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Anybody here make "Raw Sauerkraut"


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Michael, sorry I'm so late in seeing this. DH and I make 'raw' kraut all the time. It doesn't last long enough around here to keep it a year but I know it will keep months. We both love it and so does my Mom. We make it with both red and green cabbage and each has a bit different taste.

 

We simply add two tablespoons of sea salt to a medium head of shredded cabbage and pound it until the juice starts to run, about ten minutes. We then pack it tightly by pounding it into quart jars, leaving one inch head space and put on a lid. We let it set, like you did, for three days at room temperature, making sure to set the jars on a plate as it will sometimes overflow as it works. We also have to watch the lid as it will sometimes bulge and we open the jar enough to let out the pressure.

 

It will taste salty at first but as it sets a while in the refrigerator it loses that and the taste becomes like true kraut only, as you say, nice and crunchy and fresh tasting. This is actually the same type of recipe used in the past to 'put up kraut' in big crocks 'down in the cellar'. The longer this sets the softer and stronger it will get but it's still all good. Some recipes call for caraway seeds and that's really good too.

 

You can actually use this same method with many different vegetables. See Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions for lots of ideas for both vegetables and fruits. It's strange how we've lost these old time preserving ideas. I know some of the lost recipes are because of safety reasons but I wonder sometimes if we aren't safer with these types of recipes than our home canning ones.

 

Happy krauting...

:bighug2:

Edited by Mother
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AH, it needs to be fully fermented first. Just 3 days will not give it enough natural lactic acid growth to make it safe. This is just like doing any fermented pickle. Unless fully fermented, you can get listeria.

I made some sauerkraut in a jar recently, let it fully ferment, then put in the fridge. It is so crispy, mild flavor, etc. Takes about 2 weeks to ferment at room temperature.

Instead of using vinegar in a pickled food to make it safe, when you ferment, it makes it's own natural lactic acid. That takes the place of vinegar. Listeria can grow in the fridge. Keeping it cold won't stop listeria.

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  • 6 months later...

I made sauerkraut for the first time last year and it was amazing! I'm addicted to sauerkraut now. It tastes so much better than store bought. Now I need to make some...

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I've done it twice in mason jars. One time it was fine, the next it molded.

 

last year I made 40 lbs of raw sauerkraut in fido jars. It's kept perfectly in my basement (walkout basement) for over a year, and still tastes amazing. Here's an article on different methods to make raw sauerkraut, and how they stack up to each other: http://www.nourishingtreasures.com/index.php/2012/07/03/sauerkraut-survivor-final-report/

 

I buy my fido jars from Crate & Barrel, and wait for an outlet sale. http://www.crateandbarrel.com/fido-jars-with-clamp-lids/f33489

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