kraut!

[baymule]

Keeping it cool? At 65F? Then move it to 32F? Here, even in the wintertime, I'd have to keep it in the refrigerator! I have some cabbage plants in the garden, they grow here in the winter the best, might have to give kraut a try when they head up. The worst that could happen is total failure, but I've been there before!

I'm in zone 4-5, so I'm jealous. Do you have mustard or kale through the winter, too?

Right now I have mustard greens, collard greens (plants are 3 years old) broccoli (cant wait for it to make) cauliflower, red cabbage, green cabbage, radishes, lettuce, garlic, Egyptian walking onions, carrots (little tiny feathery leaves so far) green onions, and in the redneck greenhouse, I have bell peppers (2 years old) two cayenne pepper plants, 8 tomato plants, and under a bedsheet protecting from a frost I have 6 yellow squash plants. A real hard freeze will kill the squash, but I think I can get another couple of weeks out of them. I also wrapped my butterbeans with bedsheets to make it through last night, tonight and tomorrow night, then back in the 50's for awhile, maybe at least long enough to get another picking off them.

Edited to add, I have a very small space, so there are no 50' rows, just beds maybe 4'x8' enough to let me have some of everything.

 

[so lucky]

Baymule, It sounds so great to be able to grow that wide variety of plants all winter, but I know you pay for that privilege in the long hot summer.

Regarding keeping the kraut, I ferment mine in gallon jars, then when it has just the right amount of tartness, I put it in quarts or pints. These stay in the downstairs fridge till they are needed. I did let a gallon go too long, and got soft a few months ago. It had a great sour taste, but was just too soft to be palatable. I ended up keeping the juice, but tossing most of the kraut. Used the juice in my next batch, to give it a running start.

 

[k15n1]

I wonder if the soft stuff could be used in other ways---like garnished kraut [1] or in a ruben sandwich. There's no getting around the difficulty of eating a lot of the same-old-thing. Seems to have been a problem for people everywhere. Maybe that's why we're so excited about fruits flown in from the ends of the earth

I understand that the French boil kraut in several changes of water to make it a more neutral ingredient.

Potatoes and sausage seem to accompany kraut frequently. I imagine the potatoes are rather plain and benefit from the salty cabbage. And the sausage is probably quite greasy and goes well with something sour and crunchy.


1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choucroute

 

[KnittyGritty]

That soft kraut could be used in a sausage and sauerkraut soup - really good! Or any soup!!

 

[so lucky]

We try to eat a little kraut every day, with supper. I have found that it goes well with just about anything. It gets mixed up on your plate with casseroles, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, whatever. You really can't taste it as kraut, just as a fresh crunchy (hopefully) addition to the food.

 

[k15n1]

So I smelled something yesterday and looked in my bucket of kraut. Something's gone wrong. It's still covered but the water above the bag (the lid) was brown the other day but the kraut was still nice and green. Now some of the cabbage is going brown/black and the whole thing smells.... not like sauerkraut.

Any ideas what I did wrong?

 

[~gd]

So I smelled something yesterday and looked in my bucket of kraut. Something's gone wrong. It's still covered but the water above the bag (the lid) was brown the other day but the kraut was still nice and green. Now some of the cabbage is going brown/black and the whole thing smells.... not like sauerkraut.

Any ideas what I did wrong?

Sounds like the air got to your Kraut! very common.
You can dump or try to save it.
Did you use un iodized salt? Iodine in Kraut smells like rotting sea weed . If you used the wrong salt dump The salt will prevent green growth and will attract grazing animals {deer}

 

[baymule]

Can you use red cabbage for kraut? I have 8 green cabbage plants and 8 red. The red are growing great, the green are lagging behind. Neither one is starting to ball up yet...........waiting........... I want to try making kraut, ya'll have got me interested in this stuff.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

You got me to wondering about that too - so I found this: http://thehealthyeatingsite.com/how-to-make-sauerkraut/


I didn't grow red cabbage this year though.... I will definitely put it on the list for next year. In the past I've had trouble with cabbage heading up, but this seems to be a banner year!


If you want to really experiment - try Kimchi - I did make a batch of that today....oh yummmmm!

 

[k15n1]

So I smelled something yesterday and looked in my bucket of kraut. Something's gone wrong. It's still covered but the water above the bag (the lid) was brown the other day but the kraut was still nice and green. Now some of the cabbage is going brown/black and the whole thing smells.... not like sauerkraut.

Any ideas what I did wrong?

Sounds like the air got to your Kraut! very common.
You can dump or try to save it.
Did you use un iodized salt? Iodine in Kraut smells like rotting sea weed . If you used the wrong salt dump The salt will prevent green growth and will attract grazing animals {deer}

I thought I had smashed it down enough.... And the bag of water on the top seemed like a good seal. It displaced some of the brine so I thought it was right. What should I do to save it?

I used an un-iodized salt. It was advertised as sea salt. The odor is not like iodine or seaweed.