to keep everything under the level of the water.  If you
packed the cabbage tightly, you shouldn't need to add much water at all to
cover it.  

Place it covered in cool area overnight (65 to 70 degrees F). In a day, the
cabbage should have given up enough liquid to be completely submerged. The
jar serves as a weight to keep the cabbage submerged and away from air.  If
there is not enough water, make up some more brine and top it off.  Don't be
surprised if you need to add water a couple times during fermentation.

Check cabbage every other day for approximately 2 weeks and skim the surface
of scum, if necessary. Let stand for 4 -6 weeks. Here you have some personal
preference calls.  The longer you let it ferment, the more sour it will be.
I like mine sour but still with a slight bit of cabbage flavor and texture
so I typically let it go for 5 weeks.  ^ will be full on sour and 4 weeks
will give you a more mild kraut.  Transfer to an airtight container and
store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.  Alternately you may can it in
a hot water bath process and store it much longer.  Caning it will of course
kill all the lactic bacteria so you lose some of the health benefits of the
kraut but it will still taste killer. Let me know if you have any questions,
I highly recommend making your own.  It is completely different than the
store bought stuff and infinitely better.
  

James R. Coplin - 郭杰明
University of Minnesota
Department of History


> -----Original Message-----
> From: music-bar-bounces at lists.music-bar.org [mailto:music-bar-
> bounces at lists.music-bar.org] On Behalf Of Jay Vaughan
> Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 6:07 PM
> To: Music-bar
> Subject: Re: Fall sauerkruat
> 
> > Just pulled about 50 pounds of sauerkraut out of the fermenter.
> Amazing.
> 
> 
> Wow, I'd love to know your recipe, and whether the fermenter is DIY?  I
> absolutely crave sauerkraut these days ...
> 
> > This is my first attempt although I do pickle and preserve other
> things and
> > I have to say it is well worth it.  Can't wait to have it stewed with
> pork
> > ribs!
> 
> 
> I have a few jars of pickling things already under way, from our garden,
> and a few garlands of not-yet-ripe tomatoes in from the frost, which
> are headed for some preservation themselves .. plus, we have had
> absolutely tons of cucumbers this year, and a basket + a bushels worth
> of cukes in, also, from the frost .. trying to work out what to do with
> them that would make sense ..
> 
> Love pickling!
> 
> 
> ;
> --
> Jay Vaughan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> music-bar mailing list
> music-bar at lists.music-bar.org
> http://lists.music-bar.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/music-bar