Sauerkraut!

Any warning signs you remember will be most appreciated!

How long does it take for the salt to juice out the cabbage?

Here's the tips: White scum on the top is fine, skim it off. If the kraut comes out slimy, it was either too warm or not salty enough, and bad bacteria processes happened: Toss it. Rot, mold, dark color, or pink color near the top: Toss the affected bits; allegedly the rest will be fine.

Forgot the spices. I'll put those in tomorrow when I check on it. This is quite exciting, but I'm sure it will wear off in a few days. Unless there is MOLD!

I'm really tempted to get a vacuum sealer - I could package up kraut, apples, berry puree, tomato paste, jelled stock, etc etc.

I just started a batch today. Rah!

What happens if it's been too long?

Have you got some yummy suggestions for it? I was going to go the Germanic route this weekend, frying it up with sausages and serving with mashed potatoes.

I find it's more like I have to come up with excuses not to have just a little on the side.

I am making sauerkraut! There was a recipe in the paper last weekend, shred the cabbage, add salt (probably added too much, for one small head),and knead for 10 minutes. Put it in a glass jar, filled to the top, and covered with plastic wrap with a rubber band. And put in a bowl for overflow, luckily. It's warm in the apartment, so it should be "ready" in a week. I guess cooler temps and longer fermentation tastes better, will try that in the fall.

Holy crap, the last and first time I made sauerkraut was 2005.

I got a 5 litre crock and Sandor Katz's The Art of Fermentation - just packed 3 heads of cabbage in the crock with sea salt and caraway seeds.

i got that for my mom for xmas! great book!

It's very fun - I got some airlock mason jar lids so I can try smaller batches of stuff. And me and anky were talking about brewing cider!

I need to get my kraut game on again soon, maybe try branching out from cabbage this time...

I'm thinking carrots for the next thing I try. I thought I was going to have to pour brine over the cabbage today, it seemed awfully dry yesterday. But this morning there's juice almost over the weights. I'll top it off tonight if they aren't covered by half an inch.

cool jaq! good luck! art of fermentation is just an incredible book. i am a total sandor katz fanboy, i had a chance to meet him at the boston fermentation festival this fall. he's an amazing person.

on saturday i packed a few finished crocks of sauerkraut into jars. it was 10 lbs worth of cabbage, probably the biggest batch i've ever made. i am continually in awe of how varied a given batch can turn out. this summer i made a batch and it fermented for 2 weeks, and my summer krauts often have this delicious effervescence and crispy and tart. this current batch i just made fermented in the crocks for maybe 7 weeks? and it's a milky, murky hue and is very sour and slightly more tender than the quick summer kraut.

caraway seeds are my favorite spice to add. i'll throw in some juniper berries too, sometimes some cumin seeds. i think i put in some coriander seeds in this current batch

i'm gonna have to eat this kraut everyday to finish it up by spring. it came out to about 4 quarts of kraut total, something like that. 2 quart jars and one of those big spring-top jars that looks like 2 quarts. i love all kinds of fermented foods year-round but i do find that in winter i tend to really crave them, they provide brightness and intensity and fire when i really need it, i do attribute a lot of my more positive outlook this winter to eating a lot of fermented foods and getting into the rhythm of making them with fall harvests.

i enjoyed listening to this podcast recently:

http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/podcasts/adventures-in-the-global-kitchen-the-art-of-fermentation

Awesome, thanks for that link!

yea great podcast. sandor katz is such a great speaker. the momofuku guy less so. i keep noticing him say something that needs explanation and then katz explains what the other guy is talking about so much more clearly.

(i also have kind of an inherent distrust of momofuku and david chang despite them doing so cool things with food)

jaq, when will the kraut be ready and can i invite myself over when it is? <3

It is making little blurpy noises in the kitchen now! (the crock has a water sealed lid) - should be ready in 4-6 weeks!

yay! also (off topic) we have raspberry canes if you want some, jaq. next weekend?

Oh! Yes! And I have some new bitters for you to try - Power Pink Sour: cranberry, hibiscus/sorrel/flor de Jamaica/pink grapefruit!

oh boy, those are some of my favorite flavors, so i accept the offer! <3

Opened the lid on the crock for the first time today - 21 days is tasty and crunchy, but I think in 3 more weeks it will be even more delicious

it is so good already! thank you for sharing. raspberries are on their way as we speak!

Packed the finished kraut into jars just now - so tasty! I got three quarts and one pint and two bowls worth from those 3 heads of cabbage. Carrots or kimchee will be next.

cool! last batch i made (mentioned upthread) turned out kind of weird -- one smaller crock was a little *too* ripe and had kind of a funky taste, the larger crock turned out very crispy and tasty and had a brighter sourness with less funk. both had quite a bit of kahm yeast on the surface that was very persistent over the 7 or so weeks of fermentation. i think the yeast and other surface molds penetrated deeper in the smaller crock, resulting in more unpleasant funkiness.

I was surprised to not have any mold form on this batch! The other thing I read was that the smaller the batch, the quicker it ferments - which I guess makes sense.