Sauerkraut - lacto fermentation

[Beeherder]

This lacto-fermentation thing may become my newest food obsession. The book "Making
Sauerkraut and pickled  vegetables at home" arrived three days after the new fermentation
crock. The secret to this kind of food preservation and preparation seems to be the
proper container with gas trap and weights to hold the vegetables below the surface.
Fermentation emits carbon dioxide gas, exposing the fermenting fluids to the open
air allows contamination, the gas trap allows carbon dioxide to escape without allowing
exposure to the air. My expensive new 10 liter crock and the weights are now hard
at work. Here's what i did:

Harvest eleven small to medium heads of green or white cabbage, stripping all the
large leaves for the worm farm, store trimmed cabbages in refrigerator until the
new equipment and "how-to" book arrives 4 days later.

On preparation day i carefully cleaned the outer leaves brutally trimming and tossing
any damaged or contaminated leaves but setting aside enough cleaned large leaves
to later cover the top of the shredded cabbage.

Divided heads into four equal piles. Split and core the first 25%, reserving the
cores. Shred the cabbage using my favorite large very sharp knife, placing it into
the cleaned crock, then use medium grater to grate those cores covering the shredded
cabbage. Used one of the weight stones flat edge to crush and pack the shredded cabbage
then sprinkled one tablespoon of mediterranean sea salt, repeat with each 25% pile.
This just happened to perfectly fill the crock. Covered the shredded cabbage with
the reserved cabbage leaves, added the fifth tablespoon of sea salt and the weights, then filled
the crock to within one inch of the top, placed the cover and filled the gas trap.
Gently moved the crock into the coat closet upstairs to approximate the suggested
68 degree temperature for the first few days.

Today i was puzzled to hear that strange sound of a bubble being released until i
realized the crock's gas trap was working perfectly and the sound was carbon dioxide
escaping the fermentation crock.

Have asked neighbor Anthony to come over and carry
this heavy crock full of heavy water downstairs and into that coolest place in my
house under the stairs to approximate the suggested 60 degree temperature. It says
in the book this will be ready to eat in four weeks  but will be even better left
for longer periods. Looks like we will have fresh homemade sauerkraut for Halloween
and beyond. Wonder how much of that 10 liters i can eat before it spoils, or next
growing season provides fresh ingredients?

Since i have been incorporating sauerkraut into my meals on a regular basis now for
about a month with some astonishingly positive results it is my hope this home preparation
will work. The clue was reading the label on that expensive health food store brand
and finding it only contained water cabbage and salt. At full retail that 10 liters
of food would cost about $200. And that means the expensive crock pays for itself
in one growing season. And if half the claims in this book about the health benefits
of cabbage are true then this is the miracle cure for digestive problems.

That's my story and i'm sticking to it, ... The dog ate my homework.

guess i'll just be forced into eating my way to good health.

[Ozark Lady]

Awesome!
One year, I grew too many cabbages.  And bugs got them, so they wouldn't store well.  I decided to attempt sauerkraut.  I cut out bad areas, and chopped the rest, layering with salt and smashing, in a  huge plastic storage container.  When all was in it,  I added the necessary water and salt, covered with a plate, and weighted with a jug of water.  I loosely put the top on the container, draped a sheet over it, and simply slid it under the dining room table.  It worked!  It was fantastic!  And I didn't know what I was doing, damaged cabbages, and improper equipment.
I kept it for a few weeks, then canned it...not a good move, I also refrigerated alot, still raw.  Raw was good, canned was not crisp.
Homemade was less tart, more flavorful though.  I haven't liked store-bought that much since eating it fresh.

Yours should be even better than mine:  You had instructions, equipment, and better cabbages.
It kept well, and I made it in normal house temps, no a/c, so warm.

Fermented foods are the road to health, I need to get back into it!

[Dame]

 guess i'll just be forced into eating my way to good health. [/quote](would someone who knows how please fix this quote, thanks)


As far as I know, eating my way to good health is the only way to get there.

[Lady Lilya]

Any jar works fine.  Just need to rig up a weight. 

I have a plastic yogurt lid that fits nicely in my gallon jar.  Since it is flexible, I can get it through the neck.  Then I put a small jar of water on top to keep it down. 

I've seen people use plastic ziploc bags filled with saltwater. 

Anything that keeps the cabbage below the liquid line.  Anything that sticks up gets moldy. 

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I'd like to recommend the book Wild Fermentations by Sandor Ellix Katz.  It is full of recipes for ferments.  Some wild (the culture comes from the air) and some domestic (you need to get a culture and add it).  His recipes are very straightforward, without any bells and whistles. 

And a lot of them are available on the internet.  If you look at his website, you can see a list of recipes in the book, and then if you google you can find them posted by fans.

[hippiechick]

I made kraut this year also. It turned out wonderful! I love it.

[Beeherder]

The crock is now under the stairs surrounded by towels (just in case of overflow) with a max/min thermometer sitting beside it reading 65 degrees F. Did not open it but can smell that cabbage as it bubbles. Now all i need is the patience to wait calmly until late October. The store bought brand will just have to get me through until the home made is ready.

[Lady Lilya]

I'm enjoying making ginger beer.  It is amazingly easy.  My first batch will be ready on the Columbus Day weekend.  By then, I should have a few more batches in the works.

[Beeherder]

Hi LL, will this be an alcoholic beverage?

[Atash Hagmahani]

Is that one of those Harsch crocks?

The Chinese have the same idea, but typically using small glass jars with the same type of water seal.

I've consistently heard the home-made sauerkraut is not only tastier but has more visual appeal than store-bought. If you can, please post a pic of the final product.

I'm FINALLY going to start growing cabbages, so maybe next year I'll make some too.

I dunno about LL's product, but Gingerbeer typically has very low alcohol content--maybe around 1/2 of 1%. It's similar to the soda pop except it's naturally carbonated, has a funkier and more "natural" taste to it, and has a mild fermented smell to it.

Kombucha (which I had with my dinner this evening) seems to get a little more boozy than Gingerbeer, but even it is not that strong.

The "gingerbeer plant" (somewhat small, soft, granular SCOBYs) seems to be the least active of the trendy fermented drinks. My Kombucha seems quite active, while the water kefir seems to grow fast but otherwise doesn't seem to alter the flavor of its sugar-water all that much (unless you let it sit too long, in which case it eventually turns to vinegar).

[Dame]

I have been making pickles and will not get to fermented for awhile.  I bought a solitary cabbage at the local farmers market, it may last until I can make saurkrout.

[Beeherder]

 

Atash, yes it is a Harsch type crock. I started growing the cabbage with this in mind so when you posted something that suggested that type/brand and it was time to begin my research. There are two brands i choose the less expensive. The single book i have suggests using small containers for fermenting root vegetable because they don't keep as well. Maybe i'll try some pickled beets, since i haven't harvest the few survivors yet.

[Lady Lilya]

Beeherder, no the gingerbeer isn't supposed to have any significant alcohol content.  It is supposed to be basically like a ginger flavored soda.

[Beeherder]

  Hi LL, that's sorta what i thought, and that also makes Atash's comment correct that 1/2 of 1% would be insignificant.

As home brewers we learned what the natural fermentation does, and in this case is it to assure the water is healthy to drink because fermentation does not proceed as desired if the water is contaminated with bacteria or other nasties? So a small amount of alcohol indicates a healthy fermentation by product, after all those little yeasty beasties eat sugar and excrete CO2 and alcohol.

Until this sauerkraut experience i never realized foods other than grains can be fermented. But it all makes a little more sense now. I peeked inside the crock recently and all looks good, or only slightly cloudy liquid with clear and immediate signs of convection associated with fermentation bubbles. That was the first time i opened it, hope it will survive ok. Since the water seal is still in place and the bubbles came through the top seal after i opened it the assumption is that all is proceeding well and the CO2 being heavier than air, will drive that air i let in, out and off the water surface very quickly. Pictures if i can.

[Lady Lilya]

I never seal mine.  If the environment is salty enough, it shouldn't be hospitable to the unwanted beasties. 

[Beeherder]

The eleven heads of cabbage and 5 tablespoons of Mediterranean sea salt covered with enough filtered water and the weights to fill the 10 liter crock. That's what the recipe called for and its about time to taste it soon.