Last Sunday, we learned how easy it is to make homemade sauerkraut. I forgot my camera (again…) but the inimitable Ilex over at Homesteading in a Condo recently posted a photo essay of how she makes kraut. I refer you to her excellent guide to making sauerkraut, and make a few notes here about how we varied the process slightly.
Holly has beautiful, vintage sauerkraut crocks, and she makes several gallons at a time. If you are not blessed with such crocks, or want to make smaller batches, all is not lost! Canning jars make excellent small-batch kraut containers – use either quarts or half-gallon wide-mouth jars.
You can either salt the shredded cabbage in a bowl, tossing thoroughly to mix, or layer cabbage and salt right in your crock or jar. In either case, every few inches you need to stomp the cabbage and thoroughly bruise it. This gets it to release its juice, which will combine with the salt to make the salt brine that preserves the cabbage. Shred, salt, stomp. Shred, salt, stomp. That’s about all there is to it.
When you get to the top of your container or run out of cabbage, you want to make sure the kraut is submerged under brine. In a canning jar, I get great results by tucking a whole cabbage leaf into the jar, tucking it down around the shredded cabbage, to make a “stopper.” Then I put a quart-sized freezer bag into the neck of the jar and fill the bag with brine (2T salt to 1 quart water). Make sure the bag fills every crevice and holds the cabbage under the brine, and top with a loosely-sealed plastic lid.
Some other thoughts:
- A 3-4 pound cabbage makes about a quart of kraut.
- Use a total of 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of salt per quart of kraut. Measure it out beforehand and sprinkle it in evenly as you go.
- More salt preserves better; less salt tastes better. As long as you keep the cabbage submerged and the top on (but not tight), you can usually keep the kraut from getting moldy.
- Mold or “scum” (usually kahm yeast) is not dangerous, but it doesn’t taste good. You can safely scrape it off (taking a layer of kraut with it, if the gunk isn’t free-floating) and the rest of the kraut is OK to eat.
- You can season kraut. Try:
- 1-2 Tbl Caraway seeds
- 1-2 Tbl mustard seeds plus 1-2Tbl prepared horseradish, dispersed evenly throughout the kraut
- Add red pepper flakes, shredded carrots, shredded daikon, scallions, and ginger for a kimchee-like salad (this works great with nappa cabbage, and may need some additional brine)
Also, you don’t just have to eat your kraut straight. Try these:
- Crumble and brown sausage with a diced onion. Add shredded cabbage and kale, a diced tart apple, and cooked diced potatoes (boil them with a lot of salt!). At the last minute, stir in about a cup of kraut and just heat it through. Top with cheddar, if you’re feeling decadent.
- Add well-drained kraut to potato pancakes.
- Mix 1/4 c. kraut or pickle juice, 1/4 c. vinegar, 1/4 c. salad oil, and 1 Tbl prepared mustard. Mix together and use as salad or slaw dressing.
We had a small, fun group for our apple turnover class, led by J.J. Jacobson (the 
If you’ve been enjoying Preserving Traditions events, you might consider joining the Grange! The Grange is full of folks who are interested in old-fashioned food and friendship…it’s part of the reason Preserving Traditions has been such a great fit.
September saw two tomato canning workshops with Preserving Traditions: one at our original 
The Preserving Traditions-West Bloomfield Tomato Canning event was a hoot! We ended up with 4 enthusiastic canners from 4 different experience levels. One participant was fairly proficient at canning, one was an “ex-canner”, another had only made jam and the last was completely new to the whole canning experience. The approach was very laid back with much support and input by all attendees,complete with active discussions! One conversation revolved around why our mothers learned to can from *their* mothers, but didn’t pass that knowledge to us. Why was that? Was it because of too many memories laboring over a hot stove in a summer kitchen that lacked air conditioning? Were our mothers the result of the convenience food era, that canning was considered “backward” or unsophisicated? Our “ex-canner” spoke on behalf of our mothers, and confirmed that these reasons could have very well lead to the broken link between generations. However, with use of the commercial kitchen at the Westacres clubhouse we had lots of room in which to work, a relativity cool kitchen that didn’t need the aid of air conditioning and best of all great company that made the task all the more enjoyable!
I’m doing my first workshop on stocking a pantry to live out of! This workshop aims to appeal to a variety of folks: those who want to save money, those who want quick meal prep, and those who think the economy is going to collapse but aren’t quite ready to join a peak oil group or move to a commune. Here’s the announcement:
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