Good for you! That's nice to hear. Homemade sauerkraut is good stuff.

Jim

Glad to hear you had success!!!

Alexa

Why do you freeze it?

We don't eat a lot of Sauerkraut anymore, mostly because of the salt content... High blood pressure and all.. but when I did, I used to add caraway seeds to mine... gives it a little bit of a kick... does anyone else do that??

Glad it worked out for you this time! So the big question - Worth the effort of making your own? I'm a recent and slow convert into the world of Sauerkraut. Wondering if homemade is a significantly different product which I should try out.

FOAS, homemade sauerkraut isn't even the same creature as the stuff from the store. I always make kraut, I didn't need to pack any last year because I'd canned 55 quarts the year before that.

Michael, I always find it to be a bit salty, so I rinse it before I cook it/eat it. I'm so glad yours came out well, I've been thinking about you.

Annie

"Why do you freeze it?"

Why not? To be honest, I think it's easier than putting it into jars and hot packing it.

I also think it has something of a better flavor than hot pack canned.

"Worth the effort of making your own?"

Good God yes!

Store bought sauerkraut is NOTHING like what you'll make at home. Store bought, while it may be "naturally fermented," with active cultures is never fermented for the length of time that kraut you make at home is. It's generally speed fermented over a period of days, rather than weeks. While I've found store krauts that are very good, they are never as good as homemade.

And to be perfectly honest, making sauerkraut is about as non labor intensive as you can get. It takes a short while to prep the crock and tools, and you have to tend it occasionally (skim any scum and yeast, etc.), but by and large sauerkraut is a "set and forget" procedure.

As for caraway seeds in my kraut, good god I HATE caraway seeds!

Glad to hear it went well this year Michael.

Last batch I made I froze half and canned half, no difference except that the frozen might have been a tad crisper....but not by much and it's a whole bunch easier than canning it.

I always rinse my 'kraut before cooking just to get that salty taste out.

Sauerkraut has to be the easiest, no effort, cheapest thing I make each Fall. No comparison, not even close to commercial sauerkraut and like I say , drop dead easy.

Michael, I've been thinking about your sauerkraut too and am soooo glad it turned out good. It sounded like it was going to be a good batch when it kept fermenting. We love sauerkraut and I don't know why I don't make it, especially with the great cabbage we get here. It's been years. Christy would be drooling if I made my ten gallon crock with it.

I'm thinking of getting hot dogs for dinner this evening and having them with my fresh kraut.

Drooling now...

I have never made sauerkraut and would love to make it and can it this winter. Favorite recipe please?

Carmen, these are the directions from Michigan State University's website, and they are identical to the directions I've been using since I was a kid and Grandpa packed the 'kraut.

lb. cabbage
3/4 cup canning or pickling salt

QUALITY: For the best sauerkraut, use firm heads of
fresh cabbage. Shred cabbage and start kraut between 24 and
48 hours after harvest.

YIELD: About 9 quarts

PROCEDURE: Work with about 5 pounds of cabbage at a
time. Discard outer leaves. Rinse heads under cold running
water and drain. Cut heads in quarters and remove cores.
Shred or slice to a thickness of a quarter. Put cabbage in a suitable fermentation container and add 3 tablespoons of salt. Mix thoroughly, using clean hands. Pack firmly until salt draws juices from cabbage. Repeat shredding, salting, and packing until all cabbage is in the container. Be sure the container is deep enough so that its rim is at least 4 or 5 inches above the cabbage. If juice does not cover cabbage, add boiled and cooled brine (1-1/2 tablespoons of salt per quart of water). Add plate and weights, cover container with a clean bath towel. Store at 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit while fermenting. At temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, kraut will be fully fermented in about 3 to 4 weeks; at 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, fermentation may take 5 to 6 weeks. At temperatures lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit kraut may not ferment. Above 75 degrees Fahrenheit, kraut may become soft. If you weigh the cabbage down with a brine-filled bag (6 tablespoons salt to 1 gallon of water), do not disturb the crock until normal fermentation is completed (when bubbling ceases). If you use jars as weight, you will have to check the kraut 2 to 3 times each week and remove scum if it forms. Fully fermented kraut may be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for several months or it may be canned or frozen.

I use a 5 gallon bucket with a lid that I got from a local yogurt factory. I pack the cabbage with my closed fists but Grandpa had a wooden "tamper". I set a plate on top of the kraut in the bucket, add 3 quart jars of brine and put the lid on. Sometimes I have to skim the scum and sometimes I don't.

Good luck!

Annie

Had some of my sauerkraut on bratwurst sandwiches for dinner last night...

Holy crap was it good!

So good, in fact, that that's what I'm having for dinner again tonight. :)

I had bratwurst yesterday for lunch, sadly it wasn't good. Pea-sized pieces of fat were falling out.

I'm wondering how critical that 24-48 hours from harvest is. Does this really mean I should wait until the next local growing season? (What is the growing season, anyway?) Or can I just pick some up at the supermarket.

Anyone looking at Annie's recipe - there's a "25" missing. The recipe is for 25 lbs of cabbage.

FOAS, you're right, I cut off that 25 lbs. of cabbage.

Nope, the fresh isn't "critical", but if your cabbage is older, it will have less moisture and you may need to make some extra brine to cover it while fermenting, the cabbage may not give up enough juice.

As always, fresher is better, of course. I also know people who don't make even 5 lbs. of sauerkraut, they ferment it right in the quart canning jars. The success rate is lower, but some people do manage to do it.

Annie

FOAS, I agree with Annie it doesn't make much of a difference. I prefer to do it in season becasue the cabbage are larger and cheaper.

The season is mid Fall, so you aren't far off. I noticed the cabbages at our market today were huge so definitely not winter cabbage yet.

If your house is cooler than in the Fall the room temp may play in the length of fermenting time.

It's nice, but it's not critical.

Mine comes from the supermarket.

Older cabbage will tend not to have as much juice, so you may end up needing to add salt water to make sure your kraut is covered.