Yesterday morning Harold and I shredded up 25 lbs of cabbage for sauerkraut. I usually make a little more than that, but this year's cabbages didn't do well in the garden and I had some kraut left from last year so I made a smaller batch this year.
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We use this antique kraut cutter that I bought at an antique store many years ago to shred up the cabbage. The cabbage is put into the box, and the box slides back and forth over a container.
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The cabbage shredder can be adjusted to provide whatever size shreds you want.
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The blades don't look sharp, but believe me they are! One year I accidentally got my thumb too close to the bottom of the box and the blades and sliced my thumb greatly. There was a lot of screaming and crying that year!
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Here are a few of the cabbages I used. The larger cabbages were about 10 or 11 lbs each. I like to use a variety called Danish Ballhead cabbage for kraut making because it holds up well to fermentation and makes a crisp kraut.
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Years ago I bought this great Red Wing pottery crock with handles. I've used it for kraut ever since. It is in perfect condition with no cracks.
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For every 5 lbs of shredded cabbage I add 3 T of pickling salt. The salt is mixed well with the cabbage and I let it sit until it gets juicy.
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The salt is mixed into the cabbage by hand until well distributed throughout.
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I then pack the salted cabbage into the crock, packing down well.
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Then a large thick cheesecloth towel is put over the cabbage.
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I put a large plate over the cheesecloth. The cabbage needs to be under brine throughout the fermentation process.
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| Finally a double thickness of kitchen bag filled with water is set over the whole thing. This weighs down the cabbage to keep it in the brine. I put the whole crock on a large tray in the basement for about 4 weeks. After that, fermentation is usually complete, the kraut is done and tasty and I can up the kraut into pint jars. |
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This year, canning lids are quite precious! It seems that so many people had gardens this year and decided to try their hand at canning. The Ball Corp. which makes most of the jars and lids couldn't keep up with the demand. Fortunately I had "just enough" lids left that I bought earlier in the year to finish all my canning this year. I have already canned peaches, pears, pickles, potatoes, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, jellies and green beans. Next will be applesauce and this kraut. My pantry is getting well stocked for winter!
2 comments:
Making your kapusta looks like a whole day process!
Mom used to have a cabbage shredder and I remember seeing the crock downstairs.
We, I say 'we' because I was part of the family, had this 'old' stuff too. The cabbage shredder and several crock pots. Why didn't I keep them? Too soon old and too late smart. That's me. I had an uncle who made much kraut as well. My mother's brother. So that process kind of run in the family. He was administrator of a nursing home and had his own garden. A big'un. Ah, the good ol' days eh?
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