Anyone else make sauerkraut?

[Misschief]

My sauerkraut is a success!! I sampled it today and it's amazing! Now, it has to pass my granddaughter's taste test (I know it will). My husband, on the other hand, says it tastes rotten... I told him that, basically, that's what sauerkraut is - rotten (fermented) cabbage! Silly man!

Dahlia, I "burped" the jar every couple of days - opened the jar to let the gasses escape. My family is from northern Holland. Sauerkraut was also very popular there. My mother told me that my grandmother used to make it all the time. My mother tried making it a few times but couldn't get past the smell and disposed of it before it was ready.

Will I make it again? Oh yeah!!

Bamagirl, I'm new to the whole fermented foods thing but I'm loving it. Right now, I have kombucha brewing, kefir doing its thing, fermented cauliflower just started, a ginger bug, and a rye sourdough starter. Right now, I'm in the middle of making my first ever Sourdough Rye Bread that has no wheat and no yeast; it's a slow process but I'm really looking forward to trying the bread. My daughter is gluten intolerant and she can't wait to try it, too. If it works, I'll definitely be making more.

 

[Dahila]

Misschief it seems that you have the knowledge, I also make Kefir, today I cooked new potato , put some fresh dill (from my garden) on it and have a cup of kefir,
It was delicious. I make famous Polish Hunter stew, soups, we eat sauerkraut uncooked too, I just add some sweet onions, black pepper and avocado oil (I hate olive oil, this is why)and let it stay for an hour or so, Precious food, full of vitamin C.
Oh for the last 5 years or so we bake the bread; sourdough bread. I can not touch store bought bread. Sourdough starter is actually a yeast, but the wild one, natural one, not made in the factory. Very easy to make from scratch. Add some flax meal when you bake the bread, I usually add two tbsp for a loaf Rye bread will still have some gluten but in very small amount.
I am already harvesting my romaine and eating it like crazy. I had never tried Kombucha though, or maybe I had but do not remember.......

 

[Misschief]

Misschief it seems that you have the knowledge, I also make Kefir, today I cooked new potato , put some fresh dill (from my garden) on it and have a cup of kefir,
It was delicious. I make famous Polish Hunter stew, soups, we eat sauerkraut uncooked too, I just add some sweet onions, black pepper and avocado oil (I hate olive oil, this is why)and let it stay for an hour or so, Precious food, full of vitamin C.
Oh for the last 5 years or so we bake the bread; sourdough bread. I can not touch store bought bread. Sourdough starter is actually a yeast, but the wild one, natural one, not made in the factory. Very easy to make from scratch. Add some flax meal when you bake the bread, I usually add two tbsp for a loaf Rye bread will still have some gluten but in very small amount.
I am already harvesting my romaine and eating it like crazy. I had never tried Kombucha though, or maybe I had but do not remember.......

Dahila, what is Polish Hunter stew?

I love homemade bread...I only wish I had more time to make it. Next weekend I will make some Danish Rugbrot, made with flax, sunflower seeds, and other seeds, also sourdough starter. I'm REALLY looking forward to that one.

mmmm... romaine... yum! I didn't plant any lettuce this year but a friend has romaine.

 

[Dahila]

1.5 kg sauerkraut
2 onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 Petko ordinary sausage, sliced
250 g boneless beef, cut into cubes
250 grams of veal, cut into cubes
100 g bacon, diced
150 ml of red wine
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1/2 handfuls of dried mushrooms
Half a handful of prunes
2 bay leaves
3 grains of allspice
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon marjoram
salt and pepper to taste
method of preparation
Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 2 hours
1
Rinse the cabbage under running water if it is very sour. Squeeze the excess juice, and then shredded. Put into a large pot and cover with boiling water, add the plums, bay leaves and allspice. Simmer until soft (about 50 minutes).
2
In the meantime, pour boiling water over dried mushrooms in a small pot. Set aside.
3
Fry the onion to the zeszkliła. To add fried onions and sausage zesmażyć browned.
4
In a separate pot boil about a liter of water. To boiling water add the beef, veal and bacon. Cook for about 20 minutes, then drain meat.
5
When the cabbage is already soft, add the mushrooms (drained and cut into small pieces), meat and onions with sausage. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. If there is too much water, you need to pee.
6
Add red wine and cook for another 15 minutes. Season with marjoram, caraway seeds, salt and pepper. Add the tomato puree and heat are good all the while stirring. If the stew is too dry, pour water on the score.
7
If we want a tastier stew, you can still simmer over low heat, covered, for an hour. However, try to keep from sticking, and from time to time to mix, and if it's dry - water the water from the mushrooms.
We make a huge pot like 15 l of that twice a year and have it ready, in the freezer. I also add some shredded fresh cabbage like 2/3 of sauerkraut, 1/3 fresh. The longer it stays in freezer the better it is. I spice it up a lot)

 

[DeeAnna]

Mmmmm. Dahlia, that sounds very good! I'm saving this one! I would use venison in place of the veal, because we always have deer meat but it is hard (impossible!) to find veal where I live.

 

[Dahila]

DeeAnna I do not drink but I like the taste of beer, good beer , it goes very nice with that Hunter stew. ) It is perfect for a winter and cold days, very filling

 

[Misschief]

Dahila, that does sound good! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

 

[Arthur Dent]

I sampled my sauerkraut today and was less than thrilled. Deb liked it, but to me it has an unpleasant undertone. I put it in the fridge, maybe it will be better chilled.

 

[DeeAnna]

The lady whose tutorial I followed said "...It will continue to ferment – aging like a fine wine – but at a much slower rate that before. If the flavors are too intense, leave it – in your refrigerator – for a month or two and then sample it. You will be amazed at how the flavors have changed...." http://www.makesauerkraut.com/sure-fire-sauerkraut-in-a-jar/

So it sounds like you have a good plan -- try letting your kraut mellow in the fridge and see if it tastes better to you after some more time passes.

 

[Dahila]

I just took bread out of oven. Sourdough bread the pics are not the best Each of them is around 900 grams
I like to know what is in my food, and how is made

 

[fuzz-juzz]

I also have a tub full on the go. We'll see how it turns out.
Some of the shop bought stuff is vile...it's heated in vinegar to start of fermentation.
Of course it will taste different and more mellow than homemade sauerkraut haha.

 

[Cindy2428]

I inherited a ceramic croc my Dad found somewhere. This thing holds a minimum of 50 heads of cabbage. This was a Fall job for me. My Dad was a patternmaker from Germany and he made a mandolin out of an old interior wood door. You could shred 2 cabbages at a time on that sucker. Guess what we ate for dinner a minimum of 2x a week in the winter for years.... He stored that croc in one of his garages, cold enough, but so that it didn't freeze. Sausage & Kraut, Smoked Pork Chops & Kraut, Smoked Ham Hocks & Kraut.... The part I always loved the best was the homemade mashed potatoes with melted butter and a few breadcrumbs. If I can find that thing in my storage unit I'll take a picture.

 

[Dahila]

I am looking everywhere for that thing, the ceramic croc, the best. Unfortunately the prices are astronomical for it. Mandoline; my hubby build one. One huge cabbage fits in the slot. 6 heads shredded in like 15 min

 

[Dahila]

BTW when you make sauerkraut, put some apples in it, whole apples, Granny Smith would be good, and when it is ready take some out and try. It is delicious, combining sweet and sour taste. They do not look the way they taste
Misshief do add shredded carrots to the sauerkraut? Try it

 

[shunt2011]

I love apples in my kraut. I don't make my own but when I cook fresh kielbasa and kraut I always add onion and chopped apples. YUM!

 

[Dahila]

We all are very creative people, and it is not about saving the money. I just made enough laundry detergent to last probably 4 years ))

 

[Arthur Dent]

I just took bread out of oven. Sourdough bread the pics are not the best Each of them is around 900 grams
I like to know what is in my food, and how is made

That looks good! I am a sourdough baker myself. We do love a good sourdough.

 

[Misschief]

BTW when you make sauerkraut, put some apples in it, whole apples, Granny Smith would be good, and when it is ready take some out and try. It is delicious, combining sweet and sour taste. They do not look the way they taste
Misshief do add shredded carrots to the sauerkraut? Try it

Dahila, I don't but I'm certainly willing to try it. I live in a family of purists when it comes to sauerkraut, though.. myself included. My sauerkraut did pass the Trinity test (Trinity is my 12 y.o. granddaughter). Yay! What do you do with the apples you put in with the sauerkraut?

And you're right, we really are a group of creative people. Even my granddaughter made that comment today. She loves the fact that I try, and do, all kinds of neat things... knitting, soap making, baking, cooking, now sauerkraut, pickles, kombucha.... all kinds of things. She's just waiting for me to make "pickle pops"... popsicles made from pickle juice.

My sourdough rye turned out really well. It's an odd-looking loaf but it tastes good. I let my daughter and my husband try some this afternoon and got the seal of approval from both.

Cindy, my mother used to have one of those crocks. It didn't come with us when the family moved from Winnipeg to Vancouver, unfortunately.

Arthur, isn't sourdough bread THE best? I remember when I first got married (many, many years ago), our local newspaper had packages for newlyweds. Included in it was a small cookbook from Fleischmann's yeast. The only recipe I ever made from that book was the sourdough white bread. It quickly became a family favourite. Even my father-in-law loved it. When his wife restricted his diet, excluding all white bread, he rebelled and asked if I could please, please, please make him a loaf of sourdough. I did. The only thing wrong with the recipe was that it didn't really explain how to maintain the starter.

 

[Dahila]

Do you know how to maintain the starter?
I really enjoy making my foods, I am kind of worry what I eat. We had so many recalls lately due to listeria. Hi fellow Canadian. )

 

[Arthur Dent]

We might just have to start a sourdough thread