Christmas Kraut

I am very happy when something is fermenting in my kitchen. This past week I purchased two bags of cranberries on sale and decided it was time for another experiment in food fermentation. I chose this recipe as my base and altered it based on what I had available in my kitchen.

Into the food processor I put about 1/2 a head of green cabbage and sliced/shredded it with the attachments. This was salted with sea salt while I chopped up one bag of cranberries, three cups, in the processor by pulsing in the processor as well. I juiced and zested one orange and added it as well as the juice from 1/2 lime. Then a one inch piece of ginger was finely chopped and added to the mixture along with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Finally 1/2 cup of raw sugar was added to the mixture. 

Packed into my jar and covered with kombucha. I love the idea of using a real live substance like kombucha to serve as the fermentation assistant in my sauerkraut. You want all the solids to be immersed in liquid so that they are not exposed to air that might encourage bad bacteria/yeast/molds to grow. 

Ready for the fermentation cupboard, this receptacle will be out of the way, in a dark place for several days until nice and sour.  The final product's sour factor is determined by how long you allow it to ferment. Longer fermentation will result in more sour flavor or simply stop the fermentation by refrigerating it and eating!

- Posted using BlogPress by Amanda

Sauerkraut Production

Yesterday my mother and I got busy in the kitchen after a harvest of her red and green cabbage. I get so excited thinking about eating the product of our toil and the work of fermentation. We put together three different sauerkraut recipes and I'm pretty pumped about all of them.

We used a purple garlic sauerkraut recipe from Holistic Kid. 

Our roasted jalapeno and garlic sauerkraut recipe came from Balanced Bites. 

One giant bowl of shredded cabbage.

I love garlic and there was certainly copious in these krauts!

Into the basement for fermentation to do it's magic.

One crock of plain sauerkraut

Waiting for kraut

Earlier this week I got upset because I could not get into the home preserved jar of sauerkraut. I went to the fridge, took the jar out, and realized why it was still in there. Because I couldn't open the freakin jar. It was super frustrating to be unable to budge the metal clamp that keeps the glass lid on. I literally thought I was going to break my fingers trying to pry it off. So yesterday when I was at the farm I enlisted the help of my father and I finally got into the jar of sauerkraut! It was so worth the effort and wait.

I ate sauerkraut for breakfast this morning. I added it to my potatoes and onions for a nice addition to my morning eggs. Wonderful. Lately I've been loving my turmeric and paprika spices on my breakfast skillet so that is why my picture is quite yellow. A nice thick piece of raw cheddar goes on top for a fine breakfast feast!

 

Funky

Just some funky cucumbers.

It's about to get really funky in this house. We started the process of making sauerkraut with some cabbage that I harvested this week. We got out these antique kraut making jars from the basement and went to work with our cabbage.

Step 1: Adorn your favorite paper chefs hat and get to shredding cabbage. Thank God for apparatuses such as the food processor that shreds it nicely for you.

Step 2: Pack it into jars. Smash the cabbage in as much as you can. My fingers worked quite well compared to crippled fingered father and pretty nails mother.

 
 Step 3: Add 1 teaspoon salt to each jar.

Step 4: Pour boiling water to fill jars. Get air bubbles out using long chopstick like actions along edges of jar.

Step 5: Add a seal, probably only available in your local hometown store that carries everything, literally everything. These stores are 10 billions times better than Walmart, because not only do the people that run them actually know what an antique rubber seal for canning jars are, they know exactly where they are and they know your name. Not to mention they have run the store for 50+ years and if they are the epitome of supporting local.

Step 6: Place jars in a container to sit for 4-6 weeks. These will bubble over so it better be a good container to catch the juices. We put ours in a cooler and it sits in our back hallway for safe watching. 

Step 7: Wait for the aroma of fermenting cabbage to engulf your home. Thank God this is not going on in my home. Sorry parents.