- Yesterday I picked up two glass crocks and eight heads of cabbage at Walmart. You guessed it, sauerkraut! It is perhaps the easiest vegetable to ferment and, if you like sauerkraut, there is no comparison between homemade and store bought. I used the 4mm slicer with my Cuisinart and ended up with 16 pounds of sliced cabbage. I took a minute to pat myself on the back. Wow! 16 pounds of cabbage AND two loads of laundry washed and hung out on the line in the span of an hour. Then I thought of my grandmothers and great grandmothers who did it all by hand, including the laundry while doing even more household chores. It was a humbling experience.
- Silently thanking my grandmothers (and my mother for passing on the knowledge and the desire to follow in their footsteps, I finished prepping the cabbage. I added 3 and a half Tablespoons of sea salt per 6 pounds of cabbage,tossed it to mix, and divided it evenly between the two crocks. For the next hour, I periodically pushed the cabbage down with a wooden spatula as it made it's own brine. Fermenting cabbage needs to be completely covered in brine for the process to work correctly. In the event that enough brine is not made, you can make additional brine by adding 3 Tablespoons of sea salt to a quart of water, bringing it to a boil and then cooling to room temperature. Add ONLY enough brine to cover the cabbage. Cover the mixture with a clean linen cloth (or cheese cloth, overturn a small plate and add a weight to keep the cabbage submerged. I use a rock...a very clean rock.
- Much to my family's chagrin, the crock will sit covered in a dark corner of my kitchen counter fermenting for the next three weeks. For some reason, that corner of the kitchen works best. As long as you don't uncover it, there is no odor. At the end of three weeks, I'll taste it and if ready, can in pint jars using the water bath method. As soon as I figure out how, I'll post a pic. Thanks to my son.... and resident IT this website and everything I do in it exists.
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