anybody have experience with making sauerkraut?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BuckNasty

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2012
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
Fairfield
I just picked up a fermenting crock and now need a fridge to hold 59-65 degrees for this, but was curious if anyone here also makes their own? Or other fermented goodness?
 
Tried once, it got maggots in it, don't know if they were already in the cabbage or if I should have taped down the lid. I'll probably try again at some point as I don't like failure.
 
I haven't yet, but there's a really good article in this month's BYO on fermented foods. I'll be trying very soon.
 
I've had varying degrees of luck. The first couple of batches were great. I tried again this spring and it went bad. I think the trick is to keep it from getting up to 80 degrees!

Seriously, though. It's pretty easy. I have left the last batch rotting in the glass cookie jar all summer. It's a very cool several shades of several colors. I have not gotten close enough to see what it smells like, but it can't be that bad since my wife hasn't commented on it.

Now that the temperature has gone down some I'm going to clean that thing out and make another batch. It's real good with polish sausage added in the slow cooker.
 
i've done it a couple times.. left mine on counter top for about a week and a half.then into the fridge for a couple more. just added salt and a little water.. the cabbage i used was lacking in lactic acid producing bacteria so it wasn't all that sour.. but it did work. the crocks are great, but IMO not the best thing on the market as they are prone to mold unless you keep them very clean. i bought some fido bermioli jars with lids that hold airlocks on-online from a place called pickl-it.VERY good service from them!!. i love these things!!! for better results you can add some whey to get things going. you can also use other starters out there.. there is one that is not made from dairy, but i cant remember what its called.. it can be difficult to get a ferment going without a starter, unless yo use very fresh organic cabage . but once you get it going you can re-use your juice from a previous batch to kick start the next one. Also don't stop at cabbage!! cucumber, beats, carrots, almost anything is awesome!!!! and good for you!!!
 
Have made it in five gallon buckets. Easy and delicious. I also do yogurt, tempeh, kombucha and kefir.
 
Shred or finely chop some cabbage, add about two tablespoons of kosher or sea salt per head of cabbage, plus some caraway seeds to taste if desired. Put it in a vessel of some sort and pound the hell out of it with a wooden mallet or your fist or whatever until all the water comes out of it and the cabbage is completely submerged. Cover loosely, weigh it down so the cabbage is below the water line. Place in a warm, dark place and in three weeks you will have the crunchiest most delicious kraut you have ever tasted.
 
I just picked up a fermenting crock and now need a fridge to hold 59-65 degrees for this, but was curious if anyone here also makes their own? Or other fermented goodness?

70-85 degrees is ideal. Once sour enough put it in the fridge. 1 qt mason jars work as well as a crock
 
Yup, made saurkraut a few times.

Kept it around 80*, no problems and it came out excellent every time


...An oddity though.

I got cabbage fresh from the farm for one batch, it fermented much quicker and the flavor was much more savory and robust. Made with cabbage from the grocery, it took a lot longer to develop, but was still very good.

I also do yogurt...

We actually feed yogurt to our dogs for the probiotics...
 
I just made some for the first time 2 weeks ago, I let it sit on the counter in my kitchen around 70°F for a week then put it into quart jars and into the fridge I mixed some with caraway seeds I just used one jar yesterday with some pork ribs in a crock pot all day, YUM!
 
I got cabbage fresh from the farm for one batch, it fermented much quicker and the flavor was much more savory and robust. Made with cabbage from the grocery, it took a lot longer to develop, but was still very good.

Not all green cabbage is the same - some varieties have a greater sugar content than others. Additionally, if the cabbages are left out in a frost or two, they'll sweeten a bit more and provide additional sugar for the fermentation.

I just loaded a 6 gallon crock with about 4 gallons of kraut. Last year I made it with caraway seeds and didn't care for it as much. I liked it, but I love just straight kraut.
 
I used Juniper berries in my last batch and it was great. As others have said, room temp is fine. If you have a standard US style crock (and not the super fancy German one with the airlock lid), keeping air out & co2 in is important. I like to cover the surface of the kraut with plastic wrap and use a bucket with some cans to weight it down.

Making kraut is really, really easy if you keep te air out. If you do have air and consequently mold, just scrape it off the top and recover, no biggy.
 
Keep the solids weighted down under the fluid and you won't have mold. The finer you shred the cabbage, and the more you smash it up, the less water you will have to add to even have enough fluid to submerge the solids. I prefer to chop more coarsely and add a bit more brine at the start. 1-3 weeks is good, depending on temp. Then into the fridge.
 
I've done it and it's delicious. You owe it to yourself to try it if you even THINK it would be fun. It's so much better than store-bought!

Watch this. It will put your mind at ease as to how easy it is, as well as educate you on the proper salt to cabbage weight ratio (2.5%).

http://traffic.libsyn.com/basicbrewing/bbv03-12-11sauerkraut.mp4

For those that are interested and want to get a glass jar like the one in that video, Wal-Mart really does have them for cheap. I think I paid about $10 for mine and saw it for $40 elsewhere.

Just like with brewing, the sky is the limit - straight-up, caraway seeds, red pepper flakes, whatever.
 
If you want to get fancy there are some artisan makers of nifty crocks. The lid sits in a recessed trough/rim that is filled with water - sort of like a moat. It's one giant airlock....
 
If you want to get fancy there are some artisan makers of nifty crocks. The lid sits in a recessed trough/rim that is filled with water - sort of like a moat. It's one giant airlock....

Google 'German Crock' - spendy. I sure do want one, though.
 
Basic Brewing did a video podcast on making sauerkraut sometime back, its in their library available for download.
 
Back
Top