Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumI 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.
handmade34
(22,755 posts)not so much the sausage (me vegetarian) but sounds good!!
Marthe48
(16,695 posts)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)The sauerkraut definitely adds to it. I simmer it in the oven and add the sausage the last 10minutes.
Marthe48
(16,695 posts)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)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)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.
Bleacher Creature
(11,237 posts)Kaleva
(36,147 posts)Marthe48
(16,695 posts)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.
Kaleva
(36,147 posts)They turned out delicious!
Marthe48
(16,695 posts)No garden for me this year and boy, do I miss that.
Kaleva
(36,147 posts)soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Glad it worked out!
Marthe48
(16,695 posts)When I took the weight and lid off, it looked clean and ready to use. No scum, nothing unappetizing.
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Good job
Marthe48
(16,695 posts)I was reassured when I read in the food safety article that fermenting actually prevents spoilage and bacteria. I'll let you know if i suffer any ill effects. lol
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/03/fermenting-veggies-at-home-follow-food-safety-abcs/#:~:text=For%20those%20who%20have%20apprehensions,bacteria%20that%20might%20be%20present.
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Warpy
(110,913 posts)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)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.