How to Make Sauerkraut & Other Pickled Vegetables

In my last post, I described how I discovered fresh sauerkraut and why I decided to make my own.

Before I march off and explain how to make sauerkraut, I want to mention that the same lacto-fermentation process can be used to preserve tomatoes, beets, green beans, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, onions and carrots.  If you buy a special crock (recommended) you'll be able to use it for a variety of vegetables that you harvest from your garden, not just cabbage.

For a background on the process and for a a variety of recipes, you should consider buying Making Sauerkraut and Other Pickled Vegetables at Home by Klaus Kaufmann.  The book costs under $10 at Amazon.com and the author has a reassuringly German name (A sauerkraut book from someone named Hernandez or Dubois just wouldn't seem authentic)

While you can make your sauerkraut in other containers a Harsch Fermentation Pot is built for the process and is very convenient.  It's a stoneware crock that has a deep groove running around the rim. (See pictures below)

You fill the groove with water after placing the lid on the crock.  The water acts as a barrier to prevent bacteria and other airborne nasties from getting into your veggies during fermentation.  If you've made beer or wine before, you may be familiar with a device called a fermentation lock.  The groove on the Harsch works just like the fermentation lock.

The Harsh pot comes in sizes ranging from 5.0 liters (1.25 gallons) to 50 liters (12 gallons).  I purchased the 7.5 liter size which easily accommodates 2 cabbages.  Unless you run a catering company that serves ravenous Huns, the 7.5 liter size is going to be plenty big.

To make sauerkraut:

• Create a salt solution by boiling water and adding 4 teaspoons of non-iodized salt for every quart of water.  Let this come to room temperature.
• Remove any dirty or wilted leaves from the cabbage.
• Weigh the cabbage.
• Cut cabbage into shreds and place in large mixing bowl.
• Add non-iodized salt at a rate of 1 teaspoon per pound of cabbage.  Mix.
• Place cabbage in Harsh pot.
• Press down on cabbage with a tamper or your fist to crush the cabbage slightly so that it begins to juice.
• Place weighting stones on the cabbage (These come with your Harsch pot and help keep the cabbage compressed during fermentation.
• Add room temperature salt solution.
• Cover Harsh pot and add water to the pot's groove.
• Leave the fermenting pot in your house at room temperature (68-72 degrees) for 2-3 days.
• Transfer Harsch Pot to a cool place (60-65 degrees) for another 4-6 weeks. ( Keep groove filled with water during this time)

I put my first batch up a few days ago, in a month or so, I'll let you know if my first attempt was a success.

Comments

[greenhouse]

Agreed, a good suggestion for growing vegetable here

[H. Mark Delman]

Hi Greenhouse:
Thanks for commenting! If you have experience with preserving vegetables with lacto-fermentation or other methods, feel free to comment on them. Or if you decide to try lacto-fermentation for the first time, let me know how it turns out for you.
-PlanterTomato

[holiday cottages]

Growing Vegetables is big fun, this post will be helpful for me

[H. Mark Delman]

Hi Holiday Cottages:

Thanks for your comment. I will be posting updates in the future on food preservation and will try compare a variety of techniques including pickling, lacto-fermentation and canning. If there is something of particular interest to you in this or any other area, please let me know and Ill try to address it in future posts.

Kind regards,
-PlanterTomato

[Karis]

I think You do a great job. Thanks
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[H. Mark Delman]

Hi Karis:
Thanks very much for your kind words. If I can be of any help to you, please feel free to contact me.

[Invesp]

Your posts are up to the mark, now i will be visited this page frequently for getting new information, thanks mark

[H. Mark Delman]

Thanks you for your kind remarks! I got another nice surprise this morning; PlanterTomato was rated one of the best gardening blogs by MyLifeScoop.com.
Please let me know if there are topics you are particularly interested in. I may put it on my list of topics to write about in future postings. Again, thank you very much for your kind comments.

[RB]

I made my first batch of kraut in my crock and it turned out great! http://rebeccabaerartfulliving.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-sauerkraut.html

Now I want to try onions alone. Can you offer any tips?

[H. Mark Delman]

I havent done onions yet but I believe it is exactly the same process.

[RB]

Onion update: The onions that I made seemed to ferment just fine. I could see bubbles rising, etc. When I opened the jars the smell reminded me of the old onion smell in a deli. They didn't smell "bad" just not enticing. I used pickling spice bay leaves and brine. The onions overpowered any seasonings. I looked up the canning procedure for onions and found that, due to their low acid content, water-bath canning is not sufficient so I pressure-canned them. Because of the strong onion flavor and smell I opted to add additional components like balsamic glaze to some, pinot grigio to others. Here's hoping they have mellowed.

[H. Mark Delman]

Hi:

Thanks for the Update. On the issue of pressure canning.... Check a MODERN pressure canning guide to make sure you are using the correct quantity of acid. Older guides and recipes may not specify the amount of acid that is currently the standard with the Department of Agriculture. I used to use lemon juice, but decided to move to powdered citric acid since lemons vary from lemon to lemon in their acid content. You can find powdered citric acid (consistent and of known strength) at a canning store and possibly Wal-Mart. If not, you can buy it online. The brand Im aware of is called Mrs. Wages Hope that helps.

-PlanterTomato