March 2, 2014
Hello everyone, today I started to make my Saurkraut! I have never done this before nor have I ever tasted Saurkraut, so I am very excited! To begin my fermentation I took the head of cabbage and cut it in half. I then took that half, and chopped it up into square shaped chunks; about half inch by half inch. Next, I took all the chunks and placed them into a cooking pot. I added two table spoons of salt, and began to mix and mash the chunks with my hands. I quickly realized that waiting two days before beginning may not have been a good idea. The cabbage was breaking down and the clear fluid was being released, but it still seemed very dry. After I got all the fluid I could get to be released, I began to pack my first jar. I drained the left over fluid from the pot into the jar, but the cabbage doesn't seem to be completely submerged. Instantly, I began to hypothesize this jar may not ferment well. I closed the lid and put the date on the jar and will open it in one week, 03/09/2014.
After putting the first jar to the side, I started a second jar. This time, I took the second half of cabbage and chopped it into even smaller pieces then the first time, thin rectangular pieces, resembling shredded lettuce. I put all the shredded cabbage into the cooking pot, with two table spoons of salt and began mashing it with my hands. Again, I took all the mushed cabbage and packed it into the second jar, poured the juice in with it and labeled it. This time I want to wait two weeks, until 03/16/2014, to open it.
Looks like you are well on your way with this, Ashley. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how to make a new post from a desktop computer, so you may notice I am posting as comments. I have been posting under the original post of coffee, but figured since this Saurkraut post IS able to be seen, I should transfer my last blog comments under this post as well. I am doing this so that no mater what post people are reading, they will be able to follow the same. Here it goes :)
ReplyDeleteMarch 5 2014
Hello again,
I wanted to give a quick update. Today I noticed that jar number one has not changed a whole lot. It seems maybe the salt has drawn out some fluid. It looks like the a base is slightly more submerged under fluid.
Jar number two however has a little more change than jar number one. It does seem that the salt has drawn out more fluid as well, but the top on the jar seems to be bulging.
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Ashley berardMarch 9, 2014 at 7:01 PM
March 7th 2014,
Hello again everyone,
Today I needed cabbage to eat with dinner, since watching it ferment made me anxious to eat it! So I went to City Market again and bought another head of cabbage. When I got home I decided I would make a third jar of Saurkraut with the left over cabbage. Again I had a half a head and I chopped it up into shredded pieces. I added 4 table spoons of salt this time and a cup of water to help submerge the cabbage. This jar will probably be the most successful as it looks the best, and is closer to the desired preparation, since the cabbage is completely submerged. I was talking with my step mother about this project and she said the best tasting Saurkraut takes about 4-6 weeks to get her desired flavor. This also makes me think, jar three will be the tastiest.
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Ashley berardMarch 9, 2014 at 7:45 PM
March 9 2014
Today is a big day for the Saurkraut. I opened jar number one. I noticed instantly that it is bubbling and cabbage is basically completely submerged. It smells awful, definitely fermenting and turning into Saurkraut. Smells like bad cabbage. I tasted it, does not taste good at all. Kinda of vinegary and salty.
I also noticed that all three lids are bulging today. Since jar one was bubbling I got curious and opened jar two even though I was going to wait two weeks, until 03/16/2014. This jar fizzled up and made lots more fluid and bubbles. It smells better then the first jar. It also tasted a little better as well. I had a friend try each with me. He says jar two does taste more like Saurkraut than jar one. Since I opened the second jar I noticed it was bubbling and making more fluid instantly. I do not think I was supposed to seal the jar. I am going to read more on fermenting cabbage to double check and see if I made a mistake. I will update on what i found and what i will do from here as far as resealing.
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UnknownMarch 17, 2014 at 5:35 AM
Hello Everyone!
This is what has happend over the past 8 days. On Monday March 10; I decided to research fermentation on Saurkrautonce again to make sure I was doing the process correctly. What I found was that I should be keeping the lids on the jars, even though they seemed to be bubbling more when I opened the lids. So I kept the lids on all of my jars. Through my research I also learned that some people even put their jars into the refridgerator. I chose not to put mine in the refridgerator because I did not want to add any more variables to my project. I want mine to be as natural as possible.
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UnknownMarch 17, 2014 at 5:42 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
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UnknownMarch 17, 2014 at 5:46 AM
March 12, Today I am headed to work and noticed my saurkraut in all three jars has a bit more fluid but I am not sure if this is just because the cabbage is becoming softer. Otherwise no real change visably. I did not want to open the jars for a smell or taste today.
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UnknownMarch 17, 2014 at 5:56 AM
March 15
Today I am realizing that the cabbage (Saurkraut) is more tan then ever, and these jars are still making fluid. I wonder if this fluid can be used for anything?
03/17/2014
ReplyDeleteHello everyone
I am very sad and disappointed. Today I opened my jars. I think they have all went bad. As soon as I opened the first jar, which was actully jar number 3, the one I thought would be the most successful, i had to immediately close it. It smelled so horrible the stench lingered in my nose for hours. I had my taste tester friend come take a peek, he said he would not try it. I dont blame him. So tonight I am startng over. I will rebog about what I will do this time. The jar I bring to class will not have been fermented for 4-6 weeks like it should have, but I have read over the past few weeks a lot of people will start eating theirs after 3 days and even place the jar into the refridgerator. So hopefully 8 days fermentation will be alright. I know there is another student in the class doing Saurkraut so I am interested in comparing the two. Until next time...