Late spring I had an a lesson on making sauerkraut from a master of the trade! Thanks Rob Falt for sharing your culinary skill with me. It was so interesting, easy, fun and a nod to both of our German roots. Rob even gifted me with a “real” sauerkraut crock. The lid sets into a water trough around the lip of the crock that makes a water seal.
This year I grew OS Cross cabbage and the heads were big. In the picture is 18 lbs. worth of cabbage. The heads reminded me of Flat Dutch; flat on top and a little loosely leafed but not as loose as Flat Dutch. They were not hard solid on the inside like Stonehead. At first I was disappoint, but then discoved they shredded much easier in my electric Hamilton Beach vegetable shredder than the really solid heads. That appliance is probably the only appliance I have from our wedding 53 years ago!
After shredding the cabbage, we sprinkled it with 1/3 cup of salt (regular not iodized) and in about 20-30 minutes it had started shrinking and drawing it’s own water. After working it with our hands a few minutes, we stuffed it in the two gallon sauerkraut crock and poured the juice over top, laid a few large cabbage leaves on top of the shredded cabbage, and then set the crock weights on top of that. We added just enough water to cover the cabbage, filled the crock trough with water and set the lid. The cabbage filled the crock only about half way. Yes, you read that correctly. My two full bowels of shredded cabbage only filled a two gallon crock halfway. I put the crock in my pantry and marked my calendar for six weeks. (4-6 weeks is the suggested fermenting time).
Every Monday morning I peeked in at the kraut and made sure it was still covered with water and the outside trough still had water in it so that it maintains a proper seal and does not spoil. The Falts said the fermenting cabbage makes gas and you can hear and smell it burp occasionally-just like a fart! I guess I was never in the pantry at the right time as I never heard or smelled it.
Cabbage:
It does not matter what variety of cabbage you use. If you have a variety you like, use it. However, I found this to be very interesting….An internet search on the OS Cross variety of cabbage said that this is a favorite in Alaska and the heads can grow 3-4 feet in width and weigh 70 lbs. Wow! That is absolutely amazing. They must like the rich Alaskan soil and cooler temperature! My plant grower likes this variety as they say it does not split as quickly when hot weather hits it.
Canning:
Canning the sauerkraut is very easy. I dumped the crock of kraut into my large metal bowl. I took my hands and stuffed it into pint and quarts jars. (I have found a pint is a good meal for two people). I used just a few tablespoons of fermented juice to finish filling the jars. I pressure canned the pint jars at 10 lbs pressure for 15 minutes and the quarts at 20 minutes. My one turn was a mixture of pints and quarts so I did it all at 20 minutes.
The end result was 10 pints and 3 quarts of beautiful golden sauerkarut. I can’t wait to taste it. Our favorite dish is porkchops and kraut. I put two porkchops in a baking dish and top with one pint of kraut. Do not add any extra liquid. It makes it own. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hr. 15 mins. I use the thin cut pork chops. Baking time may need to be adjusted for thick cut.
One little warning…. messing with the fermented kraut does make your house smell– not too pleasant. Some of my family thought it plain stank! My son-in-law said, “I can’t imagine anyone eating something that smells that bad!!! Which day are you fixing that for supper? I might just have to be somewhere else!”
Other recipes:
Rueben Sandwiches: Pumpernickel bread, good corned beef sliced, swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing.
Sauerkraut and hot dogs. Bake the two together just like how I do the pork chops.
Nutritional Value:
According to the VeryWellFit.com website: A one-cup serving of sauerkraut (140g) provides 72 calories, 1.4g of protein, 18g of carbohydrates, and 0.2g of fat. Sauerkraut provides fiber and is a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, and iron. This nutrition information is provided by the USDA.1
Along with being low calories, it is high in Vitamin C. It is full of gut friendly bacteria and its substantial fiber content could help smooth your digestion.
