Making Sauerkraut from scratch is fascinating as it does it all by itself with a bit of salt and the flavor can be incredible.
The sugars in the cabbage ferment into vinegars, and the cabbage contains natural lacto-bacterias, so you don't
need to add any for the fermentation to take place.
|
 |
INGREDIENTS;
Weigh cabbage. I use about 3 Tablespoons of Kosher salt per 5 lbs of cabbage
This is about 6 quarts of Shredded cabbage.
|
 |
Cut the cabbage into quarters.Then cut the quarters into eighths. |
 |
Shred using a slicer. You can Cut into thin strips with a knife also. |
 |
Add 2 teaspoon of salt to about 8 cups of cabbage and mix with your hands. |
 |
Add cabbage to a crock and leave some space at the top.
Many times it will make it's own juice so we will leave it for a day. |
 |
Here I added some salted water
(2 teaspoons of kosher salt per quart)
because it looked like after a day or so it wasn't making enough of a brine on its own. |
 |
Next cover with a clean towel, a plate and a heavy object like a rock to weigh it down.
Check the sauerkraut daily to see if a white scum is forming.
This is not dangerous but it can dis-flavor the sauerkraut
or spoil it.
Remove a whitescum as it forms (this is just a little unharmful mold) and wash and change or scald cloth often to keep it free from scum and mold.
At 70 degrees temperature, fermentation will be complete in 10 to 14 days.
If it is below this temperature it may take a little longer to ferment.
If it is above 80 degrees watch the kraut it will ferment fast but may get mushy. |
| |
|
| |
