Sauerkraut , who makes it?

General » Cooking

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Sauerkraut , who makes it?

Posted: 12/6/2014 5:38:17 PM EDT

I do, at least I'm on my third batch.

First batch was awesome, second batch was to salty.

What all do you put in yours?

I went to the local good will store and bought an old used slow cooker that had the ceramic bowl and glass lid. Its perfect for a fermenter. ($3 bucks) It holds 3 heads of sliced cabbage. Also got a smaller plate to fit inside to hold the cabbage down. ($.59 cents) Found a rock and boiled it to sit on plate (free)

Posted: 12/6/2014 9:13:50 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:

I do, at least I'm on my third batch.

First batch was awesome, second batch was to salty.

What all do you put in yours?

I went to the local good will store and bought an old used slow cooker that had the ceramic bowl and glass lid. Its perfect for a fermenter. ($3 bucks) It holds 3 heads of sliced cabbage. Also got a smaller plate to fit inside to hold the cabbage down. ($.59 cents) Found a rock and boiled it to sit on plate (free)

View Quote

Holy shit, I wish I had thought of the crock idea.

I got a REAL fermenter crock.

I use a brine of 2 TBS kosher salt to 1 liter of water. And cabbage. No other ingredients.

You will do well to take some plastic wrap and "tamp" it down over your cabbage for an additional seal.

LIGHT and OXYGEN are the two enemies of kraut.

Once you go live kraut, you never want to eat the canned stuff again.

Posted: 12/6/2014 9:17:17 PM EDT

[#2]

We make it every year. Although we use shoulder less Mason jars and the old zinc lids with a rubber gasket.

Just cabbage and sea salt!

Posted: 12/7/2014 8:45:32 AM EDT

[#3]

We have a crock of 'kraut sitting on our kitchen counter that we made back in August.

Things we sometimes add: carrots, caraway seeds, hot peppers, garlic cloves, radishes.

I find that cabbages from the garden rarely need brine just ~1 tbsp salt per 5 pounds of cabbage.

We will often can the excess. It's nice to have jars of homemade kraut in the pantry.

If the kraut ends up too salty, rinse it in a colander until it has the level of salt you're comfortable with.

Posted: 12/7/2014 3:09:30 PM EDT

[#4]

If that crock pot is really old, take care of it! The new ones suck and cook way too hot. Those old ones are worth their weight in gold..........

Posted: 12/7/2014 6:47:40 PM EDT

[#5]

now I'm hungry.

Posted: 12/12/2014 1:05:44 AM EDT

[#6]

Just finished making a batch last week. So much better than the store bought stuff. I use a crock from Williams-Sonoma. They had a 50% off sale a while back.

Posted: 12/12/2014 1:06:01 AM EDT

[#7]

You guys - you got me going and searching the internet. I now have a batch of carrots fermenting on the kitchen counter. I'll report back and let you know what happens. Oh, and son has first dibs on guns, so don't even ask.

Posted: 12/12/2014 10:59:24 AM EDT

[#8]

While we have a few new fermenters here.

My latest batch was done with rather dry, "light" cabbage that looked good and leafy, but really sorta sucked. I should have thrown it out.

The kraut is leathery and doesn't have much taste.

Look for white-ish, densely packed and full of moisture cabbage for your kraut. If it's tailored for soccer mom eye appeal, skip it.

Hint; Asian food stores often have the best cabbage in town.

Posted: 12/12/2014 3:50:08 PM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
While we have a few new fermenters here.

My latest batch was done with rather dry, "light" cabbage that looked good and leafy, but really sorta sucked. I should have thrown it out.

The kraut is leathery and doesn't have much taste.

Look for white-ish, densely packed and full of moisture cabbage for your kraut. If it's tailored for soccer mom eye appeal, skip it.

Hint; Asian food stores often have the best cabbage in town.

View Quote

I've had some "back room" made Kimchi from Asian stores that is fantastic. A wink and a nod, you get the real thing.

Posted: 12/12/2014 6:29:43 PM EDT

[#10]

We just made a 3 gallon batch.

We use an Ohio Stoneware Fermentation Crock. You can kind of see it in the pic on the left side.
This batch was just salt and caraway seeds.

Posted: 12/14/2014 10:01:13 PM EDT

[#11]

I just put my first batch in the basement to ferment!

Posted: 1/30/2015 7:47:35 PM EDT

[#12]

After making my first batch, I learned to not tell friends & relatives that I've made it. They were like flies on a carcass wanting me to make batches for them, but went away after I told them to buy a crock, cabbage & salt, and I would SHOW THEM how to make it. Everyone want to eat your stuff, but never want to learn how to make it. Same goes for when I make bread. My lips are sealed.

I really like it when I make smoked Slovenian sausages and put them on homemade buns.

Posted: 1/30/2015 11:30:26 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
[snip]

I really like it when I make smoked Slovenian sausages and put them on homemade buns.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/flyfishohio/Food/Dinner%20Pics/Dinner103113_zps6fbe4d04.jpg

View Quote

THAT.LOOKS.GORGEOUS.

Welcome to the site!

Posted: 1/31/2015 11:45:22 AM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
After making my first batch, I learned to not tell friends & relatives that I've made it. They were like flies on a carcass wanting me to make batches for them, but went away after I told them to buy a crock, cabbage & salt, and I would SHOW THEM how to make it. Everyone want to eat your stuff, but never want to learn how to make it. Same goes for when I make bread. My lips are sealed.

I really like it when I make smoked Slovenian sausages and put them on homemade buns.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/flyfishohio/Food/Dinner%20Pics/Dinner103113_zps6fbe4d04.jpg

View Quote

Tell me about those potatoes!

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Sauerkraut , who makes it?

General » Cooking

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