Sauerkraut

Please read the best practices before starting: General Good Practice

This is a specialized sub-section of other vegi fermentation.

In order to understand how this works, a basic knowledge of osmosis is required. For simplicity sake, we are just talking about salt here (though this theory hold true for all solutes: sugar, etc). A cell has holes in it, through which water flows freely. In the normal operating procedures of life, the concentration of salt inside and outside of cells is about the same, so the water flows evenly in and out. Basically, the water goes where more salt is. The water is "trying" to make the concentration the same. SO. If the OUTSIDE of the cell gets very salty, then the water will flow OUT of the cell.

What you really need to know is that if you put a lot of salt on something, it draws the water out.

We are going to use that process to make brine out of the juices inside the cabbage. This also concentrates the flavors in the vegis.

However, cabbage is a fairly sturdy vegetable, and so we are going to help things along by exposing more surface area (and cells) to the salt, by doing some bashing.

Equipment needed:

Basher (more on this in a minute)

Container to bash in

Sharp knife and cutting board (or cabbage slicer)

Cabbages

Brewing container (I prefer 1/2 gallon Mason jars with an airlock)

Salt

The plan:

First up, clean up your cabbages. Cut off the stem bit, pull off the outside layers of leaves and inspect them. Wash them, make sure they don't have mold or dirt or bugs or whatever. Keep doing that until the leaves are clean.

Slice the cabbage fairly fine, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Next, BASHING! Whoo hoo!

If you are making a very small batch, then a little wooden hand basher and a bowl are fine. If you are making a big batch, then I highly recommend the following:

Old stainless steel pot

+

5 foot long 2X4, one end of which has been soaked in bleach for at least 24 hours

Bash in batches. Put about 3/4 of a cabbage in the pot at a time. Put the pot on the grass (yes, outside), and then use the clean end of the 2X4 to bash away. You don't need to make it into pudding, just whack it until it is kinda broken up. While you are doing this, add about 1 TBS of salt per 1/2 cabbage. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, then bash a little more. It should get quite squishy at this point.

Put the bashed cabbage into the fermenting container. If you are using the jar method, leave about 1.5 inch of headroom, put on the airlock, and you are good to go!

If you are using an open container (like a crock), then things get a little more complex. You'll need to PACK the sauerkraut quite tightly, so that the brine rises. Then you'll need to weight the vegis down, and check regularly for mold.

I like to add some garlic to my sauerkraut. Oh, and red cabbage so it is bright pink :) You can add all kinds of spices, wine, or all kinds of things. Fermentation time varies wildly, depending on temperature. If it is hot, then your 'kraut might be done in a few weeks. In Oregon winter, it takes months, sigh.