# Sauerkraut



## wyogoob

I love fresh sauerkraut, not the pasteurized kind you buy in a jar, but fresh sauerkraut right out of a crock or jar.

I use to take a dozen heads of cabbage out of the garden and make it every fall. Put it in a 20-gallon crock on a cool back porch or garage. Every week I had to open it up, scrape off the mold, "change the linen", and add some "new" water. Kind of a pain.

Now I have a fermentation pot. It's cool; easy. Put shredded cabbage in it and some salt, stir it up, cover and 4 weeks later you have fresh sauerkraut. The lid sits in a trough of water making the pot air tight. As the veggies ferment they build up gas that "farts" pushing the lid up and breaking the seal momentarily. I can here it now as I write this. 

There's no mold to scrape off, no maintenance, just set it by the back door for 3 to 5 weeks.

Shred it:


Put it in a fermentation pot with some salt. I add a little caraway seed and some juniper berries:


Lay cabbage leaves over the top:


Weight it down:


Seal the lid off with water:


It makes it's own juice as it ferments:


I waited 30 days for this batch, never taking the lid off:


Smoked Keilbasa sausage and kraut:


Rueben sandwiches with homemade elk pastrami and crisp fresh sauerkraut;


More later.


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## NHS

MMMMMM......Sauerkraut!! :EAT:


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## wyogoob

Sauerkraut salad. Hee Haw!!


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## .45

wyogoob said:


> I love fresh sauerkraut, not the pasteurized kind you buy in a jar, but fresh sauerkraut right out of a crock or jar.
> 
> I use to take a dozen heads of cabbage out of the garden and make it every fall. Put it in a 20-gallon crock on a cool back porch or garage. Every week I had to open it up, scrape off the mold, "change the linen", and add some "new" water. Kind of a pain.
> 
> Now I have a fermentation pot. It's cool; easy. Put shredded cabbage in it and some salt, stir it up, cover and 4 weeks later you have fresh sauerkraut. The lid sits in a trough of water making the pot air tight. As the veggies ferment they build up gas that "farts" pushing the lid up and breaking the seal momentarily. I can here it now as I write this.
> 
> There's no mold to scrape off, no maintenance, *just set it by the back door for 3 to 5 weeks.*


Are you sure you didn't mean* 'throw it** out'* the back door?!! _/O _/O


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## wyogoob

.45 said:


> ..........................................................................................................................


Are you sure you didn't mean* 'throw it** out'* the back door?!! _/O _/O[/quote]

You should eat some sauerkraut .45, a bowel movement would do you some good! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


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## gdog

Oh man...I'm on my way up!


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## wyogoob

You better hurry, the coyotes are having their way with all our rabbits this year.


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## backpacker

How long does the kraut keep once it's finished? Sounds like something my old man might be interested in, he's a fool for some sauerkraut, too 
Haven't seen one of those mixers for years, remember burning up my folks' on a batch of gingerbread cookies...


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## wyogoob

backpacker said:


> How long does the kraut keep once it's finished? Sounds like something my old man might be interested in, he's a fool for some sauerkraut, too
> Haven't seen one of those mixers for years, remember burning up my folks' on a batch of gingerbread cookies...


After two or three weeks you can take the sauerkraut out of the pot, a meal at a time say, for another two or three weeks, longer if you keep it in the fridge. The colder it is the less it ferments. After a month, when th ekraut is at it's best and if there's any kraut left, the wife will can it in quart jars or give it away. I prefer it fresh, not cooked, though.

The contraption is an old Osterizer Kitchen Center. You can still find them on eBay.


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## sawsman

Oh baby! That looks like some good stuff goob!

I like kraut even more than coleslaw. |-O-|


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## justuspr

So if your wife cans it does it need pressure cooked or just boiled for a while?


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## wyogoob

justuspr said:


> So if your wife cans it does it need pressure cooked or just boiled for a while?


Sauerkraut is not normally put away in a pressure cooker. It's hot-packed, cooked for ten minutes, or so, then sealed in jars.

I don't think we will hot pack it anymore. Kraut, Kimchi, or other fermented veggies made in a fermentation crock will keep a couple months in the fridge.

I use to can kraut with one-half a jalapeno in each quart jar. I might do that once in awhile. Heating the pepper up really brings out the fiesty flavor, something I can't duplicate in a fermentation pot.


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## wyogoob

I like this one; ate it all the time growing up;

*Pork Ribs with Sauerkraut*

*Ingredients:*
2 - 3 lbs - pork back ribs
1 - 12oz can beer
2 lbs - sauerkraut, drained
2 - 3 tbsp - brown sugar
1 tsp - salt
enough oil to brown ribs

*Directions:*
Cut pork ribs into 2-rib portions
Brown ribs in hot oil
Drain off oil and add ½ tsp salt and beer to ribs
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low
Simmer for 30 minutes
Add sauerkraut, brown sugar and ½ tsp salt
Simmer for 60 minutes or until tender

*Optional:* 
Add one quartered jalapeno for some zip
Throw everything in a crock pot and cook on low for 8 hrs or so.


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## gdog

Goob.....got any sauerkraut left for today?


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## wyogoob

gdog said:


> Goob.....got any sauerkraut left for today?


I do, a bunch of it....in my suite...uh....my room with a microwave and a fridge....in the Bate's Hotel, Gillette WY.

Corned Beef and Cabbage tonight!!!!!!


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## wyogoob

Sauerkraut Salad recipe;

1 qt - sauerkraut
1 cup - onion, chopped
1 cup - celery chopped
1 green pepper - chopped
1 small jar - pimentos or 1/4 cup sliced radishes (something red)
1/2 cup - sugar
1/3 cup - vinegar

Mix it all together and let stand overnight.



Made a batch of kraut last September. Keep it in it's fermentation pot on the kitchen floor and I grab a bowl full when ever I need it; say hot dogs, brats, a reuben sandwhich or stuffing for a duck. It's always fresh, nice and crispy!



Put radishes in it this time.

.


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## sawsman

Man, that looks good.. I like radishes and pimentos. Thanks for sharing goob.


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## .45

jeez...how about some real food !


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## sawsman

.45 said:


> jeez...how about some real food !


Hotdogs?


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## waspocrew

I love the pictures of everything finished and on a plate... you should have an outdoors cookbook!


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## Skullanchor

Oh man that looks awesome, I'll be on the lookout for one of those fermentor doodads. I've been wanting to make fresh kraut for years. I grew up in a very Germanic region of the U.S. fresh kraut was in all the supermarkets in bags usually next to the kielbasa. I remember hunting and hunting in the grociery stores in Ogden, wandering where the Kraut was...first time I ever saw it in the canned food section and its just not the same.


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## Skullanchor

been checking out ebay and just trying to gauge size of that fermenter on your counter...is that the 5 liter ? Thanks


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## wyogoob

Skullanchor said:


> been checking out ebay and just trying to gauge size of that fermenter on your counter...is that the 5 liter ? Thanks


No, it's a 10, way too big. 12 pounds of cabbage and it's only 1/2 full. It's a little heavy when its full.

Wish I had a 5 liter.


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## Skullanchor

Thanks! I do believe I may get me one, a little pricey but look like real quality . one might even make a good x-mas present for my parents. last time they made sauerkraut is when i was a kid and it was more of a chore


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## Skullanchor

Well a few weeks back I ordered me a 5L crock similar to yours and I've had my first batch going for two weeks. Question : Have you experienced any of the water from the airlock trough sucking into the crock? For about a week i thought the water was evaporating and i would just keep putting more in. ,I haven't had to do that in a couple days which was odd because it was an every morning, every evening occurrence. but today I wanted to taste and see how it was going and when i pulled the lid off It was obvious that all of the water had somehow made it into my batch because it was level with the top. No cracks that i can see so i thought I'd ask to see if you experienced this. Doesn't seem to have effected the batch, its definitely not done but coming along. kind of salty. Thanks wyogoob!


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## wyogoob

Skull the rate of evaporation in the seal trough is relative to the temperature and humidity. We put water in the trough on our 10L every other day. Sometimes it needs water some times it doesn't take much. If we go away for a week we do nothing. It dries up but the the CO2 pretty much stays in the pot keeping the oxygen out.

Nothing leaked into the pot. It's just the cabbage "sweating", making juice. When you first add the salt to the shredded cabbage it appears too dry, making you believe you didn't add enough salt. But two weeks later it's covered in water.

You're fine. Wait another two weeks.


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## Skullanchor

Thanks, I can't wait for the finished product. I saw the juice clear up to the top and was kind of baffled since it started out only an inch above my stones., what cued me in was i saw a little floater kraut in the trough. I got 5 heads in that smaller crock all chopped up and smashed down with about a Tblsp and a half per head of salt. any more and i couldn't get the stones in (It wasn't easy getting them in there)..just in case you were curious about capacity. Thanks again and I'll check back in after the finished product


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## pkred

This is another great thread Goob. I plan on making the Krout this year as well. I plan to use shallots and some peppers to mix it up. My Grandmother gave me her 3 gal crock as she cant use it anymore. But after reading your thread I think I might use my plastic beer brewing bucket with the air lock. Thanks for doin the walkin.

Best sandwich in the world ~

Beef Corned Brisket
Hickory smoke'n wood and smoker
Sour Krout
Swiss cheese
Jewish Rye Bread (any rye will do)
Thousand Island salad dressing 

Take that brisket and smoke it for a couple, three hours @ 250ish. Remove and put in pressure cooker with corned beef season packet and some water/beer for one hour. Let brisket rest 20 min, then slice it like you like it. Assemble sandwich with meat, then swiss, then krout and finally the dressing. I was a non believer until I actually took a bite. Now I too call this the greatest sandwich in the world.


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## wyogoob

Cool, pkred, the airlock thing is becoming very popular for fermenting vegetables as well as for beer and wine.

Keep us posted on your kraut. 


I wonder what become of skullanchor? I think he talked about moving or going on a mission or something.


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## pkred

Maybe he got on the Krout and just could not break the habit? It happens to good people all the time. 

You been collecting any wild fungus this year? I will be in Murdock Basin the weekend before the bow hunt (Aug. 10-12). Gonna go into grandaddy the back way to pine island lake on that Saturday. Historically this has been a good foray for me.


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## johnnycake

Ughh...I come from Amish roots and when I was a kid my mom ALWAYS had a crock of 'kraut rotting away in the kitchen.....and I have never recovered from the trauma. About the time I was 10, the rest of the family rebelled enough to say, "Trash it and never bring it back!".....I still cannot stomach the thought of eating it again.....
But I hope you enjoy yours!


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## Greenhead_Slayer

I did a batch this spring with all the goods in our garden. I didn't have a crock nor a desire to spend the money on one so I just used a food grade 5 gallon bucket. Same prep and everything, most dinner plates will sit on the shredded goods at the bottom of the bucket. Just add a heavy weight to the top (I used 2-liter pop bottles filled with water) and it does the same thing.

I've been having eggs from the chickens and kraut every morning for breakfast for the last month or so, phenomenal.


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## wyogoob

Greenhead_Slayer said:


> I did a batch this spring with all the goods in our garden. I didn't have a crock nor a desire to spend the money on one so I just used a food grade 5 gallon bucket. Same prep and everything, most dinner plates will sit on the shredded goods at the bottom of the bucket. Just add a heavy weight to the top (I used 2-liter pop bottles filled with water) and it does the same thing.
> 
> I've been having eggs from the chickens and kraut every morning for breakfast for the last month or so, phenomenal.


Cool beans. Sauerkraut is very healthy stuff. You will live to be a 100!


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## Moostickles

Greenhead_Slayer said:


> I've been having eggs from the chickens...


Those are usually the best ones. :lol:


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## Greenhead_Slayer

UtahHuntingDirect said:


> Greenhead_Slayer said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've been having eggs from the chickens...
> 
> 
> 
> Those are usually the best ones. :lol:
Click to expand...

Haha good catch. I should have clarified! Eggs from the chickens in the backyard*


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## Moostickles

That's what I figured, just thought it was funny.  

Would you mind sharing the directions/steps for the bucket kraut?


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## Greenhead_Slayer

UtahHuntingDirect said:


> That's what I figured, just thought it was funny.
> 
> Would you mind sharing the directions/steps for the bucket kraut?


At one point I had pictures of everything on my phone, then my 8 month son decided to drop it in a bowl of cereal...

You just use the same directions as the regular kraut, the only different part is finding a plate that is as close of a fit to the diameter of the bucket as possible. After the plate is snug inside the bucket you press down hard enough until the liquid from the cabbage is above the plate. I put the big extra cabbage leaves on the top of the shredded veggies. After that you add your weight on top of the plate, it is important to pick something heavy enough to keep pressing down on the cabbage.

For mine I used:
2 heads of green cabbage
2 heads of purple cabbage
12ish? carrots 
1 head of brocolli
4 onions 
2 Tbsp. sea salt
1 bunch of fresh dill
2 cups of apple cider vinegar
A decent amount of cayenne pepper, I didn't measure it.

YouTube has a plethora of videos about different types of fermented veggies and sauerkraut.


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## wyogoob

Made this crock-full of sauerkraut July 30th, 2012. It's still going strong; just sits on the countertop. This batch has red chili peppers and a few caraway seeds in it. Has a nice bite to it, really good on deli sandwiches or with sausage.



Every 3 or 4 days, or anytime the lid is taken off, we put water in the "trough" seal to keep the air out. Kinda funny, if the temperature in the kitchen goes up 5 degrees or so the kraut will start burping, making gas, again.


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## .45

_/O _/O


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## wyogoob

Elk Pastrami and Swiss with kraut on rye - yummy:


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## wyogoob

*10 months old - perfect*

Made this crock of sauerkraut March 23 2013. Whole juniper berries and dried red peppers in this batch. Cooked up some pork chops and kraut. It's 10 months old and has always sat on the counter top. Never had to skim any mold off the kraut with the trough-type storage container it's stored in. There's still about a quart left and it tastes as good as it did 6 months ago, not soft or slimey and still has a nice "bite" to it.

Pretty neat



.


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## Mr Muleskinner

I couldn't take it anymore. I went down today and bought a fermenting crock. Just finished up my first batch of kraut.

As a family we are going out of way to be more organic and make more stuff from scratch. We trashed pretty much all of our condiments and have made our own olive oil mayo, mustard and ketchup. Made some butter like spread out of olive oil too. The olive oil mayo is delicious and literally takes about 30 seconds to make with a plunge mixer.


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## wyogoob

Mr Muleskinner said:


> I couldn't take it anymore. I went down today and bought a fermenting crock. Just finished up my first batch of kraut.
> 
> As a family we are going out of way to be more organic and make more stuff from scratch. We trashed pretty much all of our condiments and have made our own olive oil mayo, mustard and ketchup. Made some butter like spread out of olive oil too. The olive oil mayo is delicious and literally takes about 30 seconds to make with a plunge mixer.


 What's a plunge mixer?

.


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## Mr Muleskinner

Also called an immersion blender....sorry.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...enelectrics_&gclid=CNjzpIunu7wCFfFDMgodt00A1g


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## Mr Muleskinner

here is the same basic recipe I use for the olive oil mayo.

http://www.perrysplate.com/2011/03/how-to-make-olive-oil-mayonnaise.html


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## wyogoob

Mr Muleskinner said:


> Also called an immersion blender....sorry.
> 
> http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...enelectrics_&gclid=CNjzpIunu7wCFfFDMgodt00A1g


 oh, ok


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## wyogoob

*elk pastrami on rye*

Down to about 2 cups of sauerkraut that was made almost one year ago. There's no mold and the kraut is crispy with great flavor.

The crock just sits on the counter top. The only maintenance is keeping water in the lid trough to keep the oxygen out.



Making reuben sandwiches. 

.


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## wyogoob

*time to clean out the crock*

It's time to clean out the sauerkraut crock for another year.

Rack of baby back ribs, cut in 2-bone riblets
6 cups - sauerkraut
2 tbsp - brown sugar
1/2 tsp - caraway seeds

5 to 6 hours in the crock pot



wow


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## wyogoob

*Time for another batch*

Used up the last of the sauerkraut in the crock, about 3 1/3 cups. It was over 7 months old, but still crispy and without mold (not that mold on sauerkraut is a bad thing).

Added 1 1/2 pounds of smoked low sodium elk keilbasa, some potatoes, carrots, and onions to the sauerkraut. Sprinkled on 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. 8 hours on low in the slow cooker and I'm in probiotic Heaven: 


Don't forget to use the sauerkraut juice. That's where a lot of the lactic acid goodies are:


Shredded 8-pounds of cabbage thru the old Oster Kitchen Center.


8 lbs - shredded cabbage
3 tbsp - plain salt
20 - juniper berries
1 tbsp - caraway seed

Have to wait about a month for the new batch to ferment. It's going to be tough. :|

.


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## Dunkem

I gotta try this, I love krout and buy Bubbies which is good but $8.00 a jar is alot!!

Need to find a crock!


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## wyogoob

Dunkem said:


> I gotta try this, I love krout and buy Bubbies which is good but $8.00 a jar is alot!!
> 
> Need to find a crock!


You can use an old crock, a glass jar or any earthen pot. I used plain old crocks for 25 years. Now I'm using a fermentation pots with a water-seal lid. 5 liter size is big enough for us. They run from $60 to $150.

Here's a good deal:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schmitt-Ori...rmenting-Crock-Sauerkraut-Maker-/322356851039


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## Dunkem

To bad that one is missing the stones. I'm gonna check on those, I will get a new one.


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## wyogoob

*stones*



Dunkem said:


> To bad that one is missing the stones. I'm gonna check on those, I will get a new one.


Not all fermentation crocks come with stones. Mine didn't. I use stones now though. They're OK but not maintenance free. Stones are porous and carry mold. They should be boiled periodically.

A quart Zip-loc bag full of water works pretty good.

.


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## Dunkem

I'm guessing you could use the crock for sweet pickles also?


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## wyogoob

*sweet pickles?*



Dunkem said:


> I'm guessing you could use the crock for sweet pickles also?


Never tried any sweet pickled veggies in a fermentation crock.

.


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## wyogoob

The 5 liter crock holds about 12 lbs of cabbage when full. I usually don't put any more than 8 lbs of cabbage in it. Here's 8 lbs, 2/3rds full:


Any more than 2/3rds full and it's very hard to get the stones in the crock:


.


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## wyogoob

wyogoob said:


> Not all fermentation crocks come with stones. Mine didn't. I use stones now though. They're OK but not maintenance free. Stones are porous and carry mold. They should be boiled periodically.
> 
> A quart Zip-loc bag full of water works OK.
> 
> .


I see, browsing Ebay, they make fermentation pot stones out of glass just like the ones they have for fruit jars:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Luna-Glass-...918190?hash=item1c75f29bee:g:gIUAAOSwxN5WZcP3

Hey Dunken, I got that fermentation pot on Ebay; stole it. It's really nice.

.


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## Packout

Goob- when will that batch be ready? Oh and I'll need your address too......


..


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## wyogoob

*Genghis Khan carried sauerkraut with him.*



Packout said:


> Goob- when will that batch be ready? Oh and I'll need your address too......
> 
> ..


3 weeks or so. I'll be gone. It'll prolly spoil. lol

.


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## DallanC

No way I'm riding with you next week if you've been eating sauerkraut!

;-)


-DallanC


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## elkmule123

What do you think about this wygoob?

https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Fermenter-Wide-Mouth-Lid/dp/B01DJVVORE


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## wyogoob

*cool beans*



elkmule123 said:


> What do you think about this wygoob?
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Fermenter-Wide-Mouth-Lid/dp/B01DJVVORE


Those fruit jar fermenters have been around for a long time. I had the old style with the loop-d-loop vent tube on the lid but broke it. The new ones have some kind of new tech vent system.

They are very popular now. I should get one for sauerkraut and kimchi. What's neat is wide mouth jars come in sizes from 1/2 pint to 1 gallon.

They make weighted stones for the wide mouth fruit jars too.

Thanks for the post.

.


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## wyogoob

*Red Sauerkraut*

Made a half-batch of red sauerkraut. It's more of a beet slaw really, using more beets than normal for red sauerkraut.



Ingredients


2/3 medium red cabbage head, shredded

3 medium beet roots, peeled and grated
1 inch ginger piece, peeled and grated
2 tsp sea salt
 Instructions


Add all ingredients in a large bowl, and use your hands for scrunching the mixture for two or three minutes, until the vegetables juices start to collect into the bowl bottom.
Transfer the mixture into a clean glass jar and press well. If the juices don't cover the mixture, add more salted water (1 tsp sea salt for 1 cup of water).
Cover and then store in a cool dark place for one week, until the taste becomes sour.
Store in the refrigerator.
 Will make approximately 4 cups;


I have to admit I stole a half-cup and ate it fresh with a little salad dressing;


Mash it down until the juices start to run;


Put it in the basement to ferment for a couple weeks.

.


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## wyogoob

*I'm in*



elkmule123 said:


> What do you think about this wygoob?
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Fermenter-Wide-Mouth-Lid/dp/B01DJVVORE


Red cabbage n beet kraut:


Hot kraut, made with dried red peppers:


Both are great on sandwiches.

.


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