Sauerkraut

[watervole]

 Several years ago, a friend of mine on Livejournal posted about making sauerkraut.

I rather admired her earthenware pot with its clever rim to make an airlock.

 

I've now got one myself (early Xmas present) and the biggest cabbage from the allotment has just been chopped up with lots of salt and caraway seeds and left to ferment.

 

It amazing how fast the brine starts to come out.  My hands were getting wet while I was rubbing the salt into the cabbage.  You don't need to use any water, the salt draws it all out.

 

A week or so from now, I shall taste it to see how it's going, but it's supposed to be best after several weeks, so we'll see....

 

Comments

[ranunculus]

It is a fascinating process. Hmmm, I should make some!
The longer it ferments the stronger a flavor it gets. I got to liking the less fermented stuff. It will further "cure" in your refrigerator so start when it is lightly fermented and keep eating!!

[katherine]

Good luck with your batch!

[kotturinn]

I look forward to tasting updates. The pot looks intriguing, does it come in smaller sizes than the one in the LJ post?

[watervole]

My pot is a 3L one. I think Vera's one is a lot bigger.

It's easy to fill a pot with a decent size cabbage.

[watervole]

That's a good thought. I may well do that.

What sort of things would you eat it with? We're mostly veggie/vegan these days.

[ranunculus]

I usually eat it straight as a "side" condiment. Think of it like a savory ingredient like pickles or kimchi.

[watervole]

I haven't tried kimchi yet. It's on my list of things to try making if the sauerkraut turns out well.

If I like the taste, I can see sauerkraut with my lunch becoming a regular item.

[igenlode]

I made sauerkraut quite successfully at university in a clean plastic bucket, covered (the surface of the cabbage not the bucket) by an upturned plate with weights set on it. It pretty much makes itself.
I didn't put any caraway seed in mine, though!

Using a plastic bag filled with water as a contour-conforming weight is an interesting sophistication...

[watervole]

I can see the water bag as a good air-excluder as well.

[igenlode]

For what it's worth, the recipe I've used (the chapter on preserves in "The Food and Cooking of Russia") says "Cover and press down with a weight if you can arrange it, although I have found that the cabbage ferments perfectly well not under pressure, merely covered and left in a warm place". It doesn't say anything about needing to be careful to exclude air; she comments "I made my first batch of sauerkraut in a small washing-up bowl with great success".

[igenlode]

Sauerkraut is traditionally eaten with fat pork or goose (or bacon or sausages), but the Russians also use it to make shchi (which is a rich mixture that sounds less appetising than it is when translated as 'cabbage soup').
It can be cooked as a sweet and sour vegetable with onions, butter, vinegar and honey, or with sugar, apple and mustard.

Here's a vegetarian recipe:

Take 6 dried mushrooms (or 5oz fresh mushrooms), bring to the boil in two-thirds of a pint of water, and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain, saving the stock, and chop the mushrooms. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over a low heat and add a couple of pounds of sauerkraut, squeezed dry. Stir well, sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the mushroom stock. Cover and simmer gently for half an hour, then stir in the mushrooms with a tablespoon of sugar and a small pot (5fl.oz) of sour cream. (N.B. they don't seem to do the small-size pots in the supermarket any more, only big ones!) Return to a low heat and cook covered until very tender, or leave in a slow oven for two hours.