Off the cuff Purple Sauerkraut

[roachvaliek]

I decided to try my hand at kraut yesterday. I didn't follow any tried and true recipe, so I don't know how it will taste in the end. I just threw together what I had left in the crisper with my fingers crossed.

Ingredients:

One head purple cabbage (shredded)
3oz baby carrots (sliced thin, lengthwise)
One red onion
Three cloves garlic
And roughly one tablespoon Mortons canning and pickling salt

It looks OK.

 

[roachvaliek]

Here is a pic.

View attachment 1493311481301.jpg

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Looks awesome! I've often wondered why people don'y use red/purple cabbage in kraut; keep us posted, I'm curious to know how this turns out.
Regards, GF.

 

[roachvaliek]

Looks awesome! I've often wondered why people don'y use red/purple cabbage in kraut; keep us posted, I'm curious to know how this turns out.
Regards, GF.

Well, the red cabbage I used has a strong, almost peppery smell to it. Combined with the red onion and garlic, I fear it may turn out too strong.
After I mashed everything together, but before it started to ferment, it almost smelled like trash can water. Lol. But the scent has mellowed a little, as of today. Thank God.
I'll keep you posted.

 

[Warthaug]

Good luck. FYI (more for gratus than the OP), lots of people make it with red cabbage. Sometimes the colour goes a little weird (blue-grey), but 99% of the time its fine. Juniper &/or caraway seeds really give it a nice flavour!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I love caraway in kraut, but never considered or even heard of adding juniper, what an awesome idea! I wonder if either would play well with pickled beets?

 

[roachvaliek]

*update*

The "trashcan water" smell has subsided. It now has a strong, yet sweet smell. Its actually quite pleasant.

 

[roachvaliek]

After 5 days of fermentation (the temp hovered around 80°f) I put it in jars. It was delicious, though a bit mild for my taste. The next batch, that I started three days ago, ill let ferment 10-14 days before bottling.
I've already eaten a pint jar of the first kraut, and I'm sad that I promised the other to my cousin. Lol.
I upscaled my current batch to one gallon so that I don't run out for a while this time.

 

[Warthaug]

5 days is awfully short - I typically go about a month.

 

[roachvaliek]

5 days is awfully short - I typically go about a month.

I've seen recipes that vary from three days to a month, or longer. I guess what it boils down to is fermentation temps and how strong a person likes their kraut.
I've noticed that the primary fermentation only lasts three or four days at 80°f, and anything over that is just preferance. A lot of people seem to like it still crunchy and mildly tart.
I'm just figuring out what I like.

 

[Warthaug]

Fair enough; I don't warm mine so the fermentation also tends to be slower.

Traditionally, it was kept in a crock and simply allowed to ferment until it was all consumed. I remember my dad & grandfather arguing over who got to eat the really old/tart stuff - AKA the good stuff.

 

[roachvaliek]

Fair enough; I don't warm mine so the fermentation also tends to be slower.

Traditionally, it was kept in a crock and simply allowed to ferment until it was all consumed. I remember my dad & grandfather arguing over who got to eat the really old/tart stuff - AKA the good stuff.

I don't warm mine either, its just been really warm, lately.
And I never liked sauerkraut until I started making it a couple weeks ago, now I can't get enough. So, maybe I'll eventually get myself to a point where I like the really old stuff. Life's too short not to try new things.

 

[Warthaug]

The store-bought stuff is often crap. Unless you live in an area with a significant German population you cam usually only get the flavourless "wine" sauerkraut.

 

[Mainer]

I had some beautiful red kraut with a sauerbraten while traveling in Munich during college. Sweet and earthy. Over the years, I have thought of it often. I'll be interested to hear how yours comes out.

 

[roachvaliek]

I had some beautiful red kraut with a sauerbraten while traveling in Munich during college. Sweet and earthy. Over the years, I have thought of it often. I'll be interested to hear how yours comes out.

The first batch is gone. It was good, but with the batch I have going right now, I tweaked the recipe. For a gallon, I used two heads of green cabbage to one head red. Only because the red ones are drier and I felt I needed more juice to cover it during fermentation. The only difference I can see is the color is ever so slightly lighter, going from dark purple to purple/pink.

 

[Warthaug]

In the case of drier cabbage you can also make a brine with water (2.5 tbsp salt/quart water) to top-up with. Not traditional, but as far as I can tell, doesn't alter the final product.

 

[roachvaliek]

In the case of drier cabbage you can also make a brine with water (2.5 tbsp salt/quart water) to top-up with. Not traditional, but as far as I can tell, doesn't alter the final product.

I did that with the first batch. It seems to have watered it down a little. But not bad.

 

[user 211287]

Love homemade ruby kraut with caraway. I make kraut and kimchi from scratch all the time. Its pretty simple really. I never add a "brine". Salt/weep the cabbage for a couple hours, give it a quick rinse and pack it in a jar. Add a tbs of juice from a previous ferment and let it set on the counter a 2-4 days until it smells sour. Then in the fridge it goes for a couple weeks.

It will be PUCKER sour in no time.

Its rocks on brats with hot sauce. This one has my homemade "kimchi hot sauce" on it too.

 

[roachvaliek]

Love homemade ruby kraut with caraway. I make kraut and kimchi from scratch all the time. Its pretty simple really. I never add a "brine". Salt/weep the cabbage for a couple hours, give it a quick rinse and pack it in a jar. Add a tbs of juice from a previous ferment and let it set on the counter a 2-4 days until it smells sour. Then in the fridge it goes for a couple weeks.

It will be PUCKER sour in no time.

Its rocks on brats with hot sauce. This one has my homemade "kimchi hot sauce" on it too.

Nice.

 

[user 211287]

Try it with 1000 Island dressing on it too. Its KILLER!!! I make a "kimchi light" just for hotdogs and brats. Its more or less kraut with Korean pepper flakes added. Top it off with the 1000 Island dressing.

 

[roachvaliek]

Interesting. I might give the "kimchi light" a shot. I'm not a big fan of thousand island though.

 

[user 211287]

If you want to try it, you need to get Korean mild pepper flakes. Even the hot ones are mild to me but i think the "Korean coarse powders" are more versatile. The most basic version of the "light" is just weep/rinse your cabbage and add 1tbs-2tbs per 2lbs. Pack it into a fermenter and leave it on the counter at room temp for at least 2 days. By the 3rd day it should smell sour. Put it in the fridge once it does and leave it alone for 2 weeks. It will get better with longer aging plus in the fridge it will stay crunchy.

I have versions of kraut and kimchi in my fridge right now that were made this way in February and they are great. Save some juice too. A tbs or 2 of juice per half gallon in new ferments is a great way to kickstart a ferment.

If you want it more like yangbaechu kimchi, follow these directions but i would cut back on the fish sauce. Simply omit any ingredient you don't want.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqY22Y7hVgE[/ame]

 

[roachvaliek]

If you want to try it, you need to get Korean mild pepper flakes. Even the hot ones are mild to me but i think the "Korean coarse powders" are more versatile. The most basic version of the "light" is just weep/rinse your cabbage and add 1tbs-2tbs per 2lbs. Pack it into a fermenter and leave it on the counter at room temp for at least 2 days. By the 3rd day it should smell sour. Put it in the fridge once it does and leave it alone for 2 weeks. It will get better with longer aging plus in the fridge it will stay crunchy.

I have versions of kraut and kimchi in my fridge right now that were made this way in February and they are great. Save some juice too. A tbs or 2 of juice per half gallon in new ferments is a great way to kickstart a ferment.

If you want it more like yangbaechu kimchi, follow these directions but i would cut back on the fish sauce. Simply omit any ingredient you don't want.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqY22Y7hVgE

Sounds good. I'll try them. I live in N.C. and in many parts of the state asian ingredients are hard to come by.
Luckily though, i live in Asheville. Hipster central, so many otherwise difficult to find ingredients are easy to come by. On a side note, Bizarre foods: delicious destinations just did a couple of shows here. Lol.

 

[roachvaliek]

I let my last batch ferment for two weeks. After only a day in the fridge, its absolutely delicious! A perfect balance of crunch and sour taste.

 

[user 211287]

Remember to save some of the juice. A tsp of sugar and a couple tbs of juice makes a huge difference in how fast a ferment begins.

High salt and low temps slow it down. I prefer minimal salt and cold temps (after a few days at room temp). Once a good culture is started the larger lacto numbers help offset the colder temps a little bit. Give them enough sugars in the first couple days and its amazing how fast it turns sour.

 

[benco]

I ordered a pound of Korean coarse powder for 10.70 from amazon. Getting ready to make my first Kimchi, I've never had it before, but sounds good. I've seen it at stores and it's expensive. I also make a simple and quick purple cabbage and red onion that's really good on tacos or as a side.

 

[user 211287]

You should have a Hmart in Tx. I think there are a couple. Pepper flakes will be much cheaper there.

http://nj.hmart.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=pepper+flakes+powder

 

[benco]

You should have a Hmart in Tx. I think there are a couple. Pepper flakes will be much cheaper there.

http://nj.hmart.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=pepper+flakes+powder

Thanks, I've never heard of them

 

[Oldskewl]

I just sampled my first batch of sauerkraut with caraway seeds. 12 day ferment at 68 degrees. Turned out great. Gonna try firecracker sauerkraut next.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1501813628.964238.jpg

 

[Dimax]

This is my first go at making Kraut & Kimchi, now I have to wait a couple weeks to give it a taste test!