Homemade Sauerkraut - Part The First

I love sauerkraut, and thankfully so does Mr P.  Well, he eats it readily, unlike seafood, much to my dismay.  All those unmade prawn and crab dishes ...  I've been making a dish which we call Polish Cabbage (borrowed from a Polish-Australian actress's recipe) for many years.  It consists of cabbage, bacon and lots of sauerkraut, so this winter I am determined to make my own sauerkraut for it at last.  

sauerkraut crock fermenting away in our walk-in robe  

Our gorgeous potter friend Miss B. made me a wonderful sauerkraut crock this year, which I have been dying to try.  Now that the weather is more suitable to the making and the eating thereof, I am giving it a red-hot go!  'Double, double, toil and trouble.  Fire burn, and cauldron bubble' - as the three witches said in Macbeth.  Hopefully there won't be too much bubbling - or  trouble:-)   


ingredients:


1kg. white cabbage - aka green cabbage

15g. sea salt or any good quality salt flakes

3 bay leaves

4 black peppercorns


Method:


Peel off the outer leaves of the cabbage, and take out the core

Shred finely with a sharp knife till you have lovely, small slivers

Pack it down into your very clean crock or jar, in layers, sprinkling some salt on each layer

Give each layer a bit of a pounding before adding the next layer

Now you pound for anything from five minutes to fifteen!  You will start to see clear liquid at the bottom of your crock

When your arms are about to fall off, stop pounding, add the bay leaves and peppercorns, whack on the weights if you have them, or fill a very clean (large) ziploc bag with water and lay that on top of your well-pounded cabbage

If the cabbage is not completely submerged in liquid, make up a cup of brine (or two if needed) and pour over

Now let it sit in a cupboard or some dark place in your house, with a tea towel over the top

Check it every day to see if it is starting to bubble and ferment; and make sure the cabbage is still completely submerged

Now here's the important part:  if it looks fuzzy, or green or disgusting or smells foul, you will have to start again!  If it has a bit of white scum or foam on top, that's okay.  Just scoop it out as you see it, or when you refrigerate it after the fermenting period.  Basically, use your common sense.  If it just doesn't seem right to you, start again

The fermentation process can take from one to three weeks, depending on how tangy you like it to be

Part two: the unveiling, will be coming in another post

I had to add 1 cup extra brine, so I made up 1 cup water to 1 tsp salt


Notes:


June to August is peak cabbage season down south here in Australia, so now is the perfect time to make sauerkraut:-)

I had a 1.3kg cabbage which, after peeling off the outer leaves and taking out the core, left me with about 950g.

The usual formula is 1kg of cabbage to 15g of salt, so keep that in mind if you wish to make more than a kilo in one go

If you need extra brine, make up 1 cup of water to 1 tsp salt

You don't have to have a crock to make this, but it is a heap of fun.  Just mix it all together in a large bowl and stuff it into a jar, making sure you let the gases escape each day    

My crock has a moat around the top, into which you pour water.  This seals the crock from the bad guys (hopefully).  So just keep the water level up so your seal remains intact

I checked out a number of recipes for making sauerkraut, in particular from The Healthy Chef, Curious Cuisiniere and The Kitchn blog.  Emma at The Kitchn suggests that you can still keep fermenting even if there is mould!  Just scrape it off, she says, but obvs, use your common sense here.  If it's smelly and looks disgusting, toss it!

I used my wooden cocktail muddler as a sauerkraut stomper.  You can buy one online, or just use your perfectly clean hands, my friends

ingredients gathered

shred the cabbage finely

keep pounding

and pounding

pounding done and brine added

throw in the peppercorns and bay leaves

on go the weights

lid on, and ready for the dark cupboard for 1-3 weeks :-)

All will be revealed in Part Two.  I am praying it doesn't go mouldy or disgusting!

  artwork © Sherry's Pickings