A Month of Nothing Produces

After a month of sitting in the basement, I now have a very large amount of sauerkraut at the ready.

At first the cabbage simply smelled of flatulence and fermenting, but after about two and a half weeks that changed over into the more acidic and biting smell of the sauerkraut you're probably accustomed to. Apparently the bacteria that are active in the kraut come in waves: the first wave produces a less pleasant odor and slowly starts to raise the acidity of the brine; this kills off the first batch and allows a different strain of bacteria to take over (preferring the more acidic environment). With the new bacteria comes a new smell and taste. Our last batch of kraut was sweet in flavor, but this is tangy like it should be.

Next time I would definitely shred the cabbage using a grater for finer strips (this batch is a little too substantial).

Next up: kim chi

Moved to the cellar

Despite the label, it's been about 5 days since I started this batch of sauerkraut. The batch has started to form gas bubbles and applying pressure to the top of the "crock" causes them to bubble up out of the layers of cabbage and up the sides, where they formed an oddly soapy foam. The brine has become clouded and the cabbage is losing its bright green tinge. It smells like a fermented item, which is to say not entirely pleasant, but familiar as sauerkraut underneath that. It really makes you wonder what the cirumstances were that made someone smell something in this state and decide to forgo caution and chow down.

Due to the smell, I've moved the crock into the basement. In about three weeks I'll work up the nerve to actually try some. There's something wholly unnatural about leaving something to stew in its own juices for a month and then eat it.

Sauerkraut

We've been eating more seasonally and going to the local farmers' markets on the weekend to source most of our ingredients for the week. That's been great in the summer and fall. But as winter now takes hold, things get a little more bare out there. The only thing to do is to embrace what humans have been doing for centuries: preserve!

The easiest thing to start with seemed like a nice sauerkraut. We had made a smaller version (only about a pint) earlier, but armed with a modest degree of experience we paid a visit to the local restaurant supply store and picked up two food-grade plastic prep dishes. These fit inside one another perfectly and added up to a great leap ahead of the glass jars we had been using previously.

The process is pretty straight-forward: Take as many cabbages as you can stand, shred them, then toss with a good couple pinches of salt per head. Then pack the shredded cabbage into the (very clean) vessel. By pack, I mean literally punch, beat, or otherwise compress the cabbage down on itself. I used the end of our rolling pin to accomplish this, but I think in the future I would use something with a little more surface area. After they're packed, the second jar slides into the first and a weight is added to press down onto the cabbage.

The salt will slowly draw the water out of the cabbage, which will form a brine that the leaves will be submerged in. The weight keeps the leaves under the brine and out of the mold-zone. For four large heads, I got a little over 2.5 litres of packed kraut.

Tomorrow I'm moving it into the basement for a month. I'll be sure to include updates.