Sauerkraut - success!

I am pleased as can be to report sauerkraut success.  I opened the crock and carefully spooned out the nasty slimy gray stuff (still didn't look like mold but it sure didn't look like anything I wanted associated with food I was going to eat!).  I carefully peeled off the blanket of cabbage leaves and looked down in at... sauerkraut!  It looks just like the real stuff!

Next test - and the most important one, of course - was to taste it.  Hmmm.  Well, I don't think this would be a favorite at your local deli.  It tastes... strange.  A nice sauerkraut tang and great aftertaste, but that initial flavor... well, I don't recommend the cumin.  I like that spice a lot, but I think not for sauerkraut.

All told I have just about 2 quarts.  It is in glass containers, tightly sealed for storage in my fridge, where the fermentation process will slow to a crawl - enough to keep the sauerkraut "alive" but not enough to get even more sour.

I consumed a healthy amount of my experiment just now because strange flavor or not, it really does taste good.  Therefore I am calling this project done, aside from washing the crock, weight plate and glass. Assuming I don't get food poisoning from my taste test, of course.  Just kidding!

Sauerkraut - week 2

I don't know.  The bubbles have pretty much collapsed and look like whitish mold, and now there are floating white things on the brine.  And the brine isn't clear any more.  The smell is good but still not very sour/tangy, so I still have hope.

Some friends who know more about this sauerkraut business than I do are going to get me some more info. Right now I have no desire to taste it - I need a little more encouragement I think!

52 Weeks to Preparedness Week 37

52 WEEKS TO FAMILY PREPAREDNESS FOR TWO

WEEK #37
Follow this for painless preparedness that will get you going on the path to being ready for catastrophic events and that, at the end of the year, will leave you in the best position to thrive in the event of any emergency.

You can do this! The cost is spread out over a full year, plus you will have a year to work out your storage. Substitute where appropriate depending on personal needs/requirements.


Food Storage  Fruit or other powdered drink to make 30 quarts
 
Extra Item    Shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste to last six months

Sauerkraut update - Week 1 1/2

Uh oh.... mold!  Or is it?  It's white stuff, looks like opaque bubbles at the edges of the plate that keeps the cabbage submerged.  It's kind of icky looking.

Looking down into the crock.

Now what?  Should I remove that stuff?  Do I wait till Saturday or do I remove it now?  Would leaving it there keep more from forming?  It doesn't look ugly at this point, being white, and since the directions mentioned mold I'm not (very) upset, but still....

The good news is that I'm smelling a faint aroma of real sauerkraut!  Yay!

Sauerkraut update - week 1

I tasted the sauerkraut yesterday.  The good news is that there was no mold and it didn't taste bad.  There's no bad news, actually.

While it doesn't taste like cabbage any more, the flavor wasn't sauerkraut-sour either, so it'll have to ferment a while longer.  I'm not so sure the cumin will turn out to be a great flavor to have added, but oh well, too late now.  I'll continue to check the brine level daily and otherwise just keep the crock cool, and will report again on this project next weekend.

52 Weeks to Preparedness Week 36

52 WEEKS TO FAMILY PREPAREDNESS FOR TWO

WEEK #36
Follow this for painless preparedness that will get you going on the path to being ready for catastrophic events and that, at the end of the year, will leave you in the best position to thrive in the event of any emergency.

You can do this! The cost is spread out over a full year, plus you will have a year to work out your storage. Substitute where appropriate depending on personal needs/requirements.


Food Storage  8 cans of soup
 
Extra Item    2 months of laundry soap

Sauerkraut hint: Keep it cool

It's only been a few days now, so I don't really have much of a report to make.  I don't have a basement, so I'm keeping the crock in my kitchen sink in a pan with a little cool water in the bottom.  The evaporation keeps the crock cooler than air temperature. This is an old-time trick for keeping something cooler than room temperature, and you can add to the effect by draping a kitchen towel over the crock and letting the ends dip into the water so that it wicks up and evaporates, adding to the cooling effect.

You don't have to keep your crock in a sink if you don't have a basement - you could keep it in a closet or someplace that just doesn't tend to get warm, but an enamel sink (or bathtub) tends to keep itself cooler than air temp for some reason. Plus I am perfectly capable of totally forgetting about the sauerkraut if I stashed it somewhere out of the way.

So far the sauerkraut is smelling fine, and there's no sign of mold.  I have a 16 oz. glass of water sitting on the plate to weight it down and that seems to be working just fine.  This weekend I'll remove the glass and the plate, peel back the covering leaves and do a taste test!