Sauerkraut
Submitted by fyl on Tue, 2010/03/02 - 07:16.
A few months ago a NL member was asking about where to get Sauerkraut. While there are places to buy it, making it was also suggested. This morning I ran into an interesting recipe from a book called Wild Fermentation. What I particularly like about this recipe is that it offers you a this is easy, just do it attitude.
While my friend Willy bought a glass jar to make Kim Chee, this recipe has inspired me to ask one of the locals to make a straight-sided ceramic crock for the sauerkraut process. Where we live, there is an amazing amount of cabbage grown. In this recipe, the only other required ingredient is salt but there are suggestions for other things as well, many of which are also grown locally.
The author could be called a fermentation activist which seems like a good thing health-wise. He is also the author of a newer book, The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved which also looks very interesting and fitting for people in Nicaragua.
The more I read about why fermentation makes sense, why packaged food is a bad choice and such, the better I understand why there are some very old Nicaraguans (for example, Ana has a great grandfather than lived to be about 125 and Mary Luz recently sent me a photo from one of her relative's 100th birthday party) that would be called poor and living far from city water, grocery stores and medical care.
sauerkraut
I used to make sauerkraut, and it was very simple. Shred the cabbage, place 1 tablespoon salt in a canning jar with lid (mason jars.) and set in a cool place. I will have to check the recipe again, everything had to be sterilized first but it was simple, and the sauerkraut was perfect. The recipe was given to my by a German lady. And I figure that if it was good enough for the Germans, it must be good sauerkraut.
That was me looking for
That was me looking for sauerkraut. I actually found it in several places, but when I found out how simple it was to make, it sort of burst my bubble, and I lost interest. The salt you use protects what's underneath from attack by undesirable bacteria and other stuff. The hard part I think is finding the right kind of cloth to cover it. You need something that will breath but also filter out contaminants. The other part that I thought might be somewhat difficult for many of us was finding a cool corner to keep it while fermenting. The timing shouldn't be a problem, as that is generally controlled by taste. If it tastes ready, it's ready. If not, it's probably not.
Did They Wash
their feet afterwards? What part of Europe are we talking about? I think I might have been there . . . .
Nicakraut...
I brought two of my crocks down, the local cabbage worked well. It got a little 'fuzzy' on top,
but below that it was good Nicakraut
-Doug ©
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate
That certainly brings back memories
We used the very same recipe on the farms in Europe. The difference was, we used to produce it in large quantities and make it in oak barrels or oak tubs. The sauerkraut produced on our farms was repacked in smaller containers and then shipped and sold in stores all over Central Europe.
To pack it down during the initial process, the women would stamp the kraut with bare feet to compact it. (And yes you smart guys, they did wash their feet before climbing into the barrels or tubs..)
Since the fermenting sauerkraut was generally stored in root cellars or wine cellars, the cool temperature of the storage area ensure that the batch of sauerkraut kept well for the entire year.
This makes me even more determined to dig a root cellar behind my house in order to have a cool storage place for all those great home made food such as sauerkraut.
As for adding anything other than salt to the kraut..... Pure sacrilege !!!!!
Thanks for the post fyl!
Schpeck....
Chopped up Schpeck (the fat off smoked bacon) with a little onion, chopped up boiled potatoes and fried - 'Brat Kartoffel' (Hash Browned Potatoes), Sauerkraut and a big fat Bratwurst. Ahhh...