Preserving The Harvest: The Ancient Art of Fermenting Foods
First--a bit of Reminiscing
Fall is one of my favorite seasons, and for good reason. It is the time of harvest, the time of gathering, the time of preparing for the long cold days of winter. There is something magical about putting away bottles of fruits, preserves and home canned vegetables on your storage shelves, stepping back, and feeling a deep level of contentment. Preserving the harvest has become one of my favorite things to do.
I have early memories as a child, sitting on the grass next to my grandmother, mother, and aunts as they snapped beans preparing them for bottling. I loved to run to the storage room in our basement and choose one of the glowing bottles of peaches, anticipating the sweet treat as the cold winds blew outside. I suppose preserving the harvest represents a piece of comfort and security from those early childhood days.
I was blessed to marry into a family who saw preserving the harvest as a way of life. My in-laws owned a Seed and Garden business, and grew an enormous garden. (In their 80's, they still do. Amazing!) My mother in law, who is an angel in disguise, taught me all the ins and outs of bottling all types of fruits, vegetables and preserves. The art of preserving was gratefully learned, and she gave me the confidence to try my hand at many other modes of preservation in addition to bottling.
My husband loves sauerkraut. When we were first married, in the area we lived one of the churches held a yearly "Turkey and Sauerkraut Supper" fundraiser. We attended every year without fail, for it was the one place you could get fresh, homemade sauerkraut--something he loved, and something that was new to me. We had the store bought bottled sauerkraut for occasional meals, but nothing quite compared with the real deal.
Fast forward several years, and I have a garden of my own, with more cabbage than I know what to do with. I decide its time to give it a try, and look up how to make sauerkraut, wondering how difficult it will be, and if I have the time or energy to pull this one off. Imagine my delight to learn it only takes two ingredients, a minimal amount of preparation, a waiting period, and you have homemade sauerkraut. I did it, it turned out delicious, and I make sauerkraut every fall now and love it!
For those who are really into fermenting foods, there are all kinds of ins and outs to it. Because it has so many healthy enzymes and probiotics, eating home made fermented foods on a daily basis is fast becoming one of the healthier diet additions of our day (ironic, because only a generation or two ago, it was just a normal way of eating.) Whole books are devoted to the science of food fermentation. For those of you who are looking for more in depth information, here are a few links and references:
www.culturesforhealth.com These guys seem to have it all. When you click on this link, you'll be taken automatically to their storefront. Don't let that keep you from discovering all the treasures of information in this site. Go to the top bar, and pass your curser over "Learn". A new group of information tags will appear below. Click on "Recipes" and a whole new world will appear for you to investigate. For the sake of the information in this blog, click on the "Cultured Vegetables" link for tons of recipes and ideas.
If you are looking for a book that incorporates fermented foods in the diet, two come to mind. "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon is a great book that has all kinds of scientific information, recipes, and history based on the studies of Dr. Weston Price. I found it full of sound advice, common sense information--backed by science. For more information go to www.westonprice.org.
Another book I really enjoyed was "The Body Ecology Diet" by Donna Gates. It also has some good, down to earth guidelines for eating healthy. Her website is www.bodyecology.com .
For the purposes of this blog--I plan to keep it simple. Lets just start out by making Sauerkraut. If that goes well (and it will, because its so easy!) then take the next step and try out some fermented vegetables, or the salsa, or chutney, or kimchi, or.........
Lets Get Started
How to Make Sauerkraut
You'll need a few supplies to make a good sauerkraut. Make sure everything is squeaky clean before you start, so that no undesirable bacteria are introduced to your mix.
- Sharp knife
- Measuring spoons
- Scale
- A large bowl for mixing
- Something to pound your cabbage with. A meat mallet, potato masher, or even the bottom of a jar will work.
- Fermenting Containers, such as a crock, or plastic bucket.
- Plate or other device to push shredded cabbage under brine with.
- A weight to keep plate submerged.
Step 1.
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Choose fresh, preferably organic, cabbage.
Step 2.
Core cabbage, then finely shred with a sharp knife. You can use a food processor, if you'd prefer.
Step 3.
Weigh Cabbage. For this recipe, we want 5 pounds of shredded cabbage.
Step 4.
Add salt. For 5 pounds of cabbage, we'll add 3 tablespoons of non-iodized salt. The salt does a couple of things. It helps the cabbage retain its crispness. You can make sauerkraut without salt, but you'll end up with a soggy, mushy product. Secondly, it inhibits the growth of undesirable bacteria, but allows the good bacteria (lactobacillus, etc.) to grow. Third, it adds to the overall flavor of your sauerkraut.
Step 5.
Pound the heck out of your cabbage. I used the blunt end of a meat mallet, but a potato masher or even pounding with a mason jar bottom would work. You want to break the cellular structure of the cabbage leaves, allowing the juices to be released. Pound for about 10 minutes, possibly pausing to work the cabbage with your hands to massage it, and fully mix the cabbage and salt together.
Step 6 & 7
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| This 3 gallon food grade plastic bucket was also inexpensive, and worked well. If plastic is used, make sure it has not stored other foods which could harbor undesirable bacteria. |
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| Example of using a crock pot insert for a fermentation vessel. They are inexpensive and easy to find at the DI. |
Put your shredded, salted, pounded cabbage into a container for fermentation. It needs to be glass, ceramic, or plastic. Metal will react with the cabbage and the fermenting process and give you less than desirable results. For this demonstration I tried a couple of things. A 3 gallon food grade plastic bucket, and the inside crock from an old crockpot. Both worked well.
Then cover the cabbage, juice and all, with a clean plate or other object that will cover the cabbage completely, and allow the cabbage to be submerged in the juices as it ferments. Hopefully these pictures demonstrate how to do this adequately. If, after 24 hours, enough juices have not been created to cover your Kraut, mix 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a cup of water, and pour over the batch until it is covered.
Step 8.
Weigh your plate down to allow everything to be submerged under the brine of cabbage juice and salt.
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| This is an example of using a zip lock bag filled with water as weight |
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| Here I used a very clean and very heavy rock. It worked wonderfully. |
You can use a rock or a brick (scrubbed clean, of course), or a full gallon container, or a gallon zip lock back full of water. If you
use the last idea, make sure you double bag it, in case it springs
a leak. You may want to cover everything with a clean towel to prevent undesirable dust or bacteria to enter your fermenting creation.
Step 9.
Put your fermenting vessel in a cool place. The ideal temperature is 65-75 degrees, or thereabout. I'm certain our ancestors didn't have a thermometer to measure things, and it turned out fine for them. You do want it warm enough to grow the bacteria properly, but not too warm. I find the basement storage room to be a great place. If you don't have that option, a closet, or cupboard may do nicely.
Check on your Sauerkraut every 2-3 days. If you find a film or scum on the top, simply skim it off.
Step 10.
Wait.
How long? Depends on how you like your sauerkraut.
It takes anywhere from 7 days to 4 or more weeks to get your sauerkraut to ferment to the desired level. Personally, I begin tasting it around 10-14 days, just to make sure it is coming along. Usually I find mine done to my liking anywhere from 3-4 weeks. When it tastes "done" to you, put it in the refrigerator, which will slow down the fermentation process. Refrigerated, it will keep for several months.
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| I added caraway seeds to this batch of sauerkraut. It adds a nice bit of flavor, and goes well with a homemade Reuben Sandwich. |
Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe
5 pounds of fresh shredded cabbage
3 Tablespoons non-iodized salt (pickling salt, sea salt, etc.)
filtered water if needed(if chlorinated is all you have, let it sit for 30+ minutes to dissipate the chlorine out. Chlorine kills bacteria....even the good bacteria.)
Shred and weigh cabbage. Place in large bowl in layers, sprinkling with salt a layer at a time. Pound the cabbage with a mallet or other object for several minutes, until the juices in the cabbage are released. Massage with clean hands to thoroughly mix in the salt. Place pounded cabbage, juice and all, into an appropriate container for fermenting (a crock, glass or plastic container). Cover with a clean plate, and press down. The cabbage juices should reach the top of the shredded cabbage. Check back in a day, and if there are not enough juices to cover the cabbage, add one cup of non-chlorinated water with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt dissolved in it. To keep the plate pushed down, place a weight on it. A very clean rock, brick, or a filled gallon container on top of the plate works well. Place the batch in a cooler area and wait for 2-4 weeks. When it tastes like sauerkraut, its done! I place my finished kraut in glass mason jars, and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
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