DIY Sauerkraut in a Mason Jar

[donnay]

I got some beautiful heads of cabbage from my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). So I decided to make some sauerkraut. A forkful a day will keep you regular and is a good probiotic.

Here is the recipe I have used:

How to Make Homemade Sauerkraut in a Mason Jar

Makes 1 to 1 1/2 quarts

What You Need

Ingredients

1 medium head green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional, for flavor)

Equipment

Cutting board
Chef's knife
Mixing bowl
2-quart widemouth canning jar (or two quart mason jars)
Canning funnel (optional)
Smaller jelly jar that fits inside the larger mason jar
Clean stones, marbles, or other weights for weighing the jelly jar
Cloth for covering the jar
Rubber band or twine for securing the cloth

Instructions

1. Clean everything: When fermenting anything, it's best to give the good, beneficial bacteria every chance of succeeding by starting off with as clean an environment as possible. Make sure your mason jar and jelly jar are washed and rinsed of all soap residue. You'll be using your hands to massage the salt into the cabbage, so give those a good wash, too.

2. Slice the cabbage: Discard the wilted, limp outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and trim out the core. Slice each quarter down its length, making 8 wedges. Slice each wedge crosswise into very thin ribbons.

3. Combine the cabbage and salt: Transfer the cabbage to a big mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt over top. Begin working the salt into the cabbage by massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. At first, it may not seem like enough salt, but gradually, the cabbage will become watery and limp — more like coleslaw than raw cabbage. This will take 5 to 10 minutes. If you'd like to flavor your sauerkraut with caraway seeds, mix them in now.

4. Pack the cabbage into the jar: Grab handfuls of the cabbage and pack them into the canning jar. If you have a canning funnel, this will make the job easier. Every so often, tamp down the cabbage in the jar with your fist. Pour any liquid released by the cabbage while you were massaging it into the jar.→ Optional: Place one of the larger outer leaves of the cabbage over the surface of the sliced cabbage. This will help keep the cabbage submerged in its liquid.

5. Weigh the cabbage down: Once all the cabbage is packed into the mason jar, slip the smaller jelly jar into the mouth of the jar and weigh it down with clean stones or marbles. This will help keep the cabbage weighed down, and eventually, submerged beneath its liquid.

6. Cover the jar: Cover the mouth of the mason jar with a cloth and secure it with a rubber band or twine. This allows air to flow in and out of the jar, but prevent dust or insects from getting in the jar.

7. Press the cabbage every few hours: Over the next 24 hours, press down on the cabbage every so often with the jelly jar. As the cabbage releases its liquid, it will become more limp and compact and the liquid will rise over the top of the cabbage.

8. Add extra liquid, if needed: If after 24 hours, the liquid has not risen above the cabbage, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water and add 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 temperature — ideally 65°F to 75°F. Check it daily and press it down if the cabbage is floating above the liquid.Because this is a small batch of sauerkraut, it will ferment more quickly than larger batches. Start tasting it after 3 days — when the sauerkraut tastes good to you, remove the weight, 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.

Source

[Suzanimal]

Nice. I love kraut and I'm looking for more ways to add fermented food to my diet. I'm going to try this with purple cabbage. I may even go wild and crazy and try to make Kimchi or Kombucha.

Kombucha how to
https://www.yahoo.com/health/my-adve...674463003.html

[RJB]

I do this every year around October and on occasions when I crave it.

Caution raw cruciferous vegetables increase testosterone. The first time I got addicted to sauerkraut, I couldn't figure out why my libido sky rocketted until I stumbled on an article.

I'll make a side dish that my kids love. Stir fry an onion and apples then stew with a mix of sauerkraut, grated potatoes, pepper brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, alspice (similar spices) and sometimes a few strips of bacon. My kids love this sweet sour dish.

[Suzanimal]

I do this every year around October and on occasions when I crave it.

Caution raw cruciferous vegetables increase testosterone. The first time I got addicted to sauerkraut, I couldn't figure out why my libido sky rocketted until I stumbled on an article.

I'll make a side dish that my kids love. Stir fry an onion and apples then stew with a mix of sauerkraut, grated potatoes, pepper brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, alspice (similar spices) and sometimes a few strips of bacon. My kids love this sweet sour dish.

Adds case of cabbage to shopping list...

[RJB]

Adds case of cabbage to shopping list...

Watch out. This went beyond feeling romantic, straight to hornier than a back alley goat. I was also eating of ton of kraut and kimchi at the time.

[Suzanimal]

Watch out. This went beyond feeling romantic, straight to hornier than a back alley goat. I was also eating of ton of kraut and kimchi at the time.

Adds case two cases of cabbage to shopping list...

Thanks for the heads up (pun intended)...fixed it.

[donnay]

Nice. I love kraut and I'm looking for more ways to add fermented food to my diet. I'm going to try this with purple cabbage. I may even go wild and crazy and try to make Kimchi or Kombucha.

Kombucha how to
https://www.yahoo.com/health/my-adve...674463003.html

I am going to have to try that. Thanks for posting Suz.

I also want to try this:

How to Make Alcoholic Ginger Beer from Scratch

[Carlybee]

Cool...we eat a lot of sauerkraut. I love Bubbies straight out of the jar but it's $$$.

[donnay]

Starting more wild fermented sauerkraut. I got another beautiful head of cabbage today from my CSA.

I am also going to do some wild fermented squash tomorrow.

[donnay]

The Amazing Healing Properties Of Fermented Foods
July 31, 2015 | By Sayer Ji | General Health

Between the hard and fast dichotomies of cooked and raw, dead and alive, is this beautiful thing called fermented. A place where many of the digestive challenges associated with raw foods (e.g. enzyme inhibitors, anti-nutrients, lectins) are overcome in favor of not just preserving their benefits (e.g. enzyme activity, vitamin content, life energy), but amplifying them. Also overcome are the adverse consequences of cooking, e.g. enzyme destruction, vitamin activity degradation, oxidized fats, denatured proteins, etc., while still benefiting from the enhanced digestibility and assimilation that certain cooking applications offer. Fermented food is in many ways the complementary union of cooked and raw, as well as their transcendence – an image, not unlike the Tai Chi, comes to mind.

In fact, fermentation has almost heretical power in the realm of both medicine and nutrition, being quite capable of literally “raising the dead,” as well, revitalizing and infusing with living and breathing energy a food ingredient that has been cooked into oblivion, or, a human whose body has been poisoned close to the point of death with antibiotics, or similarly biocidal drugs or chemicals.

There is no lack of scientific confirmation for the indisputable value of fermented food for the promotion of health and wellbeing. In fact, one could consider fermented foods like kimchi, natto, apple cider vinegar, and even – in moderation – wine, coffee, chocolate and beer, ‘medical foods’ of sorts. At GreenMedInfo we have been indexing these functional applications in disease prevention and treatment straight from the research housed on National Library of Medicine, and have found over 140+ diseases that may be prevented or ameliorated by their use. [see: Fermented Food Health Benefits Research]

Continued...

[Eagles' Wings]

Starting more wild fermented sauerkraut. I got another beautiful head of cabbage today from my CSA.

I am also going to do some wild fermented squash tomorrow.

Do you use kosher or quality sea salt? Mine tastes too salty, so I cut back on the salt a bit and also use whey or lemon juice for added liquid. The fermented squash sounds fantastic...great idea and one I have not heard before.


FWIW: I bought some home made kombucha from our local food co-op. It was so delicious, I drank too much (a cup at a time for a few days). My body then began a de-tox for two weeks, through flu-like symptoms. During this time I called the kombucha producer and he said this is common when overdoing it. Also, home made kombucha is usually more potent than what is sold in the store.

Fermented products are to be taken in small amounts.

[Natural Citizen]

No way I'm eating that stuff. I don't know how people do it. I suppose it is an aquired taste. Yuck.

[donnay]

Do you use kosher or quality sea salt? Mine tastes too salty, so I cut back on the salt a bit and also use whey or lemon juice for added liquid. The fermented squash sounds fantastic...great idea and one I have not heard before.


FWIW: I bought some home made kombucha from our local food co-op. It was so delicious, I drank too much (a cup at a time for a few days). My body then began a de-tox for two weeks, through flu-like symptoms. During this time I called the kombucha producer and he said this is common when overdoing it. Also, home made kombucha is usually more potent than what is sold in the store.

Fermented products are to be taken in small amounts.

I used Himalayan salt on this batch but I have also used Celtic Sea Salt before. Here is some good info: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/cho...ting-culturing

I know EXACTLY what you mean about the detoxing too quick. That happened to me too. They say when you start to detox, you can feel a lot worse then you did before you started the detox. But that varies with each individual and how toxic each individual is. Nevertheless, moderation is a good thing.

[donnay]

No way I'm eating that stuff. I don't know how people do it. I suppose it is an aquired taste. Yuck.

You don't like sauerkraut or pickles?

[Natural Citizen]

You don't like sauerkraut or pickles?

Nope. I especially don't like pickles.

[donnay]

Nope. I especially don't like pickles.

You don't know what you're missing.

I also love some homemade sauerkraut on my grass-fed beef hot dogs.

[Carlybee]

Nope. I especially don't like pickles.

I mix apples and onions with my kraut when I cook it. Takes the edge off.

[donnay]

I mix apples and onions with my kraut when I cook it. Takes the edge off.

A recipe my mother would use is frying sauerkraut in butter with a tablespoon of brown sugar and a jig of sherry and a diced sweet onion; let it get all brown then add Polish sausage, Kielbasa or Bratwurst add a cup of water and let simmer for about 25 - 30 minutes.

It comes out like a Bavarian kraut.

[Carlybee]

A recipe my mother would use is frying sauerkraut in butter with a tablespoon of brown sugar and a jig of sherry and a diced sweet onion; let it get all brown then add Polish sausage, Kielbasa or Bratwurst add a cup of water and let simmer for about 25 - 30 minutes.

It comes out like a Bavarian kraut.

Yum...sounds good. I use Czech sausage usually.

[Natural Citizen]

I mix apples and onions with my kraut when I cook it. Takes the edge off.

Yeah, I wrote that apples and onions mixture down on a little sticky pad when I saw you post it in the What's for Dinner" thread a while back. Thanks for reminding me of that. I'm going to try that in the next dau or so. Minus the sauerkraut, though.

[Suzanimal]

I am going to have to try that. Thanks for posting Suz.

I also want to try this:

How to Make Alcoholic Ginger Beer from Scratch

I like the way you think.

[catfeathers]

Sauerkraut is a traditional food around here. Most people put cut up hot dog weenies in it, but my Yankee husband got me used to eating it with Polish sausage. You also have to have soup beans (pinto beans), cornbread, and fried taters with it. Oh, and a slice of onion and maybe a slice of tomato on the side.

Now I'm craving a good soup bean supper, I'll have to fix some tomorrow.

[Suzanimal]

Starting more wild fermented sauerkraut. I got another beautiful head of cabbage today from my CSA.

I am also going to do some wild fermented squash tomorrow.

I love this idea. What kind of squash are you going to use?

[donnay]

Yum...sounds good. I use Czech sausage usually.

Any sausage would do.

[donnay]

I love this idea. What kind of squash are you going to use?

I am doing this summer squash recipe: Pickled summer squash with basil

[opal]

I am going to have to try that. Thanks for posting Suz.

I also want to try this:

How to Make Alcoholic Ginger Beer from Scratch

ok.. normally I don't even go to the beer suggestions (allergic to hops) but I went there because I love ginger.. should be called boozy zippy ginger ale. The fermenting in plastic kind of makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up though.. I'd love to toss a few apple slices in with the ferment too.. yum

[donnay]

ok.. normally I don't even go to the beer suggestions (allergic to hops) but I went there because I love ginger.. should be called boozy zippy ginger ale. The fermenting in plastic kind of makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up though.. I'd love to toss a few apple slices in with the ferment too.. yum

Yeah the plastic idea not so good. I would use glass regardless.

[opal]

I just got a massive ginger root.. good price too, $1.99/lb.. at least for around here that's a good price. If I get my arse in gear, I could have a nice home made bubbly by labor day.

[donnay]

I just got a massive ginger root.. good price too, $1.99/lb.. at least for around here that's a good price. If I get my arse in gear, I could have a nice home made bubbly by labor day.

That's the spirit!

Grow your own ginger rhizomes. That's what I am doing in my greenhouse--along with turmeric rhizomes. It is fairly easy and you have a better climate than I do.

[donnay]

Top 5 Fermented Foods to Eat to Build a Healthy Gut

Heather McClees
August 5, 2015

Thanks to new emerging evidence that supports how important our microbiomes are to our health, gut health is at the forefront of health concerns today; it’s about time! Our guts control and deal with every aspect of our health. From our mood to our weight to our food cravings, hormones, overall wellness, how we digest our food and even the food sensitivities we have. Our guts are essentially what determine our overall health.

Research has shown that we have more bacteria organisms in our body than typical cells; we’re essentially walking forms of bacteria. But the good news is, many forms of these bacterial cells are beneficial and help us fight disease. It’s when unhealthy bacteria from certain yeasts, fungi, parasites, worms, and others take over that become a problem. We encounter bad bugs every single day in various ways most of us don’t realize. These bacteria are found in conventional animal foods, toxic and polluted waters (and fish from those waters), tap water, parasites from the environment and our food, foodborne illnesses, food poisoning, and they can also take over our body if we’ve ever taken prescription drugs, antibiotics, birth control pills, or have a long history of an unhealthy diet.

Establishing a Gut Health Protocol: Where to Start

The best way to regain gut balance and establish a healthy digestive system is to give your body more good bacteria than sources of bad bacteria. Probiotic supplements are a great place to start, but unless you find a reputable brand that seems to work for you, they can be a waste of time and money due to loss of bacteria cultures through transit time, manufacturing practices, and even due to heat damage from the weather if not stored properly in the store.

Foods that contain probiotic cultures are the best way to eat your way to a healthy gut, along with avoiding foods that feed unhealthy bacteria. Bad microbes’ favorite foods are sugar and anything that turns to sugar quickly in the bloodstream like refined grains and even natural sugars, processed foods, conventional animal products laced with bad bacteria, and alcohol. These foods fuel bad bacteria and allow them to take over, so work on eating more organic foods, especially greens and all vegetables, fiber-rich foods which cleanse the body like flax, chia and psyllium, and eat a variety of anti-fungal foods like coconut, turmeric, ginger, garlic, onion, oregano, cruciferous vegetables, cloves, cinnamon, coriander and olive oil. Next, add cultured and properly fermented foods into your diet which provide tons of good bacteria cultures for your body.

Probiotic-rich foods support the immune system, digestive system and can even reduce cravings for unhealthy foods like sugar and refined grains because they bring the good bacteria into balance and starve the bad bacteria from thriving. These foods feed the good guys, not the bad guys!

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