SAUERKRAUT

This is what I know to be true.  Sauerkraut and brats are the perfect German partners, and I would know, my last name is extremely German.  But outside of that, my sauerkraut knowledge was extremely limited, that was of course until a few years ago when I started mass producing cabbages.  Towards the end of the 2017 growing season, I was looking at a field with 50 plus green cabbages.  While some can be stored through the winter, and grilled Cabbage Steaks were being eaten on daily basis, I was looking at a full year of a cabbage every week.  I feared for my German partner and myself that our marriage would suffer with that kind of diet.  So, I turned to all the preserving cookbooks I had and found at least 15 sauerkraut recipes.  All had simple ingredients and were easy to make.  Once you had the cabbage shredded, it was just a matter of salting and squeezing until the juices were released.  Then you needed to put it in a container and ignore it for a few days/weeks.  I could do that.  However, this is not a story where I have learned my lesson after all these years.  I still grow way too many cabbages, and sauerkraut is not a marriage friendly replacement for straight up grilled cabbages, even if we are German. 

Makes 4 pints

4 lbs green cabbage, 2-3 large heads

2 ½ Tablespoon salt, more if needed

2 teaspoons of caraway (optional)

Core and shred cabbage.  Find your largest bowl, and layer cabbage and salt alternately.  Now start squeezing, a lot.  Squeeze until the shredded cabbage is fully submerge in the liquid.  This squeezing should take awhile 10-30 minutes.  Take breaks and find a friend to help.  Once you have enough liquid place cabbage into a crock or glass container (warning: plastic will take on the sauerkraut smell).  Cover the top with plastic wrap, pressing down so air does not have access to the liquid.  The plastic wrap should also hang over the top of the jar.  Then take a zip-lock bag and fill it halfway with water.  Place the bag of water over the plastic wrap to weigh down the cabbage.  Place the crock in a location that is out of the way and room temperature.  Let the cabbage ferment for 3 weeks, skimming the top for scum every few days.  The sauerkraut should start to smell sour.  Your nose will need practice.

After the cabbage is fermented it is time to finish it.  Place cabbage and caraway seeds in a large saucepot.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes.  At this point you can put it in a jar and place the jar into a refrigerator to enjoy in 5-7 days or you can can your sauerkraut.  Follow the instructions for your canning equipment with ½ inch headspace and 10 minutes in a water bath.