Fall sauerkruat

[Joost Schuttelaar]

Awesome recipe! I might try that these days. What temperature do you need to ferment it at, after the 65-70F phase? That's actually room temperature, no? Tried making cabbage kimchi a few times, but failed miserably. Probably because oxygen got in... How do you make your cucumber kimchi?

-- 

Joost Schuttelaar
The Hague, NL

On Oct 24, 2010, at 2:50 , James R. Coplin wrote:

> 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