Sauerkraut and other Fermented Foods: Part 1

   I'm new at making sauerkraut, last year being my first attempt. But I am convinced that, armed with the right equipment, it can be a success. My family so enjoyed our first try last winter that we arranged our garden this year around the cabbage. 
  I did a lot of reading about sauerkraut and other fermented foods and have become convinced that raw fermented food, not only enhances the palette, but can heal, and benefit the gut! Maybe you're worried about all the salt that goes into the process, good question, I never have had to be concerned, but I do know that all salt is not created equal. Real salt can actually be good for you. Moderation and good sense with everything.
    The right equipment was simple: good full heads of cabbage, good quality salt, a comfortable knife and cutting board, a pounding tool/club, and a clean crock.

    The idea of chopping up the cabbage in slivers is to release to juices and aid in consumption. A food processor works too, however you like, just chop it up.

    I couldn't remember how much salt I added last year. I have a few recipe books that gave a per lb. formula. I wasn't about to stop every little bit and weigh how much cabbage I had chopped up. I decided on For every half head chopped, added into the crock, I then sprinkled 1 TBS of salt, and pounded with my mallet until well packed. Repeat until all is done. I had 5 good sized cabbages fit very well in a two gallon crock.

By the time you are done chopping, dumping, salting, and pounding, there should be plenty of juice coming up. Still it is important that the cabbage is well covered, so I did need to make a salt brine ( very salty water...no, I didn't measure) and added it to cover by 2 inches. Last year I learned some about the scum that forms on the surface. It isn't harmful, but I felt that it didn't do any good, the kraut was soft and discolored where I hadn't skimmed as faithfully, as well as exposed areas not covered by brine.

   I weighed it down down with a clean plate (that you can remove without breaking) and the weight of a full quart of water. With this batch, I later removed and put it into a smaller crock. Also I added a lot more brine.
   Cover with a clean cloth and set aside in a cool place is probably best. The temperature can be flexible, 65 to 75 degrees.

   I'm not afraid to taste, in fact neither is my 19 month old. As I was skimming off the scum, I pulled out a handful, testing for crunch and flavor, I gave Timothy a taste thinking he would spit it out right away. The little guy didn't stop until he had eaten about 1/2 cupful.

 

  I filled my two crocks and still had more cabbage. So we moved on to jars. With this method: I placed the chopped salted cabbage in a big pot and squeezed and crunched it until the juices started to release, then I very firmly with my hand packed it into the jar. I weighed it down with the best thing I could find that would help keep the cabbage submerged.
   Mushy Kraut: I have heard that getting to warm can cause it to become mushy. I also read that in cooler temperatures you use less salt to ferment foods than in warm weather. The amount of salt will affect the the crunchiness.
  Scum: It looks like white, floating, moldy stuff, and really gets in the way. I've accused it for causing mushiness also. It is a real pain to skim off, as soon as have I removed the weight out of the way, the plate rises and the next thing I have a mess and scum mixed in the kraut. Last year we ate scum with our kraut, and it didn't seem to harm anyone, but...Anyhow I think I have it solved. I placed a very clean cloth under the plate and weight. I'm hoping that when I check on it next I can lift it all out, cloth and scum all at once. I guess, I skim the scum once a week, that's in layedback standards.
 When's it ready? When it tastes good!! I have a friend who won't even sample until six weeks are up. She probably measures everything perfectly and has a controlled environment (in fact I know she does). I don't. Last year I let it set for 3 to 4 weeks. Then I got tired of being nervous about it (I should measure then), it tasted good to us so I just jarred it up. But sampling is the fun part, and I think it just makes you more familiar to each stage (prime excuse for not measuring).
Storage: You can eat sauerkraut just because you love it or because it's also good for you. If you don't care, plenty of people heat process it. But as far as I'm concerned, I worked hard to grow those Lactobacilli I want to keep them. Freezing probably wont hurt. The colder temperature stalls the fermentation process, either keep it the crock in your root cellar (ideally) over the winter or pack it into jars and stock up the refrigerator. Even when I cook with it I just barley get it warm, adding it in at the very last minute.
Mold: I did have some of my stored jars mold. They happened to come from the batch that had gone partially soft. I just got rid of it. If it stinks and smells bad, chalk it up to experience and feed it to the chickens or compost.

  I could here pass along some ideas on eating sauerkraut and please note that no pork chops are necessary:

• Fried potatoes (or any fried vegetables are super) and just before serving add your kraut
• Lentil soup with sauerkraut sounds weird but is delicious
• Sauerkraut and wheatmeat sausages (coming soon)
• Homemade perogies filled with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut