Yesterday I tackled the sauerkraut making project.
I love watching the cabbage change colors after massaging it.
The top photo is freshly cut and the bottom photo is after salting and massaging.
For those who haven’t made kraut, the raw cabbage is salted and massaged to help draw out the liquid.
I use 2 tsp. of salt (non-iodized) per 1 pound of shredded cabbage.
I have the 1.3 gallon fermenting box. It truly is as easy as “fix it and forget it”. I shredded three heads of cabbage and that’s what you see in the box. I had room for a fourth cabbage but three gives us enough for a couple of months. I eat more of it than Vince does so if we run out, I just have to wait til I make it again.
This little gizmo gets pushed down and it squeezes the liquid up to the top so the cabbage stays submerged.
I’ll open the box a few times to check on it but for the most part, it will set for 8 or 10 or even 14 days. I’d like for the pH to be 4.6 or lower but I mostly go by taste. Nothing like homemade kraut and it’s so easy.
Amy in PA says
We love homemade sauerkraut too. The date is quickly approaching, we meet up with a group at our local gun club & make 5 gallon buckets each fall (they’ll be done around New Year’s). We normally make 2 buckets for ourselves & freeze it in quart bags to use/share all year. It costs about $12-15 for 35-40 quarts of kraut depending on the cabbage price. We use big electric slicers but the “massaging” we do with these big, heavy stompers (broom handle with a weight on the bottom). Us younger folks help with the heavy labor part but it goes really fast, I can knock out a bucket myself in about 15 minutes after all these years of practice! We cover the bucket with a double layer of new/unscented trashbags (2 in case there’s a hole in one), pressed flat to the kraut, overhanging the bucket sides & filled with water to create a seal & allow it to “burp” as needed. We store them in our basement during the fermenting, only have to peek once a week or so to be sure the water didn’t evaporate. We’ve never had any issues with mold or bugs, it’s nice not to have to mess with plates & bricks & such like they used to. I thought you’d find our method out here interesting 🙂
Patti says
i just got a set of 3 “bubblers” that fit into a special lid for a mason jar. we’ll start the experiment in another week, have only made it in a crock before. got this method to try because there is too much in a crock. and NOW i find it can be frozen???
Susan says
That does look easy, though I’m not exactly sure how to massage a mess of kraut!
Diana says
You make smaller quantities than we do. We do a big crock and Galen is vrry good at tamping it down to get the juices flowing. Will get ours going once our farmstand can get in a 50# box for us