Sauerkraut in a Jar

[Garden Green]

Cabbage
1 tsp. salt per quart of cabbage

Shredded cabbage - very fine mix with salt. Mix and knead with hands to form brine. Put into jars, shaking down, but not packing tight. fill jars with boiling water, remove air bubbles, and seal. Process in boiling water bath for 30 minutes. Keep in warm place, will be ready in two weeks.


Lazy day today. *Yawn*

[HomesteadBaker]

That sounds just way too easy!

[MoniDew]

how in the world does it culture if it's cooked? won't that kill the friendly lactobacteria?

[Garden Green]

Fermentation works in this case by having a lack of oxygen, salt and temp control. Those are the three things that are key to fermentation. The salt and canning process protects it from harmful bacteria and the lack of oxygen and the temp around 55 will allow it to ferment (I know that isn't exactly *warm* but it shouldn't be kept in the fridge which is much colder in most cases). Hence why the Korean's buried their Kimchi pots because it provided the ideal environment. Anyway, the cooking process isn't really destroying anything but the microbs, it doesn't break down the natural enzymes and other necessary chemistry in the cabbage to halt the fermentation process.

This is actually a step above what you'd find in the stores. That is all made with vinegar which is not a sauerkraut ingredient. And anything that has been fermented has been cooked to death.


I hope that answers your question.

[MoniDew]

I still find this quite amazing, but it's totally worth a shot! gonna give it a try.

[alittletouched]

Wow, Green, your extensive knowledge is so impressive! I've been a bit flummoxed by canning, even with the research I've been doing on the subject. Don't be surprised if I suddenly ask a whole lot of questions down the road when harvests are coming in! Thanks for sharing what you know!

[Garden Green]

Anytime! I'm around.

[Kevin]

how in the world does it culture if it's cooked? won't that kill the friendly lactobacteria?

Monidew your first instincts on this are absolutely correct . You will have no fermentation without live lactobacteria. What this recipe describes is a canning procedure which could be inherently dangerous. you absolutely should never can any nonacidic green vegetable without pressure cooking, to prevent botulinas in an anearobic environment. traditional lactofermentation is done in aerobic open air crocks until the acidity created by live lactobacteria is sufficient to safely can with a water bath process. Please before any of you try this , get your hands on the book "wild fermentation" by Sandor ellix Katz. He also has A fairly extensive forum on the web pertaining to these techniques. www.wildfermentation.com/forum. Garden Green , please don't take this post the wrong way ,I am in no way attacking you personally here. But in my opinion this method could potentially hurt someone. Kevin

[Garden Green]

No offense taken. I was assuming that this used fermentation other than lactobateria as some fermentation occurs in a vacuum state. Perhaps I am incorrect in this assumption.

[Kevin]

No offense taken. I was assuming that this used fermentation other than lactobateria as some fermentation occurs in a vacuum state. Perhaps I am incorrect in this assumption.

Hey Garden Green, This is a very confusing subject to a lot of folks .Lactofermentation is an entirely different form of food preservation that predates modern canning . It has It's own guide lines and safety rules that need to be followed. The confusion arises from the fact ,that some folks do ferment vegetables in closed jars. But they don't kill the beneficial bacteria by cooking . At least not until the fermentation process has been completed.Most simply refrigerate their kraut when it has reached their desired level of fermentation. and thereby obtain the benefits of the live lactobacteria.(refrigeration greatly slows the fermentation process) Also I personally prefer the old fashioned open churn method, as opposed to the closed jar techniques. The churns are much safer . In addition to the book and the link I mentioned above . The baker creek forum has some very knowledgable people involved in these techniques . Check out a thread they have titled "lactofermenting vegetables. www.idigmygarden.com/forum