Anyone make sauerkraut out there?

[MullersLaneFarm]

Another kraut maker here. Although I've used the crock method, a friend who has been making kraut for quite a few decades told me how she does it and I won't go back to the crock.

It starts off the same. Shred it (yes, we have an old style kraut cutter but the blades aren't adjustable and it cuts it too thin for my liking), pack it in the 20 lb crock, layering with salt (I use either pickling or kosher salt). Press it down, like normal. I haven't found the need to use extra water)

Now instead of letting it ferment in the crock, I pack it immediately into jars. make sure you pack it tightly and there is juice over the kraut. Put on the lid and just barely screw on the band. Set the jars on towels in a cool, dark place for about a week (or until it stops fermenting) You'll have to change out the towels at least daily, if not more often!.

Clean rim, and water bath as normal. Since the amount fermenting is less, it doesn't take as long. I like to let them sit on the shelf for a good 6 months to really develop the tang.

 

[tonini3059]

I have heard about that method, however I do not have the room to store that many jars. I usually pack and bath the jars one day and give them away the next. My cousin takes half, since we make it together, and I sell a few cases and give away several jars. So out of all the jars I pack I only end up keeping a fraction.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

Quote:
One reason I love my unfinished, old fashion cellar ... not a basement by any means ... just a cellar with shelves

 

[FowlDelights]

For the OP regarding the cutter

Try this link http://www.sausagemaker.com/32130cabbageshredder.aspx

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We make ours in 5 gallon buckets - they are just the right size to use a dinner plate and 4 quart jars of water to hold the kraut down.

Steve in NC

 

[Tendu]

I've tried to make it three times, I've only succeeded once. I usually only have time to make it during the summer so I have a hard time keeping the temperature down and so it starts out fine but the water gets cloudy a week in, and then an off taste develops. The batch that didn't spoil was the only one I didn't add kimchee flavorings to (hot peppers, garlic, ginger) so I wonder if that might be part of the reason, but I've always heard that those things prevented microbial growth (with exception of the hot peppers). Also, I only do it in small batches in glass jars with a plastic bag filled with brine to keep the air out because of space constraints.

Oh, and I know you can get old fashion cabbage cutters from places that cater to the Amish such as Lehman's.

 

[Kim_NC]

Quote:
We make it in jars as well. I have our recipe posted here:
[URL]http://millriverfarm.com/recipe.cfm?id=406&catname=Canning, Freezing, Preserving[/URL]

We use our foodslicer to "shred" the cabbage. We set the blade to a very fine slice. Works perfectly and is easy on the arms.

 

[Kismet]

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experiences. I used to make large amounts of kraut when I was on the farm. Now, in a smaller place, I have been making it in a Korean kimchee pot, a stainless steel bowl with a rubberized rim lid that clamps down on top. I start in September when the cabbage is ready. I cut my cabbage by hand, the thinness of a dime as Mrs. Rombauer (Joy of Cooking) says to do, (I'm going to look into the sites posted for something faster!) and layer it with salt as others have done. I let it ferment in the basement and don't look at it for at least six weeks. It doesn't seem to ferment as much in the kimchee pot as I remember it did in the crock - it's what some would call "mild" kraut, and the color is more white than creamy-tan. Usually I put it in quart jars and can it in a hot water bath, but this year I froze it in quart bags. I haven't noticed that after canning the kraut does any more fermenting, as someone suggested.
After reading this thread, I think that I will go back to the crock next year. I miss the tang.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

I have a funny sauerkraut story. My DW Sharon had never made it before so the first time we made a batch we had it in the bathroom in a bucket (it's the coolest room in the house - no basement here

Anyway, it's doing it's thing fermenting and once a day I would scoop the bubbles and mold off the top and I guess I had it clean whenever she would look in on it. One day she tells me that the 'kraut is dead, it has nasty stuff on the top. It was just the usual so I explained that and she asked me how you know when it is done. I said like this and pushed the goo off to one side and reached in and grabbed some and popped it into my mouth. Hmmmm almost there I said as I was chewing it - The look on here face was classic!!!!!!!! She told me later she had visions of botulism and 3 or 4 other ism's and we would be making a trip to the ER that day.

Steve in NC


Kismet - Where did you get the Kimchee pot??????? I love Kimchee

 

[joebryant]

We use a Harsch Crock.
Here are some recipes: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=99232