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Its ready after 1 month of fermenting.



Into the cans



sealing the lid on the can



into the pressure canner



on to the stove, process at 5 psi for 8 minutes.



the recipe

Sauerkraut

5 kg cabbage
250 ml coarse salt

select firm , mature heads of cabbage
remove outer leaves and any undesirable portions
wash and drain. cut into halves or quarters and core
use a shredder or sharp knife to cut cabbage in thin shreds
mix each shredded head with 25 ml salt and allow it to wilt
this allows the cabbage to be packed without bruising
continue shredding and salting until half of the cabbages are done
pack salted cabbage and juice in a clean earthenware crock
press cabbage down firmly and evenly.
Continue shredding and salting the rest of the batch
the cabbage should be packed only to within 6 to 8 cm of the top of the crock
cover cabbage with a damp , clean , thin cloth such as muslin
tuck the edges down against the inside of the crock so no cabbage is exposed
rinse cloth daily
place a double plastic bag filled with water on top of the cabbage
to seal the cabbage from air
when fermentation begins , remove scum daily, and replace wet cloth
wash outside of plastic bag and replace the water daily
continue this for 5 to 6 weeks until crock contents look and smell like sauerkraut.
If sauerkraut is to be stored at room temperature on the shelf ,
it must be processed as a home canned product .
prepare jars, lids and boiling water bath
heat sauerkraut to simmering
pack hot in jars, leaving 2 cm head space
cover with boiling liquid. Remove air bubbles
wipe sealing edge of jar Apply lid on rim
process in boiling water bath for 15 min for small ( 500 ml) jars
and 20 min for 1 l jars or process in pressure canner at 35kPa (5 lb. )
pressure for 8 minutes for either size jar
remove jars from canner. Cool . test for seal . label and store.


Ps. to make it pink I used 4 green heads of cabbage and two red heads. LOL

I was going to start a batch of sauerkraut this weekend so this post comes at a great time for me. I have a 1 gallon (4 L) crock, do you think I can get two heads of cabbage in it?

A clean food grade plastic 5 gallon bucket works well if you can't get it in the crock.

Mum and Dad would have a wooden barrel for pickling cabbages (whole)
then moved to a 20 litre food grade plastic bucket with a big river stone to keep them under water.
Smelt pretty ripe but fantastic for stuffed cabbage rolls.

Pretty impressive turn of the century technology there

That looks great, Big Guy. I can understand your need for it considering the recent andouille batch.

However, I'm surprised that you use so much salt. I use 25 g salt/kg cabbage as a brine to cover the heads. What starter do you use? I use a tablespoon of yoghurt. Also, I don't shred it first, just halve the heads. Of course, when canning, shredded is more practical. I use to make a 15-20 kg batch every autumn. I keep the barrel on the balcony. When spring comes, it's gone.

grisell wrote:That looks great, Big Guy. I can understand your need for it considering the recent andouille batch.

However, I'm surprised that you use so much salt. I use 25 g salt/kg cabbage as a brine to cover the heads. What starter do you use? I use a tablespoon of yoghurt. Also, I don't shred it first, just halve the heads. Of course, when canning, shredded is more practical. I use to make a 15-20 kg batch every autumn. I keep the barrel on the balcony. When spring comes, it's gone.

note the salt is not weighed but measured volumetrically. No starter needed. just cabbage and salt, nothing else added. Simple and easy.

I do mine similar to Big Guy except that I vac pack and freeze it.Have also never added a starter, if I remember there are natural spores on the leaves that get the lactic thing going.The colour of the batch Big Guy did looks great. The only canned stuff that you can get here is hard to discribe, whenever I offer someone some they tend to decline after eating what they thought was kraut but leave with a bag to take home.

Big Guy wrote:
note the salt is not weighed but measured volumetrically. No starter needed. just cabbage and salt, nothing else added. Simple and easy.

And you never had any problems with mould? Lucky you! Mould is the reason I abandoned shredding and went for a brine instead. Probably a starter is unnecessary, but I've noticed that fermentation is faster with a starter (2-4 days in room temperature) which should reduce the risk for infection. I add 1 g ascorbic acid to 20 litres of water to eliminate chloramine in the municipal water. Otherwise the fermentation is very slow.

I don't want to poke my nose into your method, but have you tried freezing instead of canning? That way you wouldn't need to pasteurize it. Also, I've also noticed that freezing improves flavor.

Never had any mold. I don't add any water. Just cabbage and salt. The cabbage makes its own liquid. I would freeze it but I only have 2 deep freezers and they are full of sausage and other meats. By canning it can sit on the shelf with no other energy input.

Big Guy wrote:[---] I would freeze it but I only have 2 deep freezers and they are full of sausage and other meats. [---]

Lucky you - again!

What kind of cabbage did you use?

Was planning on making some this fall and you've inspired me yet again.

Jogeephus wrote:What kind of cabbage did you use?

Was planning on making some this fall and you've inspired me yet again.

I grew a red cabbage called "Super Red 80" I got the seeds from Vessey, and my green cabbage was "Blue thunder" from Stokes seeds.

I grow a mid season crop as the early ones just split on me. The late season just don't size up enough for me.

good luck my friend.