Homemade Sauerkraut?

[Chromaflage]

My wife's family is very German and her late grandfather used to make sauerkraut every year. After he passed, my wife's mother inherited the recipe and the crocks. They made a batch about 5 weeks ago and it's been sitting in the crock ever since. Well, today it was officially deemed done and ready to eat. Holy smokes, that stuff is good! You can't buy that in stores! Anyone else make their own sauerkraut?

[Trick]

I love sauerkraut, but hearing how long it sits around "rotting", kinda' makes me.

Oh well, I keep eating it anyways.

[Smj]

The wife met a gal years ago when she worked at Kienow's that made kraut. Every year for a few years we'd trade a salmon or two for a few quarts of the stuff....Man, what you said, can't buy that in stores. It was pale in color and cruunnchyyy, and not as sour as the pasturized, store bought kraut. The gal gave us a recipe for a kraut caserole that had Jimmy Dean sausage, noodles, cream of something soup and cheese in it, it's not the same with store bought kraut though. We lost touch with the gal when Kienow's closed.

I've though about running an ad in the personals looking for JOYCE the KRAUT lady.

My dad and I have made our own kim chee, thats pretty easy and only takes a few days.

Smj

[bassin]

I make two styles one in the crock and one in the jar,s. Crocks one came out to salty this year.
What is the Recipe your family used?

[HntnFsh]

My dad makes at least 1 batch a year (Krock).Best krout I ever ate.

[Chrome Bumper]

Yes we make kraut, tough recipe, cabbage, salt. Used about a dozen heads this year, weight it down, stays nice in the fridge after its done fermenting.

Kimchee too.

[Bobberman]

Originally Posted by Trick

I love sauerkraut, but hearing how long it sits around "rotting", kinda' makes me.

Oh well, I keep eating it anyways.

Fermenting is good, rotting is bad.

[Mark Smith]

I make naturally fermented sauerkraut several times a year. I have a couple of crocks with a water seal trough around the top in which the lide fits into and there is never any waste because of air. I use about 1/2 cup pickling salt and about 1\4 cup of whey to the gallon. I have never had a bad batch. (knock on wood.) The longer you leave in the crock the more sour it gets. I like about 3 weeks at room temprature. I then put it in jars and refrigerate. It will keep all year. Also make great dill pickles, pickled jalapeno peppers, and am now trying pickled brussel sprouts for the first time. I use whey in everything I ferment because it starts the fermentation process fast and strong.

[Trick]

Originally Posted by Bobberman

Fermenting is good, rotting is bad.

You say Tomatoe, I say Tomotoe.

[CHUMSALMON]

my father also makes several batches a year, and always in the crock. As been said many times, there is nothing like it sold in the stores. I end up with a few pints of it every year. It's treated like "white gold" in our house. Every year i tell myself i'm going to make my own, but alas it's one of the projects that never gets done. If i remeber i'll ask for the recipie, it was my great-grandmothers who brought it with her from germany.

chumsalmon

[SturgeonKing50]

Homemade Saurkraut and Sausage. Thats what I am talking about. Toss in some good homemade Beer and watch out. Are you feeling me on this one?

[Chrome Bumper]

Originally Posted by CHUMSALMON

my father also makes several batches a year, and always in the crock. As been said many times, there is nothing like it sold in the stores. I end up with a few pints of it every year. It's treated like "white gold" in our house. Every year i tell myself i'm going to make my own, but alas it's one of the projects that never gets done. If i remeber i'll ask for the recipie, it was my great-grandmothers who brought it with her from germany.

chumsalmon

ShredCabbage layer in salt and cabbage. Put a board ontop and weight like a bag of water or water jug. You want all the leaves pushed under brine. Cover container. (I use plastic) Let ferment for a week or so in a cool area (until its kruat and quits fermenting) put the whole shebang in the extra frig. Stays really good for near a month, then the flavor fades. You can can it, but it tastes a bit like newpaper after the heat and it wipes out the nutrition like probiotics(sp?) and vitamin C. Good cabbage, with flavor and body, makes better kraut. Our container is like a 4 gallon plastic beverage pail which has a tight cover, A dinner plate with a water jug on top presses the cabbage under water. Then I put the lid on and a garbage bag over the whole thing to keep the air away until it goes in the frig.

Keeping the equipment clean, like you are making cheese or wine (Soap, a splash of bleach, hot water) seems to keep it from going bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saurkraut also check out kimchee, it seems to last longer.