Saurkraut

[Synn]

How do you make yours?

I usually shred the cabbage, fill quart jars with cabbage, 1t canning salt then fill with boiling water.. Put on seals and rings and let set for 6 weeks.. Then process..

Anyone else make saurkraut?

[Daisygirl]

Grate all the cabbage that's ready and pack it in a five gallon bucket with salt between layers. Pound it for a while until it makes it's own liquid. Top it off with a couple of grape leaves (for the alum). Cover with a plate as big as the bucket an weigh it down to keep it under the liquid. Leave it go for a couple of weeks...scraping the yucky stuff off the top as necessary. Reach under and taste...when as tart as you like it, clean up the top and throw away any that looks weird (don't dump the whole thing because under a couple of inches at most is the best sauerkraut ever. Place in jars and process or freeze.

[brightblessings5]

Glass Jar Sauerkraut

 

1. Remove and discard outer leaves from firm, matured heads of cabbage. Wash, drain, cut in halves or quarters and remove and discard cores.

 

2. Shred 5 lbs. cabbage at a time with a shredder or sharp knife. It should be no thicker than a dime.

 

3. Sprinkle 3 1/2 Tblsp. salt over shredded cabbage (5 lbs.) and mix thoroughly by hand.

 

4. Pack into clean glass jars, pressing cabbage down firmly with wooden spoon. Fill to within 1 1/2" to 2" from jar top. Be sure juice covers cabbage. A quart jar holds about 2 lbs. cabbage.

 

5. Wipe off jar top. Cover cabbage with pads of cheesecloth, edges tucked down against inside of jar. Hold cabbage down by crisscrossing two dry wood strips (some good kraut makers first coat the strips with melted paraffin) so they catch under the neck of the jar. Wipe off jar, put on lids, but DO NOT SEAL TIGHTLY.

 

6. Set filled jars in shallow pans or on folded newspapers-the brine may overflow during fermentation. KEEP AT ROOM TEMPERATURE (70F) FOR TOP-QUALITY SAUERKRAUT.

 

7. Skim film every few days if it forms. If directions have been followed carefully and correct temperature maintained, little or no film should form.

 

8. Keep cabbage covered with brine. If necessary add more weak brine made by dissolving 1 1/2 Tblsp. salt in 1 qt. water.

 

9. Let ferment about 10 days, or until liquid settles and bubbles no longer rise to the surface. Remove the cheesecloth and wood strips and add more weak brine if needed. (Some women fix 1 extra qt. cabbage for every 4 qts. to use in refilling jars when fermentation ends and shrinkage occurs.)

 

10. If sauerkraut is to be used soon, wipe mouths of jars and seal tightly; keep in a cool place. If it is to be stored longer than a few weeks, remove lids and set jars in a pan of cold water. Water should extend to shoulder of jars. Bring water slowly to a boil; then remove jars. Add boiling weak brine to sauerkraut, if needed to fill the jar to within 1/2" from top. (To make brine, dissolve 1 1/2 Tblsp. salt in 1 qt. water.) Wipe off jar rims. Adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath (212F).

 

Quart jars=30 min

 

Remove jars from canner and complete seals unless closures are self-sealing type.

 

Note: For 20-25 lbs. cabbage, use 1/2 lb. salt. Makes 8 to 10 quarts.

 

This is out of my "Freezing and Canning Cookbook". It is the basic recipe that I use.

 

The only notes I would add are that I shredd and layer the cabbage with salt in food grade buckets, mix well and let sit overnight. The next day, I pack it into jars. I don't use the cheesecloth and paraffin stick thing, I just make sure it's packed into the jars REAL well and set a lid on top. I use Stonehead cabbage. I figure each one weighs about 2# as I usually get one quart per head. (I just planted 48 today, as I only have 4 qts. of kraut left and need to make more this year.)

 

One of the waitresses at work makes her own sauerkraut, too, and everyone raves about it. She's gonna write down her recipe and give it to me and I'm gonna try some like her's this year, also. They say it stays snow-white and tastes WONDERFUL. When I get it I'll post her's also.

[Synn]

I ended up blanching most of the five heads of cabbage I got out of the garden this morning..

But I did do 3 quarts of saurkraut..