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Sauerkraut making....

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Imelda HL
bethk
6 posters

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1Sauerkraut making.... Empty Sauerkraut making.... Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:11 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

Norm inspired me to try making a jar of sauerkraut....what the heck do I have to loose? I mean, especially after looking at the simple internet instructions ~ slice the cabbage, salt with sea salt, massage and allow to draw out the moisture...and, finally, put in a jar to ferment.

I used Grandma's vegetable slicer to get thin, even slices of cabbage

Sauerkraut making.... Cuttingsauerkraut

After an hour or so of rubbing and squeezing and generally just playing around with the salted sliced cabbage I thought it looked ready to push into a jar. One site I looked at suggested topping the sliced cabbage with some of the outer leaves to keep it all submerged. I decided to soften up the tough leaves with a soak in warm salt water. Then the leaves went on top of the sliced cabbage and brine and I topped it with a small plastic container to keep everything submerged in the jar. I rubberbanded a piece of cheesecloth to the top of the jar to allow for airflow for the 3 or 4 days it is to ferment on my countertop. I'll let you know if it gets stinky or turns into a gigantic mess ~ but it seems to be a fun experiment.

Sauerkraut making.... Fermentingsauerkraut

2Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Thu Apr 17, 2014 5:04 pm

Imelda HL

Imelda HL

looks nice Beth, did you close the jar or let it like that? I still don't understand the last part, the rubber band and the cheesecloth  Embarassed 

3Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Thu Apr 17, 2014 5:28 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

The sites I looked at about making a jar of sauerkraut suggested leaving the jar open so the brined cabbage could ferment for a few days on the countertop. I used a plastic container that fit inside the jar to help keep the cabbage submerged in the brine so it does not spoil while it's sitting on the counter. The piece of cheesecloth is to keep any fruit flies or bugs from stopping by to taste my sauerkraut before I do. The lid is to stay off during the fermenting process because it will start to bubble and create a lot of gas ~ or so I'm thinking.

After a few days of fermenting and bubbling in the jar I'm suppose to close it up and store it in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days before eating it.

4Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:41 pm

JanaAZ



bethk wrote:The sites I looked at about making a jar of sauerkraut suggested leaving the jar open so the brined cabbage could ferment for a few days on the countertop.  I used a plastic container that fit inside the jar to help keep the cabbage submerged in the brine so it does not spoil while it's sitting on the counter.  The piece of cheesecloth is to keep any fruit flies or bugs from stopping by to taste my sauerkraut before I do.  The lid is to stay off during the fermenting process because it will start to bubble and create a lot of gas ~ or so I'm thinking.

After a few days of fermenting and bubbling in the jar I'm suppose to close it up and store it in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days before eating it.  


Make sure to skim off the scum you're going to get on top. I'm not sure 10 days will be enough. Lots of places I referenced said 6 or 7 weeks. I refrigerated mine after 4 to 5 weeks.

5Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:38 am

bethk

bethk
Admin

Thanks, Jana! This is just an experiment to see if I can come up with something that tastes similar to my grandma's crock made sauerkraut. I really doubted the few days on the countertop and then into the refrigerator because I could not imagine it fermenting in that short of a time. But, unless it reeks to high heaven, I think I'll just let it sit on the countertop and keep an eye on it.

Worst case scenario ~ it smells and I end up dumping it in the garbage....

Best case ~ yummy meal.

We'll see.

6Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:49 am

Imelda HL

Imelda HL

I made salted eggs the same way too.. people in some Asian countries like to eat them, the traditional way was to  cover the eggs ( duck eggs ) with thick layer of salted charcoal paste, but we can make them with only water and ton of salt, place them in a big jar, cover and let them sit for at least 4 to 5 weeks.. it's hard to get fresh and good duck eggs here, so I made some with jumbo chicken eggs, the good salted eggs should have  bright orange-red yolks, and after we cook it ( boil) the yolk will release oil.. that's the best part... we eat it plain with steamed rice.. it was consider low cost food, mostly for poor people, but now the high end restaurant use the yolks to make good and expensive meals, like salted egg shrimps

my salted eggs.. I weighed them with a small bowl to submerge them in the very salty water
Sauerkraut making.... DSCN1879

here is the way we eat them, only with plain rice
Sauerkraut making.... DSCN9841

here is salted eggs shrimps at the restaurants, the crumbs on top were the yolk of the eggs


Sauerkraut making.... DSCN0744

7Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:50 pm

JanaAZ



Imelda HL wrote:I made salted eggs the same way too.. people in some Asian countries like to eat them, the traditional way was to  cover the eggs ( duck eggs ) with thick layer of salted charcoal paste, but we can make them with only water and ton of salt, place them in a big jar, cover and let them sit for at least 4 to 5 weeks.. it's hard to get fresh and good duck eggs here, so I made some with jumbo chicken eggs, the good salted eggs should have  bright orange-red yolks, and after we cook it ( boil) the yolk will release oil.. that's the best part... we eat it plain with steamed rice.. it was consider low cost food, mostly for poor people, but now the high end restaurant use the yolks to make good and expensive meals, like salted egg shrimps

my salted eggs.. I weighed them with a small bowl to submerge them in the very salty water
Sauerkraut making.... DSCN1879

here is the way we eat them, only with plain rice
Sauerkraut making.... DSCN9841

here is salted eggs shrimps at the restaurants, the crumbs on top were the yolk of the eggs


Sauerkraut making.... DSCN0744

Imelda...I see duck eggs at Mekong Market in Mesa. I'm sure Lee Lee's has them too. Have you checked out those places?

8Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:44 pm

Imelda HL

Imelda HL

Jana. yes.. they both have the duck eggs.. but I did not get the good ones, they were not fresh..

9Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Fri Apr 18, 2014 3:35 pm

UNCLE JIMMY

UNCLE JIMMY

bethk wrote:Thanks, Jana!  This is just an experiment to see if I can come up with something that tastes similar to my grandma's crock made sauerkraut.  I really doubted the few days on the countertop and then into the refrigerator because I could not imagine it fermenting in that short of a time.  But, unless it reeks to high heaven, I think I'll just let it sit on the countertop and keep an eye on it.  

Worst case scenario ~ it smells and I end up dumping it in the garbage....

Best case ~ yummy meal.

We'll see.

Beth... I make sliced layers of eggplant and green tomato slices in the crock.
I have a 2 gallon crock and a 5 gallon one. I'll bet you would like the green tomatoes!

I have a thick wooden round piece of wood that I use, and a heavy stone on top to keep it weighted down. Every two days, I have to remove the foam off top, but as the fermentation gets well into the tomato and eggplant, the fermentation slows down and not much foaming.

10Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Fri Apr 18, 2014 3:36 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

A couple hen ducks in the garden is good for fertilizer AND eating bugs off the plants.....

you might mention it to Dirk. He would probably love to have a farm in the back yard.

11Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Mon May 26, 2014 12:46 pm

JanaAZ



I finally tried the sauerkraut I made a while back. It was really good. At first I thought it wasn't going to be good because it smelled 'different', but I guess when we buy it from the store, they rinse off the fermenting and add chemical stuff to it. Once I rinsed it, I found the taste to be a little milder than jarred kraut. I made it my regular way and my hubby went nuts over it. I'm glad since I made a whole lot of the stuff. Now friends are asking me for a bottle of the homemade kraut.

12Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Mon May 26, 2014 12:53 pm

bethk

bethk
Admin

I let my jar sit on the countertop for 4 weeks...actually no stink at all and very little foam from the fermentation. I removed the heavy "cover leaves" of cabbage I was using to keep the shredded cabbage submerged and closed the jar. It's been in the refrigerator for a week. One of these days when I decide what I want to use it for (probably some pork and sauerkraut) I'll get it out, rinse and use.

13Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:02 pm

jetfan27

jetfan27

I made sauerkraut many years ago when I was managing the campus orchards. I used a 5 gallon plastic pail. I did a layer of cabbage, then a layer of salt(Kosher) and kept going until full. Then I had a round board that fit into the pail and I placed it on top with a cement bock on top. And there it sat for 3-4 weeks. I did skim the blackish crap that formed, but it was a nice sauerkraut. I didn't do it, but you can can the kraut and have it for years.

14Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:25 pm

NormM

NormM

My aunt made it in a 5 gal. crock then canned it. I think the canning is what made it less crunchy.

I think I'll get a couple heads of cabbage today and make slaw for Sat. with one and kraut with the other.

http://r2j1cp@gmail.com

15Sauerkraut making.... Empty Re: Sauerkraut making.... Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:49 pm

JanaAZ



NormM wrote:My aunt made it in a 5 gal. crock then canned it. I think the canning is what made it less crunchy.

I think I'll get a couple heads of cabbage today and make slaw for Sat. with one and kraut with the other.

While canning it can make it less crunchy, I didn't can mine and it was just like the texture sauerkraut should be. I have only 1 jar left and promised it to a friend :-(

Jetfan, it should never turn black. That's mold and even if you pick it off, the mold spores are in the kraut.

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