Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Raw Sauerkraut

Even though I despise hot dogs, I do enjoy sauerkraut. I had no idea though that most sauerkraut you buy is void of most nutrients. Raw, uncooked sauerkraut on the other hand it a superfood. You can read more about it here

Wanted to eat very little processed foods, I decided to make my own sauerkraut. It was super easy. Back in Oct. when we visited Lee Turkey farm I actually got two heads of cabbage (we picked them ourselves, so cool) for $1.00 each. Great deal.

I made a coleslaw with raw apple cider vinegar with the first head. The second I have been fermenting into sauerkraut. I just ate a cup full and it was good.

Basically it was super easy.
I washed the cabbage.
Then I cut into tiny pieces.
All the recipes I found online talked about putting it in a crock, which I do not have. I almost bought one, but in the interest of frugality I made due with what I had.
I put about 1/3 of the cabbage in a large canning jar, adding seas salt every few layers. Then I covered with filtered water, leaving about 2 inches of nothing above water. Make sure all cabbage is covered. Then I put cheesecloth, and then plastic wrap over the top. To hold it in place I put the rim of the canning top (but left off the lid, air needs to escape.)
I put the other 2/3 in a glass wine container I got from a friend (I wanted a glass container to make sun tea in.) Once again I covered cabbage with sea salt and filtered water. Then, I covered container with cheesecloth and plastic wrap, then rubber banded the two in place.
Every few days I check to assure all cabbage is below water line.
Occasionally I have stirred. But mostly I have done nothing.
It has been fermenting about 3 weeks now and already taste good.

I will let it continue to ferment, eating some as I please.

Have you ever made homemade sauerkraut?

-Becky

3 comments:

Becky said...

Sauerkraut is one of only 3 foods my husband doesn't like :) I'm the pickiest eater EVER, so I don't like it, either! Lol!

I have a question for you: do you think a mother needs to have a passion for learning/teaching in order to homeschool her children?

My son is only 15 months, but I'm already thinking about whether I will homeschool or not. The thing is, I have never been passionate about learning. School was easy for me - I was able to get A's and B's with almost no effort. I did one year of technical college and was glad to be done with homework forever :)

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Anonymous said...

Nope, but I did make kimchee with a friend. I think this idea though -maybe I can get my mother (who adores sauerkraut) to join me in making some.

Penniless Parenting said...

I've been making sauerkraut for a while- its my first lacto-fermented food that actually worked out properly for me. Thanks for sharing your instructions with the Hearth and Soul blog hop!