Many times friends and family are swapping saurkraut recipes for New Year’s. But since this is a good time of year to harvest cabbage, why not fall?
Honestly, I have not thought of cabbage as all that exciting.
But can you imagine a meal that includes: cole slaw, fried chicken hot off the grill, mashed potatoes with gravy that melts in your mouth, German mustard potato salad with a little kick, hot cornbread with real butter melting all over the top of the loaf, small pieces of grilled corn on the cob that has that sweetness that’s perfect, and finally the most amazing apple pie made by another friend whom I miss terribly?
Her pie was so good it would be auctioned off at church auctions and fetch outrageous sums of money. I could stop here, after this word picture, and say I’m full and have nothing more to add, but you really need all the parts to have a perfect meal.
Many of our Amish neighbors have kept the tradition of making their own sauerkraut. Some non-Amish families have kept this tradition in their own homes.
I have heard that when you turn this already highly nutritious food into a preserved food and pickle it as sauerkraut, it becomes a superfood.
Homemade sauerkraut has many beneficial live bacteria that aid digestion. There is enough of a health boost containing probiotic beneficial bacterial organisms in a single serving of sauerkraut as in an expensive probiotic health drink, which I do take regularly, because it makes me feel better.
The Chinese who built the Great Wall of China used a version of pickled cabbage 2,000 years ago like Kimchi, which was around before the Great Wall was built. Kimchi is a part of most Chinese diets even today.
Stomach infections would often weakened the Roman legion. As they traveled, the Roman Legion ate sauerkraut in barrels, which helped keep their ranks full.
Many British sailors died from scurvy in the early 1700s. But in the late 1770s, Captain James Cook brought 60 barrels of sauerkraut on his voyage and had no scurvy problems.
You’ll need to find some unusual pieces of kitchen equipment. I remember the family’s grandma pulling out a crock and a wooden lid. A crock is a ceramic tall pot that won’t react with the cabbage as it ferments.
The most unusual piece of equipment was a sawed-off baseball bat. It was used to break down the leaves of the cabbage after they were sliced thinly.
Afterward, she covered the crock with cheesecloth. Grandma also had a healthy-sized knife to slice the cabbage into thin chunks on a solid cutting board.
This family’s recipe was simple and had proven itself for many years: 25 pounds of cabbage and ¾ cup pickling salt. Start by removing the hard leaves, quartering the cabbage, and slicing it thin as a dime. Mix the shredded cabbage and salt, then let stand for several minutes.
Pack the shredded cabbage and salt mix firmly into the crock with the cut-off baseball bat, and let the cabbage come to the surface, filling to within 3 to 4 inches from the top of rim.
Cover the crock with the cheesecloth or another white fabric and tuck it in around the edges. Don’t leave the cabbage exposed to the air — fit waxed paper around the lid so it fits inside the container and can move as it ferments.
Weigh down the lid so it can move but stay on top of the cabbage as it ferments. From 68 to 72 degrees F, gas bubbles will form, which means fermentation is happening.
Fermentation will take place from 1 to 6 weeks and varies with the temperatures and recipe variations. Taste daily.
Keep the brine covering the cabbage as it ferments, and adjust the water as needed by removing or adding a little. Skim off the scum as it forms.
This recipe makes 8 quarts of sauerkraut, which can be hot packed, raw packed, or frozen.
Finally, seal this kraut tightly. After done refrigerate as you open the jars.
Remember that you need to taste the kraut regularly to make sure that your sauerkraut tastes the way your family may like it.
Sauerkraut is a super-food worth considering for our health and passing along to younger family members.
Have a nice stroll in your garden this week as the season comes to an end. If you have questions about what’s going on in your garden, don’t hesitate to email me at
ericlarson546@yahoo.com.