Sauerkraut!

Really, who doesn't love sauerkraut?  Ok, well, a lot of folks, honestly. Including me, until I was in graduate school in Texas.  Not that I'd ever really had sauerkraut before.  But the part of Texas that Texas A&M is in has a huge German and Czech community, so your sausages and fermented cabbage products abound.  (As do kolaches, which are awesome, but do not involve sauerkraut.)  There was a local brand that was sold in the refrigerated section in the grocery stores that completely changed my mind, and all brats are naked without it.  That was quite some time ago, so I can't even begin to remember the name of it!

After moving out of Texas, my interactions with sauerkraut were relatively limited - I'd occasionally buy a bag or jar in the refrigerated section of the market, but that was it.  Four years ago, I taught a First Year Seminar class called "Food:Science, Transformation and Culture".  I used as a base text the book "Cooked" by Michael Pollan, and in the chapter entitled "Earth" he discusses making sauerkraut - specifically way too much of it using a crock and many pounds of cabbage.  I had my students that semester make kim chi and sauerkraut, adapting this recipe for "Small Batch Sauerkraut" from the website kitchn.com that makes a little less than a quart.

For each 1 qt mason jar

1 medium head green cabbage (about 3 lbs)

1 ½ tbs kosher salt (or 1 tbs pickling salt)

1 ½ tsp caraway seeds (can add other flavorings - I left these out)

1.         Clean everything, including your hands!

2.         Slice the cabbage – cut into quarters and trim core.  Slice each quarter into halves lengthwise.  Slice each wedge crosswise into very thin ribbons

3.         Transfer cabbage to a gallon freezer Ziploc and sprinkle salt over.  Seal the bag and start working the salt into the cabbage by squeezing and massaging the cabbage through the bag with your hands.  Gradually the cabbage will become watery and limp, about 5-10 minutes.  Add the caraway seeds now if you like.

4.         Pack handfuls of cabbage into the jar, every so often pack down the cabbage.  Pour any liquid released by the cabbage while you were massaging it into the jar. 

5.         Weigh the cabbage down w/ a small plastic bag of pie weights or marbles to keep it submerged below the brine.

6.         Cover the jar w/ a piece of doubled cheesecloth and secure w/ a rubber band.

7.         Press the cabbage down every few hours.

8.         Add extra liquid if needed; after 24 hours, if the liquid is not above the cabbage, dissolve 1 tsp salt in 1 cup water and add just enough to submerge the cabbage.

9.         Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days: As it’s fermenting, keep the sauerkraut away from direct sunlight and at a cool room temp, ideally 65-75°F.  Check daily and press down if the cabbage if floating above the liquid.  Start tasting after 3 days, when it tastes good to you, remove the weight and screw on the cap, and refrigerate. You can also allow the sauerkraut to continue fermenting for 10 days or even longer. There's no hard and fast rule for when the sauerkraut is "done" — go by how it tastes.  While it's fermenting, you may see bubbles coming through the cabbage, foam on the top, or white scum. These are all signs of a healthy, happy fermentation process. The scum can be skimmed off the top either during fermentation or before refrigerating. If you see any mold, skim it off immediately and make sure your cabbage is fully submerged; don't eat moldy parts close to the surface, but the rest of the sauerkraut is fine.

10.       Store sauerkraut for several months: This sauerkraut is a fermented product so it will keep for at least two months and often longer if kept refrigerated. As long as it still tastes and smells good to eat, it will be. If you like, you can transfer the sauerkraut to a smaller container for longer storage.

 Chopping the cabbage:

 Packed into the bag with salt:

After 10 minutes of massaging and squeezing, packing it into a jar:

 

Plenty of brine!

Keeping the cabbage submerged for a few days w/ a ziploc filled w/ dried beans:

A few days later, you can see the bubbles as it ferments:

I let it go for about 7-8 days, tasting every couple of days until it got to the level of sauer I like.  Then pop the lid on and put it in the fridge and it'll keep pretty much forever.