My experience is that after a week or two, you don't really need to have a weighted on top but just more of a cover i.e. your cabbage has enough brine and has peaked and is now fermenting. But I am a rookie, so take the with a pinch of salt

My sauerkraut hit 4 weeks today. So I pulled it off the fridge and it looked good but it was slightly less crunchy than last years batch. It's not mushy or slimy (thank goodness) but just a little more chewy than last time. My brine also seems a little more cloudy than last year. Again, not scary or off-seeming, just a tad cloudier. I am wondering if I put too much salt in this round?

Well, it still tastes good and I can't wait to try the braising mentioned above! I only cut up one lonely head of cabbage for this batch and it filled 2 large mason jars and 4 jam jars. Not bad.

In the spirit of the scientific method and the mystery of pickling, I am going to start another batch tomorrow. It will be ready for Xmas time. Just when people need a little immune-system booster.

bjt

Hi;
I'm a noobi to this board but have some experience with "putting food by" and the sauerkraut thread caught my eye.

Just a couple of thoughts;
1) I use 5 gallon food grade plastic pails to do my lacto-fermentation of pickles; sauerkraut; KimChee and tomatoes, (as well as brining corned beef and pastrami). Non-rinse sanitizer, (like you would use for home bottling beer or soda) will assure your container is clean.
2) I add dried apples and sliced onions to my chopped cabbage, along with caraway seed.
3) I either hand-punch the cabbage or use an old wooden baseball bat to mash it down and release the juice.
4) I cover the container with a piece of cheesecloth secured with an industrial-strength rubber band to keep the creepy-crawlies out.
5) Canning the kraut, (I use a Presto pressure canner) DOES kill the lactobacillus but the taste and texture remains, (I don't have room for 5 gallons of kraut in the fridge).


Thanks for starting this thread. I hope my comments are helpful to someone.

My preparedness website is at; http://solvo-civitas-iunctus.com

tortminder wrote:1) I use 5 gallon food grade plastic pails to do my lacto-fermentation of pickles; sauerkraut; KimChee and tomatoes, (as well as brining corned beef and pastrami). Non-rinse sanitizer, (like you would use for home bottling beer or soda) will assure your container is clean.

I wash mine with hot water and dish soap. I take pour boiling hot water from a waterpot for the final rinse.

I would not be satisfied with your non-rinse sanitizer as a substitute.

3) I either hand-punch the cabbage or use an old wooden baseball bat to mash it down and release the juice.

I use my hands and a potato masher, which I know is clean.

4) I cover the container with a piece of cheesecloth secured with an industrial-strength rubber band to keep the creepy-crawlies out.

Bath towel for me.

5) Canning the kraut, (I use a Presto pressure canner) DOES kill the lactobacillus but the taste and texture remains, (I don't have room for 5 gallons of kraut in the fridge).[/b]

I largely give it away as quick as it is done. I kept a half-gallon container of fresh kraut in the refrigerator, which I used over a few months.

If I did can it, I would not consider pressure canning it. I would water bath process as recommended by the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

***

New sauerkraut challenge erupted this week. The furnace is on the fritz. Temperature dropped below 60 degrees, which puts any fermentation on hold. I have a lighted lamp adjacent to the container to bring up the ambient temperature. From the bubbling seen since it was placed, my strategy worked.

Furnace could have been fixed today, if I was willing to stay home. I went out instead. I can deal with another day of wearing a sweater at home.

Regards,

Hi,

I found this interesting article from the University of Kentucky who conducted a trial production of sauerkraut. They discuss yield from various cabbage varieties. They have an expenses covering seedlings to sauerkraut production labor. What really caught my eye was the cost per jar and the potential profit:

Organic Sauerkraut wrote:Considering the above processing scenario and the above estimated cost of production, a break-even price for a quart of kraut would be $8.38, or $4.18 for a pint. At a sale price of $10 per quart, the profits from this system would reach $259, and with a price of $15 per quart, profits rise to $1,059. Organically produced kraut and other fermented vegetable products from California are being sold in local health food stores for about $9-11 a pint. At this rate the profits from the above system would reach $1,539-2,179, although the feasibility of selling any number of pints of sauerkraut at this price is unknown. Additional labor hours or costs of permitting, licensing, and marketing/delivery are also not included in this study.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I found this interesting article from the University of Kentucky who conducted a trial production of sauerkraut. They discuss yield from various cabbage varieties. They have an expenses covering seedlings to sauerkraut production labor. What really caught my eye was the cost per jar and the potential profit:

Organic Sauerkraut wrote:... At a sale price of $10 per quart...

Wow! Very impressive pricing-- my $1 worth of cabbage (10 lbs on sale) from the A&G yielded about 5-6 quarts of kraut. I guess if you figure in my time, I got paid well.

Here's the latest sauerkraut recipe, a very tasty reuben. These tasted even better when we spiked the "thousand island" dressing with a good dab of horseradish.



Is anyone else eating their sauerkraut?

Cheers, Jen

Hi,

I decided my sauerkraut was done enough to begin harvesting. I added a sauerkraut sidedish to Thanksgiving this year. I found a recipe on Epicurious for sauerkraut with apples, which slowly simmered on the stove for a few hours.

It was a great opportunity to show my extended family my efforts in making sauerkraut. I do think I am going to cook this batch more tomorrow. I think I was a little timid on the simmering temperature. I want to see what happens if I cook it a bit longer at an elevated temperature.

Regards,

Hi,

I noticed there was about to be a yeast explosion in the sauerkraut crock. It was time to package it up. I packed up 16 quart ziploc packages or 4 gallons, which are now sitting in the refrigerator. These packages plus the kraut I have already used, I estimate this batch produced 4.5 gallons of sauerkraut.

I have already gifted three people with the sauerkraut. My friend who accompanied me was rather dubious anyone would like this. I was lucky, because all three recipients lit up like Christmas trees when they received it.

Regards,

We are almost done with our sauerkraut, so I decided to go out in style by making sauerkraut pierogies, using my Great-Aunt Rosie's recipe. Here is the filling recipe from St. Stanislaus Kostka Polish Women's cookbook:

Cabbage Filling:
1 can sauerkraut (or 1 bag fresh) (I used 1 packed quart homemade)
1 med. or large cabbage, shredded

Chop cabbage & start cooking in a large pot with just a bit of water. After about 10 min. add sauerkraut & cook until cabbage is tender. (I put in the 'kraut juice too.) Drain. Put through grinder (I use the food processor) and drain again.

In large saute pan, melt 2-3 T butter, add 1 med. finely diced onion and fry until golden brown. Add the cabbage and 2-3 mashed potatoes (optional); salt & pepper to taste. Fry about 15 minutes. Cool.

Here is the dough. I usually make multiple batches of dough:
2 cups flour
1 egg
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil

Directions
Mix all ingredients together lightly in bowl. Knead until smooth (1 minute or less). Let rest, covered, 30 minutes.
Using half of the dough at a time, roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut circles with biscuit cutter or floured glass.
Fill with a golf-ball sized hunk of filling, pinch to seal. Boil 5-8 minutes, until floating. Fry in butter until crisp.

Here is the filling:
Ingredients:


Boiling together:


Frying:


Edited to add:

Here is the pinching:


And all the pierogies ready for boiling or freezing:

This is two batches of dough, which yields about 4 dozen. I had some filling left over, which I froze separately.

And crisping in butter after boiling in all their lumpy, doughy glory:


Now I just need some homemade kielbasa to go with them...

Jen

Hi,

Can't wait to see your finished pierogi.

Does this cookbook have a sauerkraut mushroom filling recipe? That is a combination I find especially good.

Regards,

All this is nice and very interesting from a technical point of view and I congratulate the know-how and determination of all the contributors to this thread since its inception.
But for all of us out there who love sauerkraut but do not want to spend hours to prepare it or take the risk of engulfing the whole house or building with a very persistent smell for days, as it was the case at my Grandma's when she made her own "choucroute", I would like to know if anybody has ever found a very good canned ready-to use sauerkraut in Chicago. It also could be packed in a plastic or glass container. I used to buy a decent German brand at Kuhn's on Lincoln about 20 years ago but forgot its name. And I cannot stand the Frank's that you find in most supermarkets.
Personally, I love kraut that is cooked in white wine, spices, caraway seeds, and juniper berries.
Any suggestion will be welcome.

Many Polish delis or supermarkets have barrel kraut available.

alain40 wrote: I would like to know if anybody has ever found a very good canned ready-to use sauerkraut in Chicago. It also could be packed in a plastic or glass container.

Both Karyn's Raw in Lincoln Park and Newleaf Grocery in Rogers Park carry a brand called Goldmine out of San Diego. It comes in a glass bottle and is unpasteurized. Those two places may carry other, more local brands...I haven't checked recently.


Karyn's Raw
1901 N Halsted St
(between Armitage Ave & Wisconsin St)
Chicago, IL 60614

Newleaf Natural Grocery
1261 W Loyola Ave
(between Lakewood Ave & Sheridan Rd)
Chicago, IL 60626

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Can't wait to see your finished pierogi.

Does this cookbook have a sauerkraut mushroom filling recipe? That is a combination I find especially good.

Regards,

Hi Cathy2, Thanks, I have edited the post above to show the finished doughballs.

I don't think this cookbook has a sauerkraut mushroom variant, but it should be really easy to do-- just add some minced mushrooms at the frying stage, along with the onion and butter. If you have dried mushrooms (and I recall you might hang with mushroom hunters-- boletus would be perfect), it would probably be even better-- rehydrate some, chop them very fine, and add them for a real mushroom hit. Yum.

Unfortunately, whilst my 5-year-old really likes sauerkraut pierogies (go figure), she won't do mushrooms.

Cheers, Jen

scoobert wrote:

alain40 wrote: I would like to know if anybody has ever found a very good canned ready-to use sauerkraut in Chicago. It also could be packed in a plastic or glass container.

Both Karyn's Raw in Lincoln Park and Newleaf Grocery in Rogers Park carry a brand called Goldmine out of San Diego. It comes in a glass bottle and is unpasteurized. Those two places may carry other, more local brands...I haven't checked recently.

I am curious as to how much these cost, if anyone does check them out.

Alain, you should try making your own-- were you very young when Grandma was making her choucroute? I find the smell of cooking sauerkraut to be much more pungent than the smell of fermenting sauerkraut.

Jen

Jen,
I was in my teens when my grandmother made her delicious "choucroute garnie", but I still remember the smell... She was doing the whole think from scratch and lived in an apartment.
I would never consider doing my own sauerkraut for several reasons: I'm the only one in my family who likes it. The smell would provoke the ire of other owners in my condo building. It is not economical to make sauerkraut for one person.
Thank anyway to all contributors suggestions

Pie-love wrote:

scoobert wrote:

alain40 wrote: I would like to know if anybody has ever found a very good canned ready-to use sauerkraut in Chicago. It also could be packed in a plastic or glass container.

Both Karyn's Raw in Lincoln Park and Newleaf Grocery in Rogers Park carry a brand called Goldmine out of San Diego. It comes in a glass bottle and is unpasteurized. Those two places may carry other, more local brands...I haven't checked recently.

I am curious as to how much these cost, if anyone does check them out.
Jen

I did a little reconnaissance and discovered that Newleaf sells 9 oz Goldmine for $8.39, 16 oz Goldmine for $11.99, and 16 oz Garlic Goldmine for $12.99.

Karyn's sells 9 oz Goldmine for $13.99, and their 9 oz house-made raw kraut for $7.99.

edit: I just realized how absurdly small those portions are for those already inflated prices. Ridiculous. I got a quart jar a few months ago online and it was pretty cheap.


I've ordered Goldmine from their website before and it was crunchy and delicious, although very simple. I am no expert on kraut so I really couldn't rate it compared to other brands.

However, using the remaining kraut juice as starter has led to an interesting experiment.

A mix of red and green cabbage and sea salt, no herbs or seasoning.

I have made two batches of sauerkraut in our tiny kitchen, sitting on the fridge only covered with a tea towel and no one has smelled a thing. I do believe that when making a charcoute you "cook" the sauerkraut and that would smell. (I still remember my mom cooking cabbage to death in her corned beef and cabbage and the smell turned me off cabbage until I had my first fish taco in Baja with raw chopped cabbage on it).

It would be such a pity if someone opted out from making sauerkraut at home because they think it is going to stink up your place, or more dramatically, your entire building. That just isn't the case.

bjt

scoobert wrote:Karyn's sells 9 oz Goldmine for $13.99, and their 9 oz house-made raw kraut for $7.99.

edit: I just realized how absurdly small those portions are for those already inflated prices. Ridiculous. I got a quart jar a few months ago online and it was pretty cheap.

I guess Goldmine is an appropriate name, hey?

Jen

scoobert,

I am not sure using kraut juice to ferment cabbage into sauerkraut is the way to go. There are several stages in fermenting kraut, which it may not get to using the existing liquid.

If you did a side-by-side of fresh cabbage made into kraut, you may really see and learn the difference.

I have known people to stick cucumber slices into used bread-and-butter soluti0on. They do it exclusively for the flavor. It is a non-fermented pickle, so it doesn't matter.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:scoobert,

I am not sure using kraut juice to ferment cabbage into sauerkraut is the way to go. There are several stages in fermenting kraut, which it may not get to using the existing liquid.

If you did a side-by-side of fresh cabbage made into kraut, you may really see and learn the difference.

I have known people to stick cucumber slices into used bread-and-butter soluti0on. They do it exclusively for the flavor. It is a non-fermented pickle, so it doesn't matter.

Regards,

Thanks for the advice...I know the traditional way is no added probiotics, and no added brine, only the juice from the vegetables. Will try that next!


Jen-- yeah, exactly. I swear their prices online were cheaper a few months ago...but I got a bunch of stuff in one shipment so I don't remember the exact price.

Seems like it would be pretty simple for someone local to set up a little fermented vegetable business and distribute to all the "usual suspects"...dontcha think?

Hi,

I don't think anyone on this thread introduced any probiotics. My sauerkraut was made from cabbage and salt. If the level of liquid generated from the cabbage wasn't quite enough, I made a brine of salt and water to compensate. This is as traditional as it gets.

Regards,

I lived in Germany for many years, and I was a big fan of sauerkraut as a sidedish. However, the finished product there is much different from what we usually see here. Most home cooks and "traditional" restaurants use bacon, onion, caraway, and apple to flavor the kraut and temper the acidity.

In Chicago you can usually find kraut in jars at a reasonable price. Kuhne and Gundelsheim are good German producers, and Polonaise from Poland. They are priced around $4 for 30 oz jars. I avoid kraut packed in cans or plastic. Eurofresh in Tinley has all of these, at least they did last time I was there (it's been awhile as I live in GA now).

Well I finally got around to canning the kraut that has been fermenting in the Harsch 20 liter crock today. Figuring what we already removed from the crock for previous uses, I figure we got about 13 quarts of kraut from the 20 liter crock. The previous year I did not can the kraut and it eventually went a little off. I also canned the kimchee I had made in the 5 liter Harsch crock and have 3 quarts and I figure we used about a quart so they yield was a little higher. Next time I am going to stuff the 20 liter crock to the top. The large winter cabbage made excellent kraut. That cabbage was not only the hardest I ever cut but had the sweetest taste of any cabbage I have ever had.
Well nothing to do but wait until fall to fill up the 20 liter crock with hot pepper mash. The farmer and i ordered the plants and I figure we are going to plant about 100 yds of pepper plants.
BTW the kraut made excellent Rueben sandwiches with the left over corned beef from St Pat's that I had corned myself!-Dick

Tasted my first batch of my home made kraut, and.....well salty is the word that comes to mind. My initial batch I know I over salted and then I did add some liquid to the batch and added more salt than called for. But for a first try it was OK (if you like salt) I do also think I let it sit too long because while some of the kraut is nice and firm some seems to be almost mush. I will try it again, but may wait a while. My wife did not care for the smell at all, I only noticed it a few times, but will clear out a spot in my liquor cabinet to let the next batch sit. I will also try with less salt.

Does anyone have an idea if it possible to use too litlle salt and what would be the issue there. Its all practice so I don't mind a few bad batches.

thanks again

Hi,

How much salt did you use? I use no more than 3/4 cup for 25 pounds cabbage according to his method.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

How much salt did you use? I use no more than 3/4 cup for 25 pounds cabbage according to his method.

Regards,

I kind of made ala my mothers method and just added some (not measuring) and then figured it needed a lil bit more and put more in. i know thats not the way to do it, but as I said it was all just practice. My next batch will be more precise, esp after this salt meal.

Hi,

You might be able to minimize the salt by rinsing it. It's at least worth a try.

Regards,

I weigh the correct amount of cabbage for the salt I use.-Dick

Hi,

I was reading on the internet that someone is fermenting turnip greens. Has anyone tried this or tasted a fermented green? I'm leaning toward trying this simply to understand the outcome.

Any thoughts?

Regards,

Not turnip greens but last summer I quick pickled some turnips and they came out great, kind of like bread and butter turnips!

bjt