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Marthe48

(16,695 posts)
Mon Aug 3, 2020, 01:25 PM Aug 2020

I started sauerkraut about 3 weeks ago

This was my first try. I didn't make much, about 12 oz. I used it today to make sauerkraut balls, which are in the oven. I used the last piece of my homemade sausage for the balls, looking forward to a little food heaven

My effort looks and smells like sauerkraut and I already know I'll do it again.

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I started sauerkraut about 3 weeks ago (Original Post) Marthe48 Aug 2020 OP
love sauerkraut handmade34 Aug 2020 #1
You could probably use veg based sausage Marthe48 Aug 2020 #7
I've had it with the fake Vegan sausage and it tastes great. blm Aug 2020 #8
I like the vegan sausage Marthe48 Aug 2020 #11
Is there any way to do it without a lot of salt?? Bleacher Creature Aug 2020 #2
I don't know about the salt Marthe48 Aug 2020 #4
Thank you!! Bleacher Creature Aug 2020 #13
It is my understanding that salt is key for the fermentation process to work. Kaleva Aug 2020 #12
I read more after I set it up Marthe48 Aug 2020 #15
I made a gallon of fermented sugar snap peas. Picked from the garden. Kaleva Aug 2020 #17
That sounds interesting Marthe48 Aug 2020 #18
we are going to have a bumper crop of tomatoes this year & I'll ferment some of them Kaleva Aug 2020 #19
Cool! You did the version that avoids the scary mold on top iirc soothsayer Aug 2020 #3
Thank you Marthe48 Aug 2020 #5
Fantastic! I might be brave and try sometime! soothsayer Aug 2020 #6
I'm leery about any of my experiments Marthe48 Aug 2020 #9
Ha! Please do. soothsayer Aug 2020 #10
If it looks and smells like sauerkraut, it is. Warpy Aug 2020 #14
What a story! Marthe48 Aug 2020 #16

Marthe48

(16,695 posts)
7. You could probably use veg based sausage
Mon Aug 3, 2020, 02:11 PM
Aug 2020

I could see using tofu, or just all of the ingredients except the meat, if you eat cheeses. My daughters are vegetarians. We went to visit my best friend in Cleveland in January. She served sauerkraut balls, that everyone ate, then after realized they weren't meatless. They laughed and shrugged it off. If I made for them, I would find an adaptation.

blm

(112,920 posts)
8. I've had it with the fake Vegan sausage and it tastes great.
Mon Aug 3, 2020, 02:12 PM
Aug 2020

The sauerkraut definitely adds to it. I simmer it in the oven and add the sausage the last 10minutes.

Marthe48

(16,695 posts)
11. I like the vegan sausage
Mon Aug 3, 2020, 02:17 PM
Aug 2020

I don't eat a lot of meat. I have meatless days and don't miss it, but I don't know if I'll ever deliberately become vegetarian. I noticed a lot of older people stopped eating meat, they just didn't like it any more. Maybe I'll be like that

Bleacher Creature

(11,237 posts)
2. Is there any way to do it without a lot of salt??
Mon Aug 3, 2020, 01:39 PM
Aug 2020

I LOVE sauerkraut, but haven't been able to eat it since I had to dramatically lower my sodium levels.

Also, do you use a fermenting crock?

Marthe48

(16,695 posts)
4. I don't know about the salt
Mon Aug 3, 2020, 02:06 PM
Aug 2020

I read about food safety, and seems like salt goes with fermenting vegetables. Maybe if you tried making your own, you could rinse it really well? Or maybe find an alternative method?

I didn't use a crock. I shredded the cabbage and put it in a mixing bowl. By the time I got done, all of it fit in a drinking glass with room to spare. I was so surprised! But I was able to cover the kraut with the liquid, then a cabbage leaf, then a weight, a loose cover (plastic lid) and another weight. I stuck the whole contraption into a plastic container and put it in my pantry cupboard. The recipe said to let it ferment 2-6 weeks. When I checked it last week, it looked and smelled good, but I didn't want to rush it.

Marthe48

(16,695 posts)
15. I read more after I set it up
Tue Aug 4, 2020, 09:06 AM
Aug 2020

I'm looking forward to making more kraut and maybe trying other vegetables that ferment well. I was afraid that I used too much salt, but it came out nicely flavored, actually kind of bland.

Marthe48

(16,695 posts)
5. Thank you
Mon Aug 3, 2020, 02:07 PM
Aug 2020

When I took the weight and lid off, it looked clean and ready to use. No scum, nothing unappetizing.

Warpy

(110,913 posts)
14. If it looks and smells like sauerkraut, it is.
Tue Aug 4, 2020, 12:23 AM
Aug 2020

One of my mother's favorite stories was of a whole barrel of it gone wrong at the family farm upstate, trying to get it out of the cellar without having it burst or spill, something that would have rendered the house uninhabitable.

When it goes wrong, you know.

Marthe48

(16,695 posts)
16. What a story!
Tue Aug 4, 2020, 09:11 AM
Aug 2020

I can just imagine. Some one told me my house would smell, but I didn't notice any odd smells at all.


My grandmother's cousin lived on a farm near Jamestown. Beautiful area.

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