kraut!

[k15n1]

We had a fairly late fall here in SE MN and I just finally brought in the cabbage. I planted it in mid-July, so I didn't expect much. Long story---new house, no implements yet, travel for work, etc. I dumped the cabbages in the garage yesterday and this afternoon I made my first batch of real saurkraut. Didn't get nice tight heads like you see in the store but I only had about half of its normal growing season, so I'm happy with what I got. They're copenhagen, I think.

It's so gratifying when you can use this ages-old technique to preserve the bounty of the garden. And by bounty, I mean that it's all being bountiful at the same time and there's no space left for it. Had to dump the wheelbarrow out for a second trip. It might just go bad before you can use it. That kind of bounty. And although I've made the michael-pollan 1-qt type batches, made when you have time and interest, with store-bought cabbage, it's totally different when you have a massive amount of cabbage from your garden and the only alternative is to leave it in unlocked cars the next street over.

I don't have a food processor or one of those fancy authentic finger-tip nipping madolins, so I just cut my cabbage with a knife. I used 3 T salt per 5 lb cabbage, layered in with each 1-lb batch or so. I put it in a food-grade plastic bucket because, sadly, I don't have one of those cool ceramic crocks. I mashed it down with my fists, let it rest for an hour. Then I filled one of those 2.5 gal bags about half way and put it on top. Bam. Saurkraut. I'm planning to leave it in the kitchen (65 oF) for a few days and then put it out in the garage where it's been 40 oF or so.

I'm curious about how much salt you use. And any other details. There's probably a lot of tricks for making kraut that are lost to time. Anyone here made a big batch? Successes, disasters, or gotchas?

 

[~gd]

Sorry but we never made a batch bigger than 5 gallons but why should we when the raw cabbage would keep better than the kraut would? We would transplant a minimum of 20 acres a year. At harvest time the huge heads would be sent off to Silverfloss for commercial canned kraut and the smaller heads would be put in storage for the fresh market [nobody will buy a big head out of a market, 22 heads/box was the gold standard that everyone wanted and the price fell off steaply for bigger or smaller heads]
Storage was usually at ground level or below ground for temperature [32-40F] control with good ventulation. Cabbage stinks of sullfur so you would want to exhaust and control the moisture [right amount keeps the cabbage crisp too much promotes rot] Triming and packing woulld provide jobs for farmers that didn't have much else to do in the winter. St. Practick's day [Corned beef and cabbage. March 17th] was pretty much the end of the season and Southern growers wouth have the markets then.

Tips on Making kraut. No food processor, shreds way too fine. so does fancy authentic finger-tip nipping madolins. they can be adjusted for cut but you have cut the head to fit the machine. The old Dutch used to build their own using a longesh knife in an adjustable jig to get the right cut thickness. Don't ask me why but they always insisted on about 30 degrees between the knife edge and the direction of travel. Those crocks may be cool but they are HEAVY, make mine an uncool plastic bucket! Salt many will tell you that the salt is to draw the water out of the cabbage and protect it until the fermentaton starts, they will rinse the kraut to cut the salt and depend on the lactic acid. Doc has me on low salt diet so of course I like the unrinsed kraut better.~gd

 

[KnittyGritty]

I make kraut regularly and made my biggest batch ever, with 6 large heads of cabbage and 6 beets and some garlic. I got 10 quart-sized jars out of it, half were plain sauerkraut and half were beet and cabbage kraut with garlic (my favorite). It took me 5 hours (!) to slice the cabbage by hand, grate the beets (with my food processor), add the salt and knead each batch for 10 min., letting it rest 10 min. and kneading it again for another 10 min. to release the juices. I filled the jars, leaving 1-1/2 to 2" head room after pressing it tightly into the jars to make the juice come up and cover the kraut. Usually it's done in 3 weeks (and I had to press the kraut down several times a day to keep it submerged), but since it's been cold here, it took a good 4-1/2 weeks. I was so glad when I could finally stop "babysitting" that kraut! I wanted to make a lot so I wouldn't have to be making it all the time; we eat a little before dinner every night, and I hate it when I run out.
This was a large batch for me, but it sounds like you made a LOT more! I used 3 T. salt per 5 lbs. of cabbage also, as recommended in Sandor Katz's book Wild Fermentation. Luckily, I have an extra refrigerator where I can keep all the extra jars of kraut (and my extra kombucha), but I would love to have a crock someday. I love that it will keep, and continue to taste even better, for months and months in the fridge or other cold storage.

 

[baymule]

I have never made kraut, but I have some questions.

Can you can it in jars and would you water bath it or pressure can it?

How long do you let it sit in the bucket?

Do you stir it or just let it alone?

Thanks ya'll!!

 

[ORChick]

Any canning guide will tell you how to can it. I believe it can be waterbathed, though I've never really looked because I've never been inclined to do that. Sauerkraut is a fermented food, and, as such, will keep very well as it is. Also, canning will kill all the beneficial bacteria which is one of the major plus points of the kraut. "Live" sauerkraut is like yogurt or kombucha with lots of healthful bacteria. Personally, I don't like the taste of sauerkraut well enough to want to eat it if it isn't also doing me some good.

 

[k15n1]

I have never made kraut, but I have some questions.

Can you can it in jars and would you water bath it or pressure can it?

How long do you let it sit in the bucket?

Do you stir it or just let it alone?

Thanks ya'll!!

Depends on temperature and taste. I'll let mine go for a few days at 65 oF and then move it to a cooler spot to slow it down. When it's finished, you can use WB method.

No stirring. Just cover it with something. Figuring out how to cover it is the hardest part of the process and the most important!

It gets fairly soft after a while so it's best to make smaller batches and keep them as cool as possible. If you get it to ferment to taste and then hold it near 32 oF, it should keep for a long long time. GD mentioned that the cabbage holds well without any treatment and that's true. I know someone who lived in China 30 years ago and had an interesting cabbage experience. Apparently there was little opportunity to get fresh greens in the winter so the employers would order pallets of nappa/savoy cabbage. It was enough for all the employees to have a 1-year supply. She said they would ferry it home on their bikes and such. She said they would store it in the un-heated halls of the apartment building. It was their only fresh vegetable for the winter, so they took pains to store it correctly. It had to be off the floor and tightly packed, covered with some cloth, etc. Just like a cold cellar, actually. The cabbage would store well if there were no bugs or other problems. There is significant loss of outer leaves in the last-used cabbages so they would put the largest ones on the bottom of the stack. But even still, it only keeps for 3 months or so. In theory, kraut should keep that long, if stored at the correct temperature. I'm going to try it out and report back.

 

[k15n1]

Sorry but we never made a batch bigger than 5 gallons but why should we when the raw cabbage would keep better than the kraut would? We would transplant a minimum of 20 acres a year. At harvest time the huge heads would be sent off to Silverfloss for commercial canned kraut and the smaller heads would be put in storage for the fresh market [nobody will buy a big head out of a market, 22 heads/box was the gold standard that everyone wanted and the price fell off steaply for bigger or smaller heads]
Storage was usually at ground level or below ground for temperature [32-40F] control with good ventulation. Cabbage stinks of sullfur so you would want to exhaust and control the moisture [right amount keeps the cabbage crisp too much promotes rot] Triming and packing woulld provide jobs for farmers that didn't have much else to do in the winter. St. Practick's day [Corned beef and cabbage. March 17th] was pretty much the end of the season and Southern growers wouth have the markets then.

Tips on Making kraut. No food processor, shreds way too fine. so does fancy authentic finger-tip nipping madolins. they can be adjusted for cut but you have cut the head to fit the machine. The old Dutch used to build their own using a longesh knife in an adjustable jig to get the right cut thickness. Don't ask me why but they always insisted on about 30 degrees between the knife edge and the direction of travel. Those crocks may be cool but they are HEAVY, make mine an uncool plastic bucket! Salt many will tell you that the salt is to draw the water out of the cabbage and protect it until the fermentaton starts, they will rinse the kraut to cut the salt and depend on the lactic acid. Doc has me on low salt diet so of course I like the unrinsed kraut better.~gd

Putting all your kraut in one crock must be like eggs in one basket. Also, every time you dive in to get some, you risk contamination, right? I've heard that Koreans are very particular about how kimchi is gotten out of the tub. Clean everything. I assume that's a good practice for kraut, too.

Interesting to hear about the weight of the crock. As I was chopping cabbage I was wondering about that. Did people make it in the cellar? Did they haul those huge crocks around? Seems like a terrible task, and error prone.

I understand that the French will sometimes boil kraut in several changes of water to get out the salt. Doesn't sound the best, but if you have a huge amount of the stuff, the variety might be important.

 

[Britesea]

One of the health benefits of fermented cabbage (and other vegetables) is that it also preserves the Vitamin C that is present in the vegetable- something that would be really important in a harsh winter climate. It seems to me that cooking or canning it would destroy most of the the vitamin C.

I made some kraut last fall from a 9 lb cabbage I got. It filled 2 gallon sized jars, and lasted the 2 of us (DS wouldn't touch it) until the following April. There was still about a pint left, but it got moldy because I got lazy about making sure it was all covered by the brine.

 

[baymule]

Keeping it cool? At 65F? Then move it to 32F? Here, even in the wintertime, I'd have to keep it in the refrigerator! I have some cabbage plants in the garden, they grow here in the winter the best, might have to give kraut a try when they head up. The worst that could happen is total failure, but I've been there before!

 

[k15n1]

Keeping it cool? At 65F? Then move it to 32F? Here, even in the wintertime, I'd have to keep it in the refrigerator! I have some cabbage plants in the garden, they grow here in the winter the best, might have to give kraut a try when they head up. The worst that could happen is total failure, but I've been there before!

I'm in zone 4-5, so I'm jealous. Do you have mustard or kale through the winter, too?