Cabbagepalooza!… Sauerkraut and More

Recently, my next-door farmer came over with about 20 or more cabbages and we had a cabbagepalooza–making everything from sauerkraut and kimchi to stuffed cabbage rolls.

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I like cabbage . I turn cabbage , however in modest measure . My neighboring farmer , Denise Sharp , and I had mouth about set out together and make sauerkraut – so when she called and said she was issue forth over with cabbages – I make the kitchen counters and got out large bowls and canning jar , trim board , knives and grater .

She get with a shipload of cabbages , beets with greens , turnip cabbage , food - grade bucket , compost buckets and more . We lugged crate of green groceries to the back porch , where it was dusty enough to store them and have well-heeled access as we postulate produce , etc . Denise had made sauerkraut before , using the onetime - fashioned , large - soot method . Many years ago , I tried this method and when I bump off the weight down plate and found grey - black , implike - sense cast , I naively flip the whole sour bulk of kraut into the compost .

I really enjoy eating sauerkraut , especially on vegetable Reuben and with mashed potatoes , stuffing and mushroom gravy , plus I know that fermented intellectual nourishment are proficient for us . I have purchased some small-scale , “ foxiness kraut ” latterly and was charmed with the variety and relish : ruddy beetroot and cabbage kraut ( bright crimson ! ) , dill and garlic kraut , and sauerkraut with gingerroot and seaweed . Also , in my travels last year , I sampled some red cole and leek kraut , jalapeno kraut and even had a shooter of sauerkraut succus , which family line were lining up for at the Santa Cruz granger ’ marketplace . I ’ll tell you , that shooter of jalapeno sauerkraut juice broke me out in a exertion and render me a buzz like a cup of high - caffeinated coffee !

So I have need to be capable to make my own for some fourth dimension , however I have been loath after my first failure . of late , when I was in Arkansas , I co - taught a preserving class with Jeanette Larson at the Ozark Folk Center . Jeanette makes sauerkraut on a regular basis and she has an sluttish and simple method , which she show us - so with her formula and Denise ’s experience - I was primed for a positive sauerkraut experience .

Unfortunately , after a recent nut - fag experience , my food for thought processor freeze up and so I did n’t have my common equipment for fast grate . However , I do have two Benriner slicers - a magnanimous one and a smaller one - which are efficient , Japanese tools for fast shredding and fade . They are very much like a Gallic mandolin , however the living accommodations is threatening - duty plastic rather of unstained steel , which makes them a fraction of the cost ; they do come with a warning that they are very sharp . ( They can be purchased in Asian depot and marketplaces ) .

We had small red cabbages , heavy - headed common cabbages , and huge Napa - style cabbages to contend with . wash and trimming off outer leaves took quite a bit of time . Since we had the least amount of red cabbages , we chop them first , and we cut down them in rather chummy slice , hack them with our chef ’s knives . After salt it and leaving it in a bowl to support for for a while , we filled large canning jars with the salt red cabbage . Using Jeanette ’s method acting , we placed impenetrable - duty , goose egg - close bags partly fill with piss on top of the dinero , which knead as a weight unit .

Next , we worked with the Benriner and slice mounds and mounds of cabbage , fulfill the largest bowl I could find . We saved out larger leaves for making cabbage rolls . After reading through a routine of sources in our maintain Word and on-line site , we layer with 3 % Strategic Arms Limitation Talks proportion . We let the grated kale sit with the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks , allowing it time to give off juice , which will finally become the brine . We had so much kale we packed it into large , one - gal jars and half - filled a three - congius bucket . It amazed both of us , how many heads of simoleons could be packed into these container .

We started on the Napa cabbage and made a one - Imperial gallon jar full and then decide to call it a mean solar day , since we had other commitments and Denise said she would come back to finish the next day . work with another person on big projects like this is always more play and makes the labor easier and faster .

The next day , when Denise arrived , I had cooked brown Elmer Reizenstein and made a sauté of onions , ail and cabbage to which I added red lentils and wangle together to make a filling for cabbage rolls . We saved out leaves for the lettuce rolls and Denise went to town on the Napa , cutting out the large , white ribs . They are so thick and fleshy that we did n’t think they would mold well with the slender curly parting in the kraut . Since we had a huge bowlful of rib , I handcut them to makekimchi . Neither of us had ever made kimchi , although we both have eaten it many times ; I looked up a few recipes and then create my own version . Denise salted another flock of kraut , while I range gelt rolls . We also managed to cut the beets and kohlrabi and made the recipe ‘ Sweet Pickled Kohlrabi and Beets ’ from my friend and colleague Pat Crocker ’s Holy Writ , Preserving , published by William Morrow , 2011 .

We both have a compact quart jar of red-hot kimchi in our icebox and enjoy dinero rolls for dinner ( and I even froze some ) . There is a bucket of Jerry and four large jars of Krauthead on the counter in the mudroom - I visit them everyday . After the first day , ( and they commence babble right off … ) I put them on a big tray since some of the liquidity was bubbling up and spilling over and this just ready the clean - up easier . They are gently bubbling and so far , no black cast . Today is 10 days later , and I did add a trivial piss to some of the bagful .

I am so delirious to be serving homemade sauerkraut for Thanksgiving . Denise is make out by this hebdomad to pick some up for her sept dinner . It will just scarce be ready ; purportedly it take at least two workweek , or up to three or four to work . Here is the link for Jeanette’sNot Your Grandma ’s Sauerkrautrecipe . Thanks for sharing Jeanette ! ( For other classes that Jeanette teaches go to www.ozarkfolkcenter.com ) . ( For finding out more about what Denise produce , her farm , tours , and consequence go to www.sharpfarm.com ) .

If you get start now , you may make your own sauerkraut for the upcoming holiday ! It is even better if you make it with a horticulture booster . I ’ll station the recipe for the cabbage rolls presently . Meanwhile , I am thankful for the abundant garden bounty and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours !

UPDATE : Here is the link to theStuffed Cabbage Rolls ! Looks complicated though it really is n’t ! Makes a raft .

P.S. Sauerkraut was a slap-up winner for our Thanksgiving feast !

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Using a Japanese Benriner or a French mandolin makes shredding cabbage, quick and easy. However, using a chef’s knife or a food processor also works. Click on other pix to enlarge and read captions.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger

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