New to making Sauerkraut, questions...

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

FrankNBeans

Assistant Cook
Joined
Sep 22, 2016
Messages
4
Location
Prince George
Watched a few youtubes on making sauerkraut and gave it a try, but I want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.
When I first mashed the cabbage up and put it in the jars, I didn't have quite enough cabbage liquid to cover it so I added a small amount of water. Is that fine?
Second question, I notice that there are a lot of bubbles accumulating down below. Is this normal? Should I press the cabbage down daily and make sure those bubbles rise out of the jar?
Last, is it normal that the water level keeps rising slowly?

Thanks for any guidance!
 
Those bubbles will rise out eventually. Just gas created by the cabbage. The main thing is to have all of the cabbage under the surface of the liquid. If you can fit a circular weight of some sort in there to weigh down the cabbage you would be better off. I use a heavy plate with my crock. I would also try and minimize how often you put anything in the krout. It can get contaminated fairly easily..
 
With the exception of this year, I've been making homemade sauerkraut for over 20 years.

When I first mashed the cabbage up and put it in the jars, I didn't have quite enough cabbage liquid to cover it so I added a small amount of water. Is that fine?
Perfectly fine.

Second question, I notice that there are a lot of bubbles accumulating down below. Is this normal?
The bubbles you see are fermentation. Again, this is normal.

Last, is it normal that the water level keeps rising slowly?
As the kraut ferments, the cabbage will give up some of its water and reduce in volume. This is okay, however this, along with the fact you had to add water, indicates you didn't "massage" the cabbage quite as much as you could have.

Don't worry. I'm pretty confident it will turn out fine. Sauerkraut is one of those things that is really hard to mess up. ;)
 
I'm very partial to sauerkraut. Was first introduced to it in Germany... duh... So although both my mother and I quite liked it - it was not the most popular item with the rest of the family. With my own family, well, I guess it is an acquired taste?

I have it a lot more often now with everyone gone ;) and must say it rarely even gets to the heat on the stove. Sigh... I just eat it straight out of the can (or bag, depending on where I bought it).

Now, with this thread, I've just been looking up recipes... hmmm if I can make small quantities I might give it a try.
 
Just make sure it is not in a totally sealed container. It will explode if it can't vent.
 
As mentioned above :
-Keep cabbage completely submerged.

-Let it vent ( for me I just tasted a little each day, and by opening the container that was
enough from it building up too much pressure)

-In the recipe that I used, it says that if there is not enough liquid to cover the kraut, dissolve 1tsp salt to 1 cup of water and add it. Thats what I do and it works fine.

-Also, the temperature of the room it is fermenting in could affect the fermentation rate. warmer rooms seam to be quicker than cooler rooms ( for me).

-I find it takes about 3 - 5 days to get to the point where I like it. Once its at the sourness that I like, I just toss it in the fridge.

It doesn't last long in this house, sometimes I just snack on it all by itself.
 
Constant temperature is a bit of a problem for me. My house is around 200 years old (and NO I did NOT buy it new!)

Up until last year I heated with a wood burning stove, so temps would flux all over the place. I have now gone to a propane fireplace (still no furnace) and the temp is a little bit more stable. It was a real problem springtime when I was incubating chicks.

But now that I think of it, I guess it just means it might take longer for fermentation to reach where I would want it. That's OK by me, got lots of time.

All right now! Gettin' into it. But first need to get family visits over with and then we'll buckle down.

I can see it now... Christmas dinner - Bratwurst und Sauerkraut mit die Kerzen am Baum angezündet. :LOL: egads! I might even make some Pfefferkuchen! yummm, never made them but always a first time, along with the Sauerkraut!
 
I can see it now... Christmas dinner - Bratwurst und Sauerkraut mit die Kerzen am Baum angezündet. :LOL: egads! I might even make some Pfefferkuchen! yummm, never made them but always a first time, along with the Sauerkraut!

That's a great idea, dragnlaw! A German Christmas dinner. DH's mother and my father are both of German descent. I might even make my own bratwurst this year! Not the candles, though ;)

Since DH gave me a KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas several years ago, we've been making springerles. I would never make them before because his mother's recipe calls for mixing the dough by hand for half an hour! Sorry. Not gonna do it :LOL:
 
of German descent. ** My maternal grandmother was of German descent. Bensch.

I might even make my own bratwurst this year! *** Oh Wow! never made sausages but remember my in-laws hysteria when they first tried it.

Not the candles, though ;) **** I first saw real candles on real trees in Germany, we're talking the mid/late 50's here. I was stupified, just staring at those flames and waiting for the tree to ignite. It was very special to be invited upstairs to see the tree lit as obviously they were only lit on Christmas Eve. Not like every night from mid-November to mid-January, in ruddy North America!

we've been making springerles. ***** I'm embarrassed and ashamed to say I once had a beautiful springerles rolling pin. Alas I did not know what I had. I knew it was for springerle cookies but did not realize how special it was. At that time I had a ceramic studio and it was used to imprint clay. I'm kicking my a$$ now.

So let us know if you make those Bratwurst. Post us the recipe ... but only if they are successful :LOL:
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom