homemade sauerkraut
Three days ago I took about a few minutes or so out of my day I made sauerkraut. I bought one green cabbage, shredded it, added salt and whey, and mixed it up a bit and pounded it (very meditative to pound a cruciferous vegetable, let me tell you). Was called away and forgot about it. A few hours later I mixed it and pounded some more and packed it into jars, and left them on the counter for three days. Voila! After about 20 minutes work, I have sauerkraut, the winter vegetable miracle, and a great impromptu ‘salad’!
Like most people in the US today, the first time I ate sauerkraut it was out of one of those jars from the store. The manufacturer makes the sauerkraut, adds preservatives and then pasteurizes the kraut, which kills any beneficial bacteria that ever lived in it. Plus, it doesn’t taste as good as homemade, it’s usually mushy, yuck! When I was a kid, I called the stuff ‘sour crap’ to annoy my family members. As an adult, I did like it occasionally on a hot dog. But never with anything else.
Then I made the sauerkraut out of Nourishing Traditions. I was a bit scared to eat it when it was done… I mean, I left FOOD on the counter for three days! And then I’m supposed to eat it? But I took a tiny bite, and it was surprisingly good, with a crunch that I wasn’t used to in sauerkraut. Plus it made me feel good! Pretty soon I was eating it with all sorts of things.
Make ‘Kim’s Kraut Coleslaw’
And today, I made a ‘kraut coleslaw’ out of my sauerkraut, and it was soooooo good!! Very easy too, just get about a half cup of sauerkraut (best with newly made sauerkraut I think), add a bit of mayo, and lots of black pepper. You could also add a touch of honey if you like the sweeter coleslaw. Make sure you get some of the sauerkraut juice in there too. Try this! I’m a coleslaw lover, and this is much healthier than eating raw cabbage coleslaw. What a great side dish, sure wish my family would eat it!
Health Benefits of Sauerkraut
I did some research on sauerkraut to write this blog post, and I was amazed how much information is out there about it. This is one food that has been eaten by my ancestors (I’m German/English descent) for hundreds of years. And every country has their own twist on the recipe. People used to eat a fermented side dish with almost every meal. Any lacto-fermented vegetable can aid in digestion, provide extra nutrients, and help digest meats or other foods.
For more info on why unpasteurized sauerkraut is so good for you, please see this article from the Weston A Price foundation web site.
Until then, happy sauerkraut making! And let me know what you put in yours. I’m thinking of combining mine with the ginger carrots, yum.
Sauerkraut
Rating: 1 fork (key)
I am the only one in the house that will even try it. <Sigh>
Difficulty:
Easy
Page in NT: 92
Kindle location:
Ingredients:
1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded
1 T caraway seeds (optional)
1 T sea salt
4 T whey
In a large bowl, mix cabbage with caraway seeds, salt and whey. Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately, but it improves with age.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
My husband doesn’t like sauerkraut, rye bread, corned beef or Swiss cheese. But he’ll eat all four in a Reuben sandwich because the sum is greater than the parts! I’m not a sauerkraut fan myself, but after studying the health benefits I tried some and it wasn’t awful.
One of my favorite things about the lactofermented veggies in NT is that they can be consumed by the tablespoonful, not the cup, without missing out on their amazing benefits!
I tried making this sauerkraut a few months ago, only I didn’t have whey so it was just water, salt, and the seeds. I couldn’t quite get it covered with the liquid so it wasn’t quite what I wanted. Now that I have whey regularly I can try again.
I also tried making lacto-fermented beets, again didn’t cover enough, and got a bad sort of science project.
Soli… yeah Sally says that the whey isn’t necessary, but it acts as an inoculant and just pretty much ensures success! I haven’t made a bad batch yet. I have had that liquid problem too. I just pound some more and maybe wait awhile, or when I’m packing it into jars you can add a bit of water to cover. It will usually correct itself though as it ferments.
Peggy… thanks for making me laugh this morning! My husband is like that too. Very true about the quantities, these fermented veggies are meant to be condiments. I think as with anything, you can overdo on sauerkraut.
I am pretty sure I have had more than my fill of goitrogens this week by eating too much sauerkraut.
Thanks for you kind comment on my blog!
We love sauerkraut here, especially with kolaches. I’m planning to make the NT style this week! I have a recipe for sauerkraut casserole on my blog which makes a great side dish.
http://www.milehimama.com/2009/12/06/sauerkraut-casserole/
We haven’t made sauerkraut for ages, so hoping this will inspire. We use Sally’s recipe too and it’s always produced very tasty kraut.
Hi Kim
I wonder if they’ll make a film of your blog? Meryl Streep has a passing resemblance to Sally Fallon I suppose…..
I didn’t make any sauerkraut this year as I was ill. But I have just made some yakraut – lactofermented yacon -s weet and sour taste with crunchy texture. Should be good to build up healthy bacteria in the gut as yacon is said to be a “prebiotic” that stimulates their growth.
rhizowen… oh geez I think the movie thing on this subject may have run its course. But you never know! Great to lactoferment most any veggie, will be so good. thanks for reading and supporting the blog…
Choclette… yes I have never had bad results with the whey, which is nice. I appreciate your comment! Keep them coming…
I, on the other hand, have never had good results with whey. Possibly because I have always had yogurt whey, not raw milk why. My blog post on kraut details my “taste based” method of salt only kraut making. I’m glad you are getting the readership you are getting… so great to see this stuff getting more and more attention! I love putting kraut in soup, or tuna salad, or in burritos. I eat some kind of kraut almost every day.
The first time I made sauerkraut, it was a Disaster because I goofed when I converted the American measurements to metric. Yet, I tried again. I didn’t use the caraway seeds or the whey. I put one jar in the basement and another in the refrigerator. It took six months to ferment to a good taste, but I think that was because of not using whey. Not surprisingly, the basement version came out better.
My German husband (who is the reason I am now living in Germany) ate up all my homemade sauerkraut! With no complaints! Without having to be forced! So, this recipe can be done with success without whey. I didn’t actually try my own sauerkraut because I couldn’t get past the smell. LOL! Perhaps I will make this again sometime and use the whey. And perhaps I will try it myself. If and when I do, I’ll comment again.
Kim,
It indeed is “meditative to pound a cruciferous vegetable,” I think that’s my favorite part about this recipe (aside from eating it, of course). While pounding/meditating, it occurred to me a subtle double meaning that may lie behind the title “Nourishing Traditions”.
When I first heard it, the obvious meaning to me (and I suspect most people) was that it is a book about traditions that nourish us… “nourishing” being an adjective for “traditions.”
I didn’t think about that further until I was pounding cabbage tonight, when the thought came that there’s another meaning, if you think of “nourishing” as a verb instead of an adjective: in that light, NT, and you, and your readers are nourishing traditions so that they survive through the generations.
Thanks for such a great blog!
Scott
I tried this recipe a few days ago and look forward to trying it. But I’m worried something went wrong. The jar has been leaking. Did I not leave enough space at the top? I did leave an inch from the cabbage but then the liquid made it less than an inch. I’m sure I did the lid tightly enough.
How will I know that it is edible or not?!
Olivia… if it smells unpleasant after it’s done fermenting and been in the fridge to cool down, you wouldn’t want to eat it. Trust your nose (especially if you are already familiar with how sauerkraut should smell). I would first try to see if there’s an air pocket in the jar somewhere, maybe the cabbage needs to be packed down a bit? If that’s not it, there was probably just a bit more water in your cabbage. And it’s probably fizzing a bit so it could leak. You could let the gas off by ‘burping’ the jar but if all else fails then drain off a bit of the liquid, being careful to keep the cabbage submerged still. This is good stuff so I wouldn’t throw it down the drain but drink up! A little sauerkraut tonic is good for you…
Let us know how it goes..
I opened the jar of today and it fizzed lots and lots of liquid came bubbling out! I noticed over the days that more and more air pockets seemed to appear within the cabbage. I thought this was from the gases forming?? Maybe I just needed more liquid?
I did try a bit and it didn’t taste too bad though. I’ve put it in the fridge and can try it tommorrow. I’m worried though as maybe the air pockets are not a good sign?
I have only tried the pasteurised sauerkraut so not sure how this one is meant to taste.
Maybe I’ll have to try again and this time leave more room at top of jar and pound cabbage for longer to get more juices out.
I tasted my sauerkraut again from the fridge and still not sure if it’s good or not. It seems a bit fizzy. Is that a sign of alcohol? But then I thought kefir also has the fizzy effect, so I can’t decide :-S
fizzy is usually really good!! Does it taste good to you? try it in something such as on some soup or stew or eat it with some meat. Drink some of the juice too if you have extra, it’s a great digestive tonic.
I think I’ll make another batch and leave the 1st one in the fridge, then I’ll compare the taste with the 2nd improved version