FW: Fabulous Ferments: Making Sauerkraut

[Guest guest]

I love kimchi and this is an interesting

blog entry about it…I hope it doesn’t lose the formatting, but if

it does, I’ve included the link.

Sharyn

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/XwoC/~3/142199029/fabulous-ferments-making-sauerkraut.html

Have

you ever felt like Life was pointing a great big arrow at something, waiting

for you to notice it? Well, it happened to me last winter. It seems that

everywhere I looked I'd come across info about the health benefits of fermented

vegetables. It sort of culminated with our neighbors giving us a big head of

cabbage, as they were going away for a few weeks.

Having suffered from candida for years, one of my weaknesses has always been my

digestive system. Needless to say I became very intrigued by cultured veggies'

healing properties so I decided to 'pay attention' to what Life was trying to

tell me and see for myself what the fuss was all about.

Ferments For Health

Fermentation is a process by which foods are pre-digested by friendly enzymes,

fungi, and good bacteria. As Mike Snyder pointed out in his March

2007 newsletter, this makes fermented or cultured foods " easier to digest,

releases nutrients and increases the enzyme levels " .

Some of the health benefits of fermented veggies include:

- strengthening the immune system

- having a soothing effect on the nervous system (They are known to be beneficial

to children with autism and ADD.)

- alleviating intestinal disorders and creating a healthier digestive system by

supplying beneficial flora and bacteria (also called probiotics). As Dr. ph

Mercola puts it, fermented veggies form " a 'living shield' that covers the

small intestine's inner lining " . It is said that they also prevent

bacteria and fungal overgrowths (albicans candida).

- helping to regulate weight and appetite by reducing cravings for sugar, soft

drinks, bread and pasta

a of SchoolOfRAWk has also written a great,

very informative article explaining why " Fermented Foods Are Essential For

Health " . Check it out here.

Sauerkraut Making 1o1

There are a variety of fermented foods, many of which were traditionally part

of our ancestors' diets. These include veggie-kraut, kimchi, kefir, yogurt or

cheese made with nuts and seeds, rejuvelac, miso, Nama Shoyu (unpasteurized soy

sauce), kombucha tea (which I recently started making too, but that's for

another post!), and of course, the well-known pickles and sauerkraut.

The Quest For The Right Tools

Having no special equipment, at first I resorted to using a large

ceramic pot with a plate and a weight on top. When I read about how unfriendly

bacterias can easily develop if sauerkraut isn't made under the right

conditions, I decided not to take any chances and to throw that first batch

away. That prompted me to start looking for proper equipment; if I was to give

sauerkraut making a serious try, might as well do it right!

I knew of the traditional ceramic crock pots, but these are costly and

therefore weren't a real option for me. Then I came across a post on Raw Food

Talk recommending the Pickle, Sauerkraut and

Kimchi Maker sold by Mike at his The Raw Diet Heath Store. It had a lot

of great reviews and, best of all, was quite inexpensive (about $30 including

shipping). My search was over!

(Note: After recently mentioning

the system on our forum, Raw Freedom Community,

RawVegan4Health has ingeniously come up with a home made version of the

Sauerkraut and Kimchi maker for roughly $9. You can check out the instructions here.)

Now, some 4 batches later, I'm by no means an expert at sauerkraut making, but

I thought I'd share some of the valuable things I've learned along the way.

Preparing The Cabbage

I like using a mixture of green and red cabbage as the resulting color is just

stunning. It's what I most enjoy about this system!

As you'll see, you can watch the cabbage change color from day to day, turning

into a bright fuschia. Nature's artwork!

I've come across recipes suggesting that you need 5 lbs of cabbage total to

fill up a gallon jar, but I always end up using about 9 lbs.

The first thing I do is clean all of my equipment really well. Scalding it is a

good idea to sterilize and prevent potential problems during the fermentation

process.

I then remove the outer leaves, chop the cabbage into medium chunks, then put

these through my food processor, using the smallest slicing blade. I end up

with some nice, fine cabbage shreds. (Well, for the most part anyways...)

I don't know if it's because my food processor isn't so hot, but it leaves some

pretty coarse pieces as well, so I just pick these out and process them

separately with the S blade.

I then put the chopped cabbage in large bowls and add sea salt. You want to

make sure to use enough; the usual ratio is 5 lbs cabbage/3 tbs sea salt. I've

lost a couple of batches due to them not being sufficiently salted. Major

bummer after all that work! I have read that you can use seaweed as well, but

have yet to try it.

I also recommend throwing in a few capsules of probiotics. (You can find these

in most health food stores.) I usually mix in 3 caps per gallon jar, along with

the salt. This considerably quickens the fermentation process by giving a boost

in friendly bacteria. My last batch of sauerkraut was ready in 5 days instead

of the usual several weeks!!! I think Cousens uses miso in his recipes

for the same purpose, plus it also acts as a salting agent.

Next, it's time to do a little work out! I massage the cabbage/salt/ probiotic

mixture for a few minutes in order to help release the juices. There are all

kinds of ways to achieve this; I've tried stepping on the cabbage with my bare

feet (messy!!! lol) and I think a of SchoolOfRAWk uses a baseball bat to

pound on the cabbage (he he), so you can be creative and see what method you

like best.

For my part, I find that

pressing down on the cabbage with another bowl works really well and is simple

and quick.

Actually, as you can see, that's Don's job!

At this point, you can also mix in other veggies, such as carrots, greens,

Brussels sprouts, celery, zucchini, turnips and beets, herbs and spices

(caraway seeds, dill seeds, celery seeds, juniper berries, onion, garlic, hot

pepper, turmeric, ginger or burdock root) or even fruits (usually apples). You

can totally experiment. For my part, I'm quite happy with a few cloves of

garlic.

I then pack the

cabbage tightly in the jar, a little at a time, to make sure there are no air

bubbles trapped in there.

I fill it right up to the bottom of the jar's neck so that once I insert the

small cap upside down, the latter is level with the jar top. The reason for

this is that the big cap will then press against it and keep the cabbage

submerged in liquid which is key.

Here's the small inverted cap which I then fill with water to the very top. I

know you can't see much but the water is in there!

Next, I remove the small rubber plug from the grommet and screw the big

cap onto the jar. Water or brine should come out of the little hole. If it

doesn't, simply pour in more water until it does. Then I fill the air lock with

water to the line on the outside cylinder and insert the air lock into the cap

grommet.

Finally, I set the jar in an non-obstructive corner of the kitchen

counter. A lot of juice gets released during the fermentation process, so you

definitely want to put a plate or a dish underneath the jar, and drain it as it

fills up. Let the whole thing sit at room temperature (60 to 70 degrees).

This is the part that

thrills my inner child! The kraut will soon start doing its thing. I just love

watching the fermentation process; brine and bubbles coming out. After a couple

of days, I start checking on the level of liquid inside the jar, adding some

brine (ratio 1 cup water/1 tsp salt) as needed to ensure that the cabbage

remains submerged.

The sauerkraut should be ready after 4 or 5 days, depending on the room temperature

and provided you use the probiotics. Our house gets pretty cool at night in the

wintertime so it has taken as long as 6 or 7 days. You can tell that it's ready

when there are no longer any bubbles coming to the surface. You can also taste

it; it should have a pleasant tartness and be crunchy. (If the sauerkraut is

soft, do not consume it!)

Behold The Transformation

What follows is a series of photos to give you an idea of the different stages

of the fermentation process. The pics were taken from a batch I made in the

Spring.

End of Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 (Notice how the color is dramatically starting to brighten up!)

Day 4

Day 5

Tada! The best sauerkraut you've ever tasted!!! I sometimes need to add a

little brine when I transfer to individual jars since liquid tends to 'shrink'

when exposed to cooler temperatures .

If you have a sensitive digestive system, you may have to work up your

tolerance by consuming 1 tablespoon of sauerkraut a day for a week or so.

That's what I had to do initially, and now I'm eating lots pretty much every

day (and LOVING it!) The kraut will keep in the fridge for months. In fact,

you'll find that it will continue getting better and better. So yum!

Commercial fermented products found in supermarkets and stores are usually

pasteurized. In other words, they are no longer 'alive', and the enzymes and beneficial

bacteria have been destroyed. Not to mention all the salt, sugar and

preservatives that they may contain! Yet another reason to start making your

own!

If you would like to find out more about fermented veggies/sauerkraut making,

there is loads of info available on the net. As I was mentioning earlier, Mike's site is

awesome. Here are another couple of good ones:

Chet Day's Health & Beyond

Dr. Mercola's site

And there's of course the

'mecca' of fermented veggies:

Sandor Ellix Katz's WildFermentation.com

Happy sauerkraut making!

*~*~*~*

Photo Credits

green

cabbage 2 by L0is

Red

Cabbage by marcusfrieze

Technorati Tags: Raw, fermentation, fermented vegetables,

cultured vegetables, sauerkraut

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