quote:

Originally posted by Shawn W:
I'm really glad you enjoyed it Bryan.

Great to hear from you too!

Hey Bud, It's that time of the year again. I just got home from the cabbage wagon guy. It's the end of the season and he's selling the Basketball size heads of cabbage @ $0.50 a head or 3 heads for a $1.00. Came home with 22 of them. I bought 21 but he said take an extra one on me.

Hey there, I thought I would revive this thread. I've put up a small batch today as part of my quest for a good Reuben Sandwich.

Couple of questions:

1) How long will this keep in the frig?

2) Does it need to be cooked before use in a Reuben?

1) vac sealed in Mason jars or bags. Be carefull with the bags David. I lost my Foodsaver 1050 doing it in bags.
I have kept it for 4+ and have read up to 6 months. Once it goes in the fridge, the fermentation stops. With the air removed, your looking at longer than it will last.
2) No fresh uncooked kraut is really good, and good for your tummy.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lohrentz:
... 2) Does it need to be cooked before use in a Reuben?

Like Bryan says it's great fresh too and you don't have to cook it first.

When I make Reubens I get 3 fry pans going. One for the meat, one for the kraut and one for the sandwiches. I like to lightly brown the kraut. I drain it, keep the juice then add a bit of juice back if the kraut got too dry.

I like browned kraut as a topping for perogies as well.


Wow Bryan, I didn't know it would keep so well. I'll have to set up for vac sealing jars.

quote:

Originally posted by Shawn W:
Like Bryan says it's great fresh too and you don't have to cook it first.

That's what Bryan meant? I thought he meant the opposite...

quote:

2) No fresh uncooked kraut is really good, and good for your tummy.

Bill

quote:

... but your neighbor is right about fresh sauerkraut being very good for you. The friendly lactobacilli created in the fermenting process by which cabbage is transformed into sauerkraut aid digestion, increase vitamin levels, produce a variety of beneficial enzymes and promote the growth of healthy flora throughout the digestive tract. And in a study published in the October 23, 2002 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Finnish researchers reported that fermenting cabbage produces compounds known as isothiocyanates, shown in laboratory studies (in test tubes and animals) to prevent the growth of cancer. There's no evidence, yet, that these compounds have the same effect in humans, but we do know that isothiocyanates occur naturally in broccoli and brussel sprouts, vegetables which appear to be protective against cancer.
....

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA281235

Punctuation means everything! An added comma would have completely changed the meaning.

2) No, fresh uncooked kraut is really good, ...

2) No fresh uncooked kraut is really good, ...

Thanks for the clarification, Shawn. Sorry Bryan

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Hays:
Punctuation means everything! An added comma would have completely changed the meaning.

2) No, fresh uncooked kraut is really good, ...

2) No fresh uncooked kraut is really good, ...

Thanks for the clarification, Shawn. Sorry Bryan

Bill

How do ypu figure
Here was David's ? "2) Does it need to be cooked before use in a Reuben? My answer was "NO fresh uncooked kraut is really good, and good for your tummy".
Punctuation aside it's pretty clear that No it doesn't need to be cooked. Fresh uncooked kraut is good, and good for your tummy.

After meeting Bryan and hearing about his German mother's cooking, and her taking him to Baltimore for German "groceries" , and then reading Brandon's post about his vacation cruise, I got to thinking.....

I grew up with very nasty, greasy boiled spareribs with canned kraut....hey....Norwegians aren't known for their good kraut or ribs

On a trip to Europe in '95, we ate at a place in Munich...they had a "sausage platter on kraut"....I was leery about ordering it 'cause of my experience with kraut, but man o man....that was the BEST kraut I'd ever eaten !!! We couldn't stop eating it ! The waiter told us it was made by the owner, and he was known for his kraut ! I never knew it was fermented in crocks...

Since then, I've tried to find some kraut that would get close....no luck ! The local groceries have the bagged stuff, and it's WAY better than the canned, BUT....

So I ask myself....I wonder if Bryan has posted anything about kraut recipes ? Doing a search, dang if I don't find this thread and Shawn's recipe, along with Bryan's "Bigidty Bomb" evaluation If we'd use the search function, there would probably be no new posts, and Chris A. would be a rich man

So here is my question : I don't want to buy 50 lbs of cabbage, nor make a huge batch...I also don't have a large crock ! Can I scale this procedure down, and use a 5 gal food pail from my days when I tried to brew my own beer ?

Thanks for any advice !

Dean...

quote:

So here is my question : I don't want to buy 50 lbs of cabbage, nor make a huge batch...I also don't have a large crock ! Can I scale this procedure down, and use a 5 gal food pail

Yes Dean. The ratio is for evey 5lbs. of shredded cabbage, you use 3 TBS of Morton's Kosher salt. Yes you can use a plastic pail, no worries.

quote:

Can I scale this procedure down, and use a 5 gal food pail from my days when I tried to brew my own beer ?

Maybe David Lohrentz can comment on how his small batch went.

One thought for you, the method I posted is uncovered during fermentation. If you do too small a batch with too large a surface area I think it could dry out. The options are to ensure your cabbage is deeper than the diameter of the container you use, or cover the kraut. Fermentation doesn't require fresh air. I've not used covered method so I can't tell you if it changes the end product but I know people do it ... in a variety of ways. Saran wrap, freezer bag filled with water and so on.

Letting the crocks be exposed to air is how I was shown. It seems modern thinking on it is to keep fresh air away from it.

I use a 3 gal crock when I make small batches. Just use the 3 TBS KS for every 5 lbs of cabbage. I cover mine with saran wrap, and use a rubber band to kepp it tight on the crock/s.
I have a 10, 6, and 3 gal crocks for making kraut. I often spread the kraut making out over a week or so. I just make enough to fill one crock. It's easier than making it all at once. HTH

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan S:
I did some searching for a salt baseline when making kraut. Every recipe i came across was the same. 3 Tbs of salt for every 5 lbs of cabbage. Just thought i would post this in case anybody wanted to know. Bryan

We are prepping to do 250lbs this weekend and comparing notes with mom we are having a hard time rationalizing 3TBSP/5lbs shredded cabbage. We use 1/3 of that amount of Windsor brand Coarse Salt. At the moment I suspect two things, salt mass difference and 'food safety of fermentation in higher ambient temperature as recommended by USDA'. It makes sense to recommend the highest salt brine concentration possible to ensure food safety (too high of salt will cause problems with kraut as well). I'll add some more notes and pics after this weekend.

I'll also hazard a guess that average ambient temp where we store our kraut is between 55º and 65º. This is a shed outside in Alberta fall (temp differences probably explain product inconsistencies between years).

We don't ALWAYS get crud floating on the top but we are going to try covering this year.

We did 250lbs of cabbage this weekend filling a 20 and a 5 imperial gallon crock.

We used 1035g of Windsor coarse pickling salt (just over 3.5C) and 9 28g packs of organic baby dill (all we could find, would have preferred to use regular baby dill bunches).

Quick figuring shows if we followed the baseline of 3 TBSP per 5 pounds of cabbage we would have used almost 3 times as much salt.

This is the way the family has made it for over 80 years. One exception, we are trying the cover on the big crock, covering just seems like a good idea.

Start to finish clean up was 6 people over 6 hours.



The Krauthouse:



20 imp gal crock with lid:



Crock stamp:



250lbs of cabbage:



Stomper and shredder:



Getting the next generation involved:



Salting:



Stomping:



1/2 of Baby dill used:



Getting juicy:



Adding dill:



5 gal filled:



5 gal top:



1/2 way done:



20 gal filled:



20 gal top:



20 gal lid on:



Shredder and stomper cleaned and drying:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shawn W,

I've had good results using a large plastic bag filled with brine (in case of a leak) to weight my cabbage and cover it. I have occasionally gotten a little scum on the outer edges. It's worked well for me over the years, but I don't use as large a crock. Your crock is a real treasure, as are your kraut board and pounder!

Rita

Thanks Rita!

Mom said she got more scum more when she tried doing it in the house (warmer). Bryan also mentioned the liquid filled plastic bag, sounds like a good idea to me.

The grandpa actually used to make kraut in large oak barrels ... I wonder if that enhances the flavor at all.

Believe it or not it the crock was made between 1915 and 1924. Mom got it at a yard sale for $20 a few years ago. Medalta stamp reference

Great pics, Shawn. But, what with the RAID ? LOL I remember the old Raid Scream from the older days..

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Hays:
Great pics, Shawn. But, what with the RAID ? LOL I remember the old Raid Scream from the older days..

Bill

Oh I remember that, too funny Bill! I just grabbed something and put it in to help give an idea of size of the shredder and stomper.

Great Pics there Bud, love the 20 gal crock. My biggest is a 10 gal Redwing, then a 6 gal Redwing and a 3 gal no name. I'm getting ready to start the process soon. Thanks for the emails.

We let the kraut go three weeks this year. It was abnormally warm for the first week or so ... high 70ºs ... or it might have gone four or even five weeks.

I wasn't around for the canning, but I got my hands on a gallon of fresh stuff .

The kraut overflowed the large crock at about 4 days in, had to take out a couple litres of juice. As it's fermenting the volume increases due to bubbling.

We were happy with the lid and covering, so we'll be doing that in the future.

Edit: changed overflowed at 10 days in to 4 days in .... second hand info, I wasn't there when it happened

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shawn W,