# home made kraut with QVIEW



## erain (Aug 24, 2008)

well spent the afternoon making some sauerkraut. i told WD earlier this year when i did i would post pix so here it is. first off you need some cabagge


and then u need some crocks,cabbage slicer,scale-tubs,these all hand me downs, same stuff my mother used when i was a kid. some from her mother.


ready for slicing, cored and outer layer peeled off


tried for an action shot, cutter in action


ended up lookin like this


weigh out 5 lbs


add 1/4 cup salt-canning and pickling, not table salt


thourgholy mix, after a time cabbage will wilt and become soft and begin to make its own brine,see,  rt upper corner of pan, trying to show liquid.


put into crock jar incl the liquid, restart another 5 lbs and salt and while waiting for cabbage to wilt and make brine take a potato smasher and tamp cabbage down firmly in crock. should be packed tight. fill crock till a couple inches left at top, clean any pieces sticking to the sides so they wont fall back in later.


a couple food grade bags, DOUBLE bag!!! fill with water tilleven with top of crock and tie them off. this is your weight and your seal. as fermenting takes place you will see bubbling stuff oozing its way past the sides and down the outside-why you need to have filled at least to top. do not remove bags to peek.


i will either add to this or start a continuation post as things progress.
any suggestions??? thanks for ckin my post and qview!!!


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## bbqgoddess (Aug 24, 2008)

E!! 
that is amazing! how many lbs of cabbage is a wheel barrel full??
Those crocks are very, very cool my friend! 
Thank you for sharing a wonderful family recipe!
K


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## kratzx4 (Aug 24, 2008)

That's gonna be some tasty treat later. Great idea using a water filled double plastic bag as a weight.


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## bassman (Aug 24, 2008)

That looks great.  I remember my mother doing that over 50 years ago.  So much better that store bought!


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## daboys (Aug 24, 2008)

That's looking good Erain. Let us know when it's done. I'll bring the brats and buns. Used to have a couple #5 crocks like that. Wife used them for flower pots. Had some high winds, tree came down and smashed them to pieces. Boy was my mom sick when she found out about them!


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## waysideranch (Aug 24, 2008)

Looks great Eraine.


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## blacklab (Aug 24, 2008)

thats pretty cool 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  how long is the fernenting process?


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## cowgirl (Aug 24, 2008)

Great looking kraut erain, can't wait to see it finished....Mmmmmmm!!!

Good pictures too BTW, love your cutter and crocks!


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## erain (Aug 24, 2008)

aprox 4-6 weeks ferment process. i will bump this up when that time comes and show how i finish up and get ready for for winter st0rage,
if anyone interested in this. if anyone wants to play the game and make there own but dont have crocks or the kraut cutter, it would take a long time but i do know of people who make small batches cutt by hand, or i think a food processor would slice as well. and for container do not use metal, plastic or stoneware only. the recipie is again 1/4 cup canning/pickling salt to 5 lbs sliced cabbage. so if someone wants to do some of there own go for it and make a batch, even if small and i help you finish up when time comes. i guess i forgot to mention where to put this when its fermenting. i put mine in my garage and put the crocks on top of a double layer of cardboard which will absorb the juices expelled. so dont put where floor beneath an issue unless perhaps setting in a pan of sorts.
also my garage stays fairly cool and even temp day and night. you dont want to put this someplace with temp swings cause the bacteria in the ferment will accelerate and decelerate constantly with the temps and what you want is a slow even ferment for best results. i hope i get a couple people at least to go along for the ride and we will be eating the best kraut to be had. the flat dutch and stonehead varietys of cabbage both work well. the heads should be very firm.


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## flash (Aug 24, 2008)

me too......and I remember avoiding that smell back then. Not one of my favs. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	




 I am finally eating cole slaw though


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## erain (Aug 24, 2008)

ya but compare it to the boughten alternative and i take that lil bit of smell while fermenting any day. the other thing with using the plastic bag method you have no spoilage so the smell flash is referring to is something that is not even close to what it used to be. i just went and looked at kraut and i see fermenting already goin on.


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## tasunkawitko (Aug 24, 2008)

erain - looks like some very good stuff!

we've had great success using a simpler recipe, but i think it's more suited to smaller amounts of cabbage etc. 

you can check it out by following this link to the way we do homemade sauerkraut:
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





http://www.baitshopboyz.com/forum/fo....asp?TID=13087


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## mrh (Aug 25, 2008)

I have doing it the same way for a couple years now... pretty much foolproof!  I seen some crocks the other day on the net that are made for fermenting in.  They have a groove that the lid fits into where you put water in to create the airlock, and if I remember right they also had a disc that fit inside to weight down the stuff inside that was also stoneware.  Sounded pretty nice> I think they were  around $250 or so for a 5 gallon one.


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## supervman (Aug 25, 2008)

Sounds like the German crocks. 
Pretty nice from what I've seen. 

I think this is what you're referring to. 
http://www.canningpantry.com/sauerkraut-crocks.html


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## walking dude (Aug 25, 2008)

you have a pm erain..........DARN YOU...........

got me hankering again..........LOLOL


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## pineywoods (Aug 25, 2008)

Thats cool Erain but I have a couple questions
Would the Florida heat be to much the garage is pretty warm?
Could I use food grade 5 gal buckets for the fermenting?


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## erain (Aug 25, 2008)

i found this regarding temps:


Allow 3 weeks for fermentation if the temperature is 75Âº. Allow 4 weeks at a temperature of 70Âº. Allow 5 to 6 weeks at 55Â° to 60Âº. Do not store the crock at temperatures below 55Â° or over 76Âº or fermentation will not take place and the cabbage will spoil. Fermentation is complete when the bubbling has stopped and bubbles no longer form when the side of the crock is tapped.

yes food grade containers will work well.


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## supervman (Aug 25, 2008)

I don't want to step on E's foot but yes, 5 gal food grade buckets are fine when washed and sterilized. 

Temp. Well, E said his preferred range which I agree with. Alton Brown the other night made some fermented pickles - pretty much the same process - He lives in Georgia. He puts smaller items used like crocks into coolers and uses a thermometer to monitor temp and said he throws ice around but containers in the cooler to help monitor. He actually did it inside. 

I do my Kraut inside. Wifey HATES the smell but I do it in the basement which you most likely don't have down there. Perhaps an out of the way inside closet making sure floor doesn't get gooped up. 

I've also seen alton use what he referred to as a Construction Workers Water Thermos with a spout on the bottom in a galvonized bucket he can put ice in if necessary to help maintain optimal temp. 

Yeah, long winded, but I hope that helps and may give you some ideas. 

Best darn Kraut you'll ever eat!


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## pineywoods (Aug 25, 2008)

Thanks guys looks like I gotta figure out something different
Ya think the wife would mind it in her closet


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## supervman (Aug 25, 2008)

Well, IMHO, if you do store bought you gotta go with the stuff in the plastic refrigerated sacks.


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## pops6927 (Aug 25, 2008)

Gotta cook up a BIG pot of pig hocks and saurkraut with all this talk of it!  Some pepper, some butter, it'll melt in your mouth!


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## chef_boy812 (Aug 25, 2008)

WOW, that brought a tear to my eye. because the smell is so strong, but more so because of the memories of Grandma and her neighbor Mr. Reed packing kraut

Funny Story
about 5 years after mr. Reed died, his son was plowing a new garden and came across 2 buckets of Mr. Reeds Kraut. IT WAS STRONG!!! but after a bit of rinsing, it was some of the best SOUR kraut we ever had. It was a great family reunion, we all ate and talked about family memeories.

Anyways....
GOOD JOB!!!, Keep up those old time practices, they are dying.
Thank you for bringing up some sweet, and stinky memeories.


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## danorene (Sep 28, 2008)

Just another suggestion as to what to ferment in. We make kraut every year and ferment in a food grade plastic bucket with lid, the type used to brew beer in. We use the lid with an air lock and as the carbon dioxide it produced it is pushed out of the air lock with no worries of contamination. Yea, it has been refered to as drunk cabbage, but it sure is good and there is no funny smells in the house as it ferments. Brew buckets are not expensive and can be found at any homebrew store.


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