Making Real Sauerkraut
In the autumn, I start stocking up on cabbages, beets, and carrots for my winter ferments. This includes various krauts, pickled beets, and ginger carrots. We live on these through most of the winter, rather than rely on canned or frozen foods.
Now perhaps you are thinking “Ugh, I hate sauerkraut”. This was my initial reaction as well. After all, the only kraut I knew came out of a can, was soggy, and over cooked. Then I read about the great health benefits and history of saurkraut making in Nourishing Traditions and Wild Fermentation. So I thought I’d give it a try. And it turns out we love it!
Real, naturally fermented sauerkraut is crunchy, fresh, slightly sour, and a bit salty. There is no cooking or canning involved. And many flavorful ingredients can be added to the health benefits and aroma of your homemade kraut! Traditionally, it is made in large ceramic crocks. But you can make them yourself with canning jars.
Here’s how to do it:
First, gather all your ingredients. In this case, I’m going to make Cortido, a Latin-American style sauerkraut. I’ve got fresh cabbages and carrots from our local Mennonite farm market. I’ll also add chopped onion, dried oregano, and a bit of cayenne.
Next, you want to shred the cabbages and carrots. I use my trusty food processor but traditionally it was done by hand on a Wooden Slaw Board or Cabbage Slicer
Here you can see all the ingredients in my Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
I also add whey to the kraut, 1/8 to 1/4 cup for a batch this size. The purpose of adding whey is to ensure that the proper lactic bacteria are present to ferment the ingredients. Now lactic bacteria occur naturally in our environment and on the vegetables. You don’t have to add the whey. You can double the salt in the recipe instead. But the whey is sort of like insurance.
Where do you get whey you ask? Easy. Make Yogurt Cheese with fresh, plain yogurt. You can follow these directions or purchase a fancy Yogurt Cheese Maker
O.k., once you’ve got all your ingredients in the bowl, mix them together thoroughly. Now you are ready to pound your kraut. The purpose of this step is to break down the cell walls of the cabbage, carrots, etc. so the bacteria can get in there and do their job well. I use a sauerkraut stomper purchase from Lehman’s.
My Kraut Stomper.
If you don’t have a kraut stomper, you can use a Meat Mallet
The pounded ingredients.
Finally, you are going to put all the ingredients into Quart Mason Jars
Cap the jars with canning lids, label, and leave at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. The warmer it is, the less time it takes to ferment. Don’t worry if you see bubbling or if some of the juices leak out of the top. You may even see hissing. This is not botulism (which needs an absence of air to work), it is just the good bacteria turning your vegetables into sauerkraut. After the kraut is fermented, you can store your jars in a root cellar or refrigerator. Ideally, you want the temperature to be in the 40s. But higher or lower won’t hurt it. Just don’t let it freeze and try and keep it reasonably cool to slow the fermentation and prevent the lid fro m blowing off the top!
Now you might be wondering how it is you can be certain your sauerkraut is safe to eat. Don’t worry, your nose will tell you. When you open the jar you should get a nice, strong, sinus clearing wiff of sourness. If you wince with disgust and cannot bear to eat it, it is probably bad. And remember, bubbling is not a problem. My father (a.k.a. Pop) opened a jar and freaked out when he saw the bubbles. “Iiiit’s b- b- bubbing!”, he said. To this day, he won’t touch my sauerkraut. He’d rather eat that soggy, overcooked canned garbage from the grocery store. To each his own!
If you are intrigued and want to learn more about making sauerkraut and its associated health benefits, I suggest you get a copy of Nourishing Traditions
or Wild Fermentation
Hey, eating sauerkraut may even prevent the Bird Flu! Just make certain it is the real, living, fermented type, not the dead canned stuff.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
I didn’t know you could use stainless steel bowls. I’ve always used glass/ceramic.
Mom always used crocks, but I use plastic buckets. Plastic picks up odors, so I only use brand new buckets.
We always used a slaw cutter (homemade) but found that we like shredded kraut better than the stringy stuff.
You’re supposed to weight down the cabbage with a dinner plate the size of your crock, but I use a plastic bag filled with brine. And I’ve never used whey – just non-iodized salt, and never had a failure. Well, except for pickled red cabbage, which is similar to kraut but not quite the same; it has cider and sugar, and some spices. (I’ll post a recipe for that on my blog when I get around to it.)
Your “kraut stomper” looks an awful lot like the tool for feeding stuff into a meat grinder!
Pop, the stuff in tincans ain’t worth hauling home even if it’s free. The stuff in glass jars is only marginally better. You can get decent slaw in the refrigerator case of the supermarket, though. The problem with the supermarket stuff is that it’s bleached. I don’t know that it’s less healthful, but it’s not as flavorful.
Pork and kraut is traditionally New Year’s Day fare. It brings good luck. Blondie never cared much for kraut before we met, but she really likes it, since I introduced her to the good stuff. I kid her, and say that at one year a batch, we’re about 150 years old now.
Maybe it IS good for long life, and not just a great source of vitamin C.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Harl,
“Blondie never cared much for kraut before we met, but she really likes it, since I introduced her to the good stuff.”
Not sure if that is proper for a ‘family friendly’ blog, if you know what I mean (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). But, I guess I’ll let it go for now.
November 19th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
“Pop, the stuff in tincans ain’t worth hauling home even if it’s free. ”
Well, not out of the can/jar. Only buy Silver Cloud? Silver something. Anyway.
Dump the kraut in a colander and rinse well (to get rid of the nasty smell). Brown the chops then dump the slaw on top along with a diced medium onion. Mix a few Tbs of brown sugar, 1Tsp of caraway seed and 1/4+ cup cider vinegar in, roughly, 2 cups of water and pour over the top. Cover, reduce heat and braise for a few hours. Serve with potatoes (new, baked or mashed) and a few veggies (winter squash and brussel sprouts are nice). Not for the faint-hearted.
November 30th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I will avoid the canned stuff….
Next weekend I am heading to the winter farmer’s market and stocking up on my cabbage and carrots and maybe some beets.
Then making some kraut. I have a hankering for it lately. I can’t stand it except in the winter. Thanks for the instructions, I’ll be hollering if I need help! I have a stomper that came from an old meat grinder. I’ve kept it al this time because it was neat, got picked on for it too!
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:06 am
Hi I loved reading your instructions. I do mine similarly although I use a crock and then put it into jars. I put a full gallon jar into the fridge about two months ago and it is now developing a film of whitish scum on top where the brine is. It doesn’t smell “bad” (unless you ask my kids!) But I ‘m wondering how long un cooked (ie unpasturized) kraut should last in the fridge. Do you know?
Thanks, Maryann
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Hi Maryann,
I would love to use a crock for kraut! But then I’d have to find a place to keep it! When I put mine in jars, they are sealed tight. Not canned, but tightening the canning lid will essentially exclude air.
Perhaps, if you are using a gallon pickle jar or the like, air is getting in and contaminating the very top layer. I believe this happens if you leave the kraut in the crock and is not out of the ordinary. As long as it smells good (it will be pungent, mind you), it is fine to eat. Just lift off the scum on the top.
I have kraut in my cheese fridge at about 45 degrees that lasts most of a year with no problem. We usually eat it up before that time. The only ferment I had go bad was a beet kvass. Let me tell you, it was nasty smelling.
And generally, naturally fermented kraut that has been opened (of course, technically, it was never “closed”) will last a lot longer than a can of dead kraut that has been opened. There are no good bacteria to protect the canned stuff.
I hope that answers your question! If the kids won’t eat it, then there’s more for you!
December 11th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Maryann, you definitely want to remove that white scum. It isn’t toxic, but the long it’s there before you remove it, the more it will affect the flavor, and even the texture. (It’s more of problem with pickles than with kraut, as they can get really mushy.)
With pickles, you get less of the scum if you thoroughly scrub the fruit before you use it, and still less if you are careful to remove the blossom end of the fruit instead of pickling every last slice.
Tricia, if they don’t pick on you, you’re doing something wrong!
Crocks aren’t just a problem to find space for, but they’re heavy, expensive and fragile! But they ARE picturesque.
January 17th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Hi,
Nice instructions, it seems easier than I thought it would be. This is something I could do…now to get my family willing to try it.
~Karyn
January 17th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
It really is simple, Karyn. Although, I’ve heard some say that kraut made in a crock has a better texture. I like it this way just fine.
And I never thought I’d eat it myself but I actually crave it when we don’t have it! And all in the family eat it save one son. He’s picky about everything though so it doesn’t count.
March 28th, 2009 at 12:46 am
What great instructions! I don’t use whey, just salt, for mine because I find the whey makes it a bit mushier. I also like to shred my cabbage with a knife because I like bigger pieces. Maybe in the future when I’m making kraut to feed a whole family I’ll pull out the food processor and deal with shreds, but for now I like bigger chunks
I like to make my cortido with pineapple vinegar, but really should try it with just oregano and cayenne sometime. Yours looks so delicious.
I just found some kraut that was in a fridge at my parents house for about 7 months.. it is no longer salty, it is sour! The kraut should last for months and months and months.. it just get’s stronger. It is traditional for Korean families to make soup out of their really old kim chi.. I suspect cooked with pork chops would be more traditional for most sauerkraut, but soup is always good too.
Thanks for the great tutorial!
March 28th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Thanks, Alyss! I tried my hand with the pineapple vinegar and got mush so I’ve not tried it again. I’m not sure why it gets mushy. I’ve had a few batches get mushy but most are nice and crisp.
I’ve done the knife too. But for this crew, it is definitely quicker with the processor.
The Powermeister (hubby) grew up in Korea. Of course, back then, he wouldn’t touch Kimchi!! My father does the pork-chop-with-kraut but uses canned (i.e. dead) kraut. Ugh!
Thanks again for visiting!
May 11th, 2009 at 9:28 am
[...] Cabbage & Broccoli. The plan had been to Winter Sow brassicas for an early start. This will be on the list for next year. In the meantime, we’ll save seeds from our Fall 2008 cabbage plants that seem to think they’ve been growing for two years (cabbage is a perennial biennial*). The plants you see below were direct sown. They are, in fact, growing well. It’ll be a race, though, to see if they make it to maturity before the weather warms too much and they bolt. Nice thing: we can grow a second crop this Autumn for some yummy homemade sauerkraut! [...]
July 29th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
[...] Wow! Fortunately, the pigs love the stuff. I save a pint back every now and again for making sauerkraut and other fermented goodies. The whey can also be used as a cooking liquid but I prefer to use [...]
November 13th, 2009 at 1:41 am
[...] getting carrots for around $0.40 per pound and cabbage for $0.30 per pound. I’ve been making cortido, a Latin American sauerkraut. This is a great way to preserve harvest vegetables, as well as moving [...]
January 5th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
I’m new to making sourkraut! Please tell me, where can I find a kraut stomper?
January 17th, 2010 at 8:08 am
Hi Tamra! I got my kraut stomper at Lehman’s. It was actually a sausage pusher as I wanted one that was small enough to fit in a wide mouth mason jar. Lehman’s. also sells real, full sized kraut stomper for making in the old fashioned, large crocks. You don’t have to have a wooden stomper. You can use a meat mallet instead.
January 23rd, 2010 at 1:55 am
So *that* is what a kraut stomper is!
No need to spend a lot of time and effort on this one. Just stop at the lumber yard and buy some dowel. What I use is wooden clothes rod, which is a lot cheaper than the dowel sold as dowel. It’s hardwood, and you cut whatever length you find comfy.
It’s hardwood, so it doesn’t absorb anything very well, but Blondie decided it should be seasoned with oil, sorta like you season wooden salad bowls.
Actually, I keep dowel around in several sizes, because it ends up being useful for so many things. When we were first married, Blondie said, “What do you want THIS around for? Can’t I throw it out?” but after a couple of years, she’s decided it’s definitely convenient to have; she’s even added to the variety of sizes we have. We just band it all together with a rubber band, and stand it upright in the broom closet.
(Welcome back from me, too!)
July 14th, 2010 at 8:51 am
[...] it ever occur to this doctor and his patient, that eating REAL foods like fermented sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha, and pepperoni might have cured her, at a fraction of the cost without the risk of [...]