Sauerkraut

I'm not sure where I got my love of sauerkraut but it probably came from my mom's mom, Grandma G.  Grandma G made a number of traditional German foods for special occasions and each time it was treated like a national holiday in my family.  From dumplings (if I remember correctly they were just bread balls that you dipped in maple or corn syrup), case-nuh-fluh (I have no idea how to spell it ((even Google couldn't help me figure it out)) but it was a ravioli like pocket that was filled with dried cottage cheese and served in a butter and cream sauce), to kuchen (I only remember this happening once, when I was very little, but I distinctly remember the excitement in the voices of all the adults and knew I was in for something special).  

I don't actually remember eating any of Grandma G's sauerkraut.  I think by that point in her life the work to make it wasn't really worth it so I only have stories from my mom about how much it made the house smell.  After getting a head of cabbage this fall in our CSA box I decided I wanted to give it a shot.

I should also mention LJ hates sauerkraut.  I don't think I can state this strongly enough actually (the bold and italics aren't even enough).  The only time I open a jar of sauerkraut in our kitchen is when she will be gone for the entire evening and not returning for at least 12 hours so that there is time for the smell to disperse.  I was a little worried about this as I prepared to make a homemade batch but I figured I could get away with it since she didn't have a better idea for the head of cabbage, or I could convince her that I was trying to ward off scurvy.

Sauerkraut is incredibly simple.  Pretty much all it takes is cabbage, salt, and time.  I had put off making it in the past because I don't own a proper fermenting crock, but after reading a number of articles online I realized any non-reactive container could be used.  I had a few extra quart jars around from canning pickles so I stuffed my cabbage in to those.  I stuffed some plastic bags in the jars and filled the bags with beans to weigh down the cabbage to keep it submerged while the fermentation took place.

I fermented the cabbage for about two weeks and then placed the jar in the fridge.  It wasn't as sour as I had hoped and it began to turn brown after a day or two.  After doing some more reading online there were a few suggestions that using non-chlorinated water would help in the fermentation process.  We live a few miles from an artesian well where we can get free water so next time I get my hands on a head of cabbage I am going to give it another shot.