oldcoot
Senior Cook
That canned stuff sold in the stores is, in my opinion, a far cry from "real" sauerkraut. I hadn't had the real stuff since leaving Missouri 15 years ago, where an Austrian neighbor farmer treated us to his excellent 'kraut, and showed me how he made it.
So, a couple of months ago, I decided to make some. The only crock I have is a big 5 gallon job, so I wound up using ten heads of cabbage. That will be enough to last at least a year!
It tokk over an hour to shred all that cabbage, using my cabbage shredder (from Missouri). Then, into that clean crock (you have to use ceramic, glass, or wood - no metals, please!!) Tossed in a couple of inches of cabbage, then a good handful of coarse salt, then more cabbage,, more salt, until the crock was close to full. Filled it with water, sloshed it up and down a few times to ensure the salt water got all through the cabbage, then put a dinner plate on top and weighted it with a clean round river rock Covered the top with a clean cotton towel, and put it outside (in a cool, shady spot) to ferment. (Don’t try this in the house – it smells awful for the first month)
Periodically I’d skim the crud off the surface, add a little water to make up for evaporation, but otherwise left it alone for over two months. I tried a bite (rinsed, but raw) a while ago – yummmm!) Nice thing is, it only gets better the longer you leave it.
So tonight we’re having bratwurst & sauerkraut, with boiled, parsley potatoes. I guess I’d better have a glass of beer with that.
So, a couple of months ago, I decided to make some. The only crock I have is a big 5 gallon job, so I wound up using ten heads of cabbage. That will be enough to last at least a year!
It tokk over an hour to shred all that cabbage, using my cabbage shredder (from Missouri). Then, into that clean crock (you have to use ceramic, glass, or wood - no metals, please!!) Tossed in a couple of inches of cabbage, then a good handful of coarse salt, then more cabbage,, more salt, until the crock was close to full. Filled it with water, sloshed it up and down a few times to ensure the salt water got all through the cabbage, then put a dinner plate on top and weighted it with a clean round river rock Covered the top with a clean cotton towel, and put it outside (in a cool, shady spot) to ferment. (Don’t try this in the house – it smells awful for the first month)
Periodically I’d skim the crud off the surface, add a little water to make up for evaporation, but otherwise left it alone for over two months. I tried a bite (rinsed, but raw) a while ago – yummmm!) Nice thing is, it only gets better the longer you leave it.
So tonight we’re having bratwurst & sauerkraut, with boiled, parsley potatoes. I guess I’d better have a glass of beer with that.
