Shawn W
TVWBB Emerald Member
Copenhagen cabbage
bunches fresh baby dill sprigs
coarse salt
*50 lbs cabbage and 2 bunches dill makes about 6 gallons, about 40 pints of finished kraut
Remove large and/or darker green outer leaves. Wash and save enough to cover your kraut.
Shred cabbage 1/8" - 1/4" no more than a couple of inches long, but don't include the cabbage core.
In a large stone crock place several inches of cabbage and a good sprinkle of salt. Pound cabbage until very juicy. A large smooth piece of wood with a flat bottom mounted on a broom handle could be used for pounding the cabbage. Add some dill. Repeat.
The first stomp will require the most work. Keep tasting the juice before putting the next amount of salt on. Juice shouldn't taste salty, if it is ease up on the salt. Should be able to taste dill somewhat.
Leave several inches of space at top of crock. Place leaves to cover kraut. Put a plate on the leaves and put a clean heavy rock or other clean heavy object on the plate. This keeps kraut submerged in juice. Keep crock in a cool dark place.
Within a day or two you will begin to see bubbles and may begin to see mold on top after about a week. Once this happens, do the following on a daily basis: remove crud, clean plate and rock, taste strength of kraut. Kraut is finished when it has reached your desired strength. Avoid warmer storage areas if possible since more heat will accelerate the process.
If allowed to go to the very end, when the fermentation is over, the bubbling will stop and liquid level will drop, can drop below the cabbage. Once it reaches this point can it or get it in the fridge ASAP.
The fermentation ends once the acidity reaches a level strong enough to kill the lactobactilli. It's important to keep an eye on it when it's reaching the end. The level can drop fairly quick once this happens. If you catch it right away you can scoop out some of the top cabbage and get it into the fridge with a little brine ... enough to keep the remainder of the kraut submerged.
If cabbage is exposed to air and you don't know how long it's been like that it's safest just to throw that cabbage out ... throw out the top cabbage up to about an inch below the brine level if that happens.
Transfer kraut to a large pot. Bring kraut to a boil, stirring frequently. Pack very hot sterilized canning jars with boiling kraut, top with kraut juice to leave 1/4" - 1/2" air at top. Seal and cover immediately. When cool, check seals. Kraut jars can also be processed in a canner.
The kraut does not freeze well.
Sept 2008 Update, a note on salt: we did 250lbs (weight nefore cleaning cabbage) and used just over 3.5C (1035g) of coarse pickling salt. This scales down to roughly 3/4C (200g) per 50lbs of cabbage. Please note this is approximately 1/3 the amount recommended by USDA for home kraut making.
The higher salt level is recommended to ensure safety and prevent spoilage at higher ambient temperatures during the fermentation, but this much salt really affects the taste (too salty). We do ours the traditional way using less salt in an outdoor shed where average ambient temperature would be in th 50ºF to 65ºF range.
Please make an informed decision regarding the amount of salt to use in your kraut. Some links I found that might be of interest:
Science Direct: Impact of low salt concentration, salt quality on natural large-scale sauerkraut fermentation
Wikipedia: Sauerkraut
Jardine Voltaire Blog
FAO: Fermented Fruits and Vegetables, A Global Perspective: Chapter 5, Bacterial Fermentations
Nov 2008 Update: added some more info around 'finish' ... I calculated percentages, our percentage is 1% salt and USDA is 2.45% where total weight equals mass of salt plus mass of cabbage after cleaning. We covered our large crock with the crock lid this year without issue so we will continue to do that, we like the idea of keeping airbourne stuff out.
bunches fresh baby dill sprigs
coarse salt
*50 lbs cabbage and 2 bunches dill makes about 6 gallons, about 40 pints of finished kraut
Remove large and/or darker green outer leaves. Wash and save enough to cover your kraut.
Shred cabbage 1/8" - 1/4" no more than a couple of inches long, but don't include the cabbage core.
In a large stone crock place several inches of cabbage and a good sprinkle of salt. Pound cabbage until very juicy. A large smooth piece of wood with a flat bottom mounted on a broom handle could be used for pounding the cabbage. Add some dill. Repeat.
The first stomp will require the most work. Keep tasting the juice before putting the next amount of salt on. Juice shouldn't taste salty, if it is ease up on the salt. Should be able to taste dill somewhat.
Leave several inches of space at top of crock. Place leaves to cover kraut. Put a plate on the leaves and put a clean heavy rock or other clean heavy object on the plate. This keeps kraut submerged in juice. Keep crock in a cool dark place.
Within a day or two you will begin to see bubbles and may begin to see mold on top after about a week. Once this happens, do the following on a daily basis: remove crud, clean plate and rock, taste strength of kraut. Kraut is finished when it has reached your desired strength. Avoid warmer storage areas if possible since more heat will accelerate the process.
If allowed to go to the very end, when the fermentation is over, the bubbling will stop and liquid level will drop, can drop below the cabbage. Once it reaches this point can it or get it in the fridge ASAP.
The fermentation ends once the acidity reaches a level strong enough to kill the lactobactilli. It's important to keep an eye on it when it's reaching the end. The level can drop fairly quick once this happens. If you catch it right away you can scoop out some of the top cabbage and get it into the fridge with a little brine ... enough to keep the remainder of the kraut submerged.
If cabbage is exposed to air and you don't know how long it's been like that it's safest just to throw that cabbage out ... throw out the top cabbage up to about an inch below the brine level if that happens.
Transfer kraut to a large pot. Bring kraut to a boil, stirring frequently. Pack very hot sterilized canning jars with boiling kraut, top with kraut juice to leave 1/4" - 1/2" air at top. Seal and cover immediately. When cool, check seals. Kraut jars can also be processed in a canner.
The kraut does not freeze well.
Sept 2008 Update, a note on salt: we did 250lbs (weight nefore cleaning cabbage) and used just over 3.5C (1035g) of coarse pickling salt. This scales down to roughly 3/4C (200g) per 50lbs of cabbage. Please note this is approximately 1/3 the amount recommended by USDA for home kraut making.
The higher salt level is recommended to ensure safety and prevent spoilage at higher ambient temperatures during the fermentation, but this much salt really affects the taste (too salty). We do ours the traditional way using less salt in an outdoor shed where average ambient temperature would be in th 50ºF to 65ºF range.
Please make an informed decision regarding the amount of salt to use in your kraut. Some links I found that might be of interest:
Science Direct: Impact of low salt concentration, salt quality on natural large-scale sauerkraut fermentation
Wikipedia: Sauerkraut
Jardine Voltaire Blog
FAO: Fermented Fruits and Vegetables, A Global Perspective: Chapter 5, Bacterial Fermentations
Nov 2008 Update: added some more info around 'finish' ... I calculated percentages, our percentage is 1% salt and USDA is 2.45% where total weight equals mass of salt plus mass of cabbage after cleaning. We covered our large crock with the crock lid this year without issue so we will continue to do that, we like the idea of keeping airbourne stuff out.
