Make This Now
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Homemade Sauerkraut
In this time of year filled with cookie exchanges and ubiquitous
fruitcakes, why not rebel and give something that’s both tasty and
healthy? Fermented foods run the gamut from simple pickles and kimchi to
kombucha and yogurt. Here, fermentation expert Sandor Katz (author of
The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, The Art of Fermentation and Wild
Fermentation) offers a super-easy method for making homemade sauerkraut.
So
round up some mason jars and start brewing. The best finishing touch
for this gift is a homemade tag listing the ingredients and the day it
was jarred.
Sauerkrautcourtesy of Sandor KatzVessel
1-quart wide-mouthed jar, or a larger jar or crock
Ingredients
2
pounds of vegetables per quart: any varieties of cabbage, or ½ cabbage
and the remainder of any combination of radish, turnip, carrot, beet,
kohlrabi, Jerusalem artichoke, onion, shallot, leek, garlic, greens,
seaweed, peppers or other vegetables
Approximately 1 tablespoon salt (start with a little less if using a coarse grind)
Other seasonings as desired, such as caraway seeds, juniper berries, dill, hot peppers,
ginger, turmeric, etc.
Directions
1.
Chop or grate vegetables into a bowl. The purpose of this is to expose
surface area in order to pull water out of the vegetables, so they can
be submerged in their own juices. (Fermenting whole vegetables or large
chunks requires a saltwater brine.)
2. Salt vegetables lightly
and add seasonings as you chop. Sauerkraut does not require heavy
salting. Taste after the next step and add more salt if desired. It is
always easier to add salt than to remove it.
3. Squeeze salted
vegetables with your hands for a few moments or pound with a blunt tool.
This bruises the vegetables, breaking down cell walls and enabling them
to give up their juices. Squeeze until you can pick up a handful and
juice releases, as if from a wet sponge.
4. Pack salted and
squeezed vegetables into the jar. Press vegetables down with force so
that juice rises up and over them. Fill jar almost all the way to the
top, leaving a little space for expansion.
5. Screw the top on,
but be aware that fermentation produces carbon dioxide. Pressure will
build up in the jar and needs to be released daily, especially the first
few days when activity will be most vigorous.
6. Wait. Be sure
to loosen top to relieve pressure each day for the first few days. The
rate of fermentation will be faster in a warm environment. Some people
prefer their krauts lightly fermented for just a few days; others prefer
a stronger, more acidic flavor that develops over a longer time. Taste
after a few days, then at regular intervals to discover what you prefer.
In a cool environment, kraut can continue fermenting slowly for months.
Enjoy your kraut! And start a new batch before this one runs out.
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