Sauerkraut

tuxpuff · 11-17-2009, 09:27 AM

Right around 6 weeks or so...depending on how sour you like it. It could be ready in as little as 4 weeks. The warmer it is the quicker it will complete. Of course the quicker it completes the less flavor it has.

I grew up with plain kraut...so I just use cabbage and salt...about 3 tablespoons of salt for every 5 lbs of cabbage. Shred the cabbage as fine as you want but try to make sure that it is consistent. Put the cabbage in your crock or other nonreactive vessel. Salt the cabbage. Mix very well to distribute the salt evenly. It is important that it is even or you will get areas that are softer. Then press it down as hard as possible. The liquid should release from the cabbage and cover the entire thing. Depending on the amount of liquid in the cabbage it may take a day or two to fully release. If you don't get enough liquid out of it you can add brine. Reserve the outer leaves of the cabbage to place on top of the shredded mixture. Then put a plate and something heavy on top of it to keep the kraut compressed. You may need to clean the plate every few days. Also you may notice some mold looking stuff on the top of the liquid...that's not a problem...just skim as much of it off as you can.

MarkinAZ · 11-17-2009, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuxpuff

Right around 6 weeks or so...depending on how sour you like it...

...so I just use cabbage and salt...about 3 tablespoons of salt for every 5 lbs of cabbage. Shred the cabbage as fine as you want but try to make sure that it is consistent. Put the cabbage in your crock or other nonreactive vessel. Salt the cabbage. Mix very well to distribute the salt evenly. It is important that it is even or you will get areas that are softer. Then press it down as hard as possible. The liquid should release from the cabbage and cover the entire thing. Depending on the amount of liquid in the cabbage it may take a day or two to fully release. If you don't get enough liquid out of it you can add brine. Reserve the outer leaves of the cabbage to place on top of the shredded mixture. Then put a plate and something heavy on top of it to keep the kraut compressed. You may need to clean the plate every few days. Also you may notice some mold looking stuff on the top of the liquid...that's not a problem...just skim as much of it off as you can.

Luke, what are you using for the liquid? Straight tap water or vinegar?

tuxpuff · 11-17-2009, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkinCA

Luke, what are you using for the liquid? Straight tap water or vinegar?

This time I've added about 2 cups of tap water mixed with a tablespoon of pickling salt...I think that was the mixture. No vinegar. I just google it and seen people doing 1 quart water to 1.5 Tablespoon of salt so thats about right. If the cabbage is super fresh you may not need to add any additional liquid.

11-17-2009, 09:27 AM	#1
tuxpuff Feeling at Home Join Date: Feb 2009 First Name: Luke Location: Austin Posts: 877 Trading: (2)	Re: Sauerkraut Right around 6 weeks or so...depending on how sour you like it. It could be ready in as little as 4 weeks. The warmer it is the quicker it will complete. Of course the quicker it completes the less flavor it has. I grew up with plain kraut...so I just use cabbage and salt...about 3 tablespoons of salt for every 5 lbs of cabbage. Shred the cabbage as fine as you want but try to make sure that it is consistent. Put the cabbage in your crock or other nonreactive vessel. Salt the cabbage. Mix very well to distribute the salt evenly. It is important that it is even or you will get areas that are softer. Then press it down as hard as possible. The liquid should release from the cabbage and cover the entire thing. Depending on the amount of liquid in the cabbage it may take a day or two to fully release. If you don't get enough liquid out of it you can add brine. Reserve the outer leaves of the cabbage to place on top of the shredded mixture. Then put a plate and something heavy on top of it to keep the kraut compressed. You may need to clean the plate every few days. Also you may notice some mold looking stuff on the top of the liquid...that's not a problem...just skim as much of it off as you can.