That is aweome news, now we just need @Michelle Anderson to join in this thread and give me a few of her helpful hints, since I am a complete novice. How long do you let your saurkraut ferment before you eat it, and have you tried making it with anyhing besides cabbage in the recipe ? I have looked at some with carrots shredded up in it, and that really made a beautiful looking sauerkraut. At the German store, they also had some that was made with the purple cabbage, and had apples in it. It looked like it might be a great combination to try, too; but they sell for about $5 for a small jar of their specialty pickles and sauerkrauts. Since I really wanted to try the one that was made from a wine brine, that was the choice this time, and maybe I will try the other one when we go there again. We do not go very often, or buy very much, since it is so expensive, but it has at least given me some excellent ideas to spin around in my mind, and maybe experiment with. I did find my crock, so the next trip to the store, I will get another head of cabbage and start another batch of sauerkraut. It is healthy, low-carb, and filling ; so one of the things that I can have when I want it.
I was thinking you got them on Amazon, I wanted to put them in my watch / wish list, where everything sits until I hit the lottery . I like that they're pretty colors. Hopefully at some point, I'll be able to get some jars and try them out. I love sauerkraut and other fermented foods. It sounds like a pretty easy process. I am all about easy these days. I did buy those kefir sprouts, set them up in the fridge, and forgot all about them until I knocked it over a few weeks later . That was the end of my kefir experiment.
Oh, dear, a kefir experiment gone bad ! Well, never fear, @Diane Lane , there are other ways to do this. Look on amazon and order some of the kefir packets from Yogourmet. They make delicious kefir, and they can be reused to start new cultures; so each packet will last through several batches of culture. Each time you re-culture the kefir , it apparently does pick up some unwanted cultures out of the air; so they recommend only re-using the starter 3-4 times and then starting a new batch. Since it will keep for a long time once refrigerated, you can just start a new batch whenever the old one is down to about a quarter of a jar. One packet makes a quart of kefir, but with the re-use of each one for 3-4 more cultures, you only need to use one packet in a month, depending on how often you are drinking the kefir and how much at a time. I did get the little pickling lids from Amazon, however they are around $15-$20 for a set of 3 lids on Amazon. One of the Amazon review sites that I use had them offered for a dollar or two; so I asked to test them, and got the coupon code. I can't believe how much money we have saved by doing the Amazon reviews ! ! There are so many different items on there, and many of them are free. Anyway, back to pickling...... I also found a pickling ebook at the Kindle store for a dollar and bought that. Then, when I was researching the lids a bit more, I found a website that sells them, and had written the ebook, and the book is on there for free. Here is the link to the website and the free book on pickling. http://fermentacap.com/HeritagePickling.pdf I tasted my sauerkraut again this morning, and it is definitely more like sauerkraut now than it is like cabbage; but it iis still pretty crunchy compared to the sauerkraut that comess in cans and jars at the store. Possibly, next time, I will shred it smaller. It tasted really good, and I am thinking that I might have a little more of it to sample this time !
I have been looking at sauerkraut videos and recipes again, and I found an easy one that uses cabbage, red onions, and carrots for color. In the video, he mentioned making some that has rosemary and thyme in it, and I have fresh rosemary, so I added some of that to the sauerkraut mix. I am making a quart, and if it turns out good, then I will make more. It looks pretty with the red and orange and green mixed in with the cabbage ! And I can smell the rosemary fragrance, too.
We'll be making sauerkraut soon. Cabbage was one of the crops that did very well this year, so some will have to be processed. We are bartering a few heads for other things, too. What we don't have storage room for will be sauerkraut or pickles of some sort.
It's definitely a memorable experience for a child. I remember going down the basement once with my grandmother to check on sauerkraut in a big stoneware crock with a wooden lid. Bigger than a 5 gallon bucket. Maybe 10. I tried mixing some left over sauerkraut and left over juice from pickled beets together once. Let it set a couple days and drained. The sweet, salty, and sour was really good together. It turned the kraut a pretty pink.
I've wanted to try making sauerkraut, but from what I've read, it gets a mold on the top you gotta deal with. I'd be afraid to eat it without someone walking me through the process at least once. I do like the idea of sauerkraut. I like cabbage, and it is good for you.
I have never had mine get mold on top, @John Brunner . I would not want to eat something that did that, either. As long as all of the cabbage is under the brine and not floating on top, there is nothing to mold because the salt brine kills it. I have those little glass weights that fit into a wide mouth jar and hold everything down. I put a piece of outside cabbage leaf over the top of the sauerkraut, and then the glass weight and push it all under the brine. I check mine (and taste it) every day or so until it is more like sauerkraut than cabbage, and then I refrigerate it once I like the taste. Here is the video I was following. This guy put some unusual spices in his batch, so I just put in the vegetables and added some fresh rosemary sprigs. You don’t have to pound or squeeze the cabbage the way this recipe is done, except to tamp it down in the jar.
This is a good reliable site to get info from regarding any fermented foods @Yvonne Smith I make fermented veggies in summer and still continue to make milk kefir all year. I make kombucha in summer For safety reasons I use a stater for cultured veggies as well as cutting down on salt ( I have salt sensitive BP) https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/how-to-make-cultured-vegetables/
I had part of a head of cabbage left, and it was not fresh enough to use for pretty green coleslaw, so I decided to make a quart of sauerkraut. Since it was not very much cabbage, I added some carrots, celery, small horseradish leaves (only a FEW !), and a few sweet potato leaves for more color. Some red onion would have been good, but I am out of those right now. Anyway, it nicely filled up the jar, and is now on its way to becoming sauerkraut.
We have our first three heads of early cabbage about ready, so we may make some of our own, although the early heads are sweeter and are generally used for salads of some kind--coleslaw and others. Our late cabbabe got off to a good start, but seem to be lagging now. Sidedressing time is next week.
I don’t even know what a horseradish plant looks like @Yvonne Smith but I’d think it would add a nice tang to your sauerkraut, I have grown sweet potatoes but my ground / soil is way to hard for growing root veggies Hubs always has horseradish (out of a bought jar) when we have lamb chops I never used to like it but I do have some with my lamb chop now days
I expect horseradish is a fermented food as well We used this brand that makes your eyes water when you have the first bit out of a new jar It’s been grown and produced in South Aust in the largest HR farm in Aust . for 70 years