Okay, I asked my brother about how he makes his sauerkraut from
scratch. The process takes two weeks. I quoted his message
here.
"Brenda this is a recipie that makes about 5 lbs. of kraut
2 medium heads of cabbage weighing approx 5 lbs
2 table spoons of canning salt. Do not use table salt
take the core out of the cabbage and then finely shread it
put in a large mixing bowl ot crock
add 2 tablespoons of salt
mix salt into all of the cabbage with hands
if you have some kind of a flat item that you can use as a
press press
down on the cabbage salt mixture until the liquid from the
cabbage comes to
the top, if you dant have a press squeeze the cabbage mixture
until it
becomes very moist
pack the mixture as tight as possible in a container (not metal)
place some kind of a weight on top of the mixture to be sure it
stays packed
I put a weight in a plastic bag and place it on top of a plate
that i have
set on top
of the cabbage
set aside to let the process begin at room temp
each day remove plate and weight , rinse off and replace
the longer it sits the better it is
I usually let it ferment for about 14 days
it will stink up the area so if you have a closed off area or
basement I
would set it there
after 14 days I portion it out into containers or freezer bags
and freeze
portion not used for a later date
ENJOY."
In addition to the plate and weight, he covers the whole thing
with a towel, especially if he makes up his kraut in the summer,
so he doesn't get any visitors in there. He doesn't have a press;
he says he either uses his hands or a block of wood to squeeze
the juice out until it comes to the top.
He tends to make fifty pounds of kraut at a time with five-pound
batches of it in each container. He likes his kraut!
Brenda Mueller
_______________________________________________
Cookinginthedark mailing list
[email protected]
http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark
