#everybitcountschallenge Day 22, 26 August 2022 - Something New - Fermentation Saurkraut

I decided on the spur of the moment to try something new today. That something new being another Fermentation project and this time it is Saurkraut.  Now I have never tasted Saurkraut so I do not know what I am letting myself in for at all. This really is an experiment on my behalf.  Hoping and praying that some alchemy takes place and I actually do like it at the end of the day.

I followed the instructions from Farmhouse on Boone for making the Saurkraut.  For each 5lb of cabbage you allow three tablespoons of salt.   I had 2 1/2lbs in weight and therefore allowed 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt.

First of all take some of the outer leaves of the cabbage and put this to one side.  Then shred the remaining cabbage really finely and tip it into a large bowl.

I then a bit at a time added some sea salt to the bottom of a clean bowl, and then added the shredded cabbage mixing and tossing the cabbage with the salt until the cabbage starts to leak a liquid. Everything was then packed into a clean sterilised Fermentation jar on this occasion. (You can use larger canning jars). I then packed the cabbage down hard into the jar, using the rounded flat end of a rolling pin.  This helps pack the cabbage but it also releases the cabbage juices which are mixed with the salt and it is this that preserves the cabbage from what I understand.

As this is very much an experiment for me at the moment I decided not to add any more cabbage up and beyond that which I had already prepared.  I want to taste this and make sure I am happy with it and that I actually like it before diving in too deeply.

I then added a full cabbage leaf to the top of the shredded cabbage which is to keep the cabbage submerged in the cabbage and salt liquid and then placed a sterilised glass jar on top to weigh down the cabbage mixture.  As the liquid releases the cabbage should go right under the liquid.

Here it is sitting on my windowsill in my kitchen.  It has already released a lot of liquid, and we shall see how things progress in the next few days.  The recommendation is to ferment between five days to three weeks and if you are a newbie to making kraut, try the kraut after five days or so to see whether you like it or not.  Apparently the taste becomes stronger the longer it is left to ferment.  Once your fermentation period has ended, store the kraut in the fridge to keep it cool.

Sometimes you just have to try something new even if it is only just to shake things up a little bit as diversity and diversifying those things we actually do can often open us up to new options.

I must say that it was relatively easy to prepare this, and easier than I thought it would be.  Just have to see if we like it now.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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