Kraut

[Mad Trapper]

So I started a batch. Pictures suck from my OLD 2G dumb phone.

Will split into a few posts.....


Mad Trappers Polish Kraut


Re: The 2021 version of the first batch of kraut.


Materials and ingredients:

Detergent/bleach

3 10> lb heads of late cabbage. (late Dutch)

Canning salt

Table spoon

Antique cabbage shredder

Large cutting board

Large Chef knife

2-gal pan to shred over: the shredder needs to sit on top of it (something you’d cook pasta in)

1-gal food grade plastic bucket to weigh cabbage in

Kitchen scale ~ 10 lb capacity

5-gal food grade pickle bucket w/lid

Clean quart Mason jar (to press/compress shredded cabbage)

Dinner plate just smaller than top of pickle bucket, buckets taper.

Turkey baster bag or crock pot liner.

[Mad Trapper]

Procedure

Clean all equipment with warm soapy bleach. Rinse.

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Make sure shredder kinves and chef knife are sharp. Adjust shedder knives to give nickel thickness cuts.

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Remove any dirty or blemished leaves from the cabbages. You can cut around small spots.

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Trim off cabbage stem end. Quarter the cabbage, start at stem end, work around and don’t chop off a finger: if you have a shredder, do not core the quarters.

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[Mad Trapper]

Procedure

Clean all equipment with warm soapy bleach. Rinse.

Make sure shredder kinves and chef knife are sharp. Adjust shedder knives to give nickel thickness cuts.

Remove any dirty or blemished leaves from the cabbages. You can cut around small spots.

Trim off cabbage stem end. Quarter the cabbage, start at stem end, work around and don’t chop off a finger: if you have a shredder, do not core the quarters.

Place the pan on the cutting board and the shredder on top of that.

Bad picture

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You want to shred from the outside of each quarter towards the core, perpendicular to the leaves you are shredding. This will keep the quarter from falling apart.

Another poor pic

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The shreds fall into the pan. Don’t push the cabbage through the shredder, get a head of steam up and let the momentum of the cabbage and your arm quickly push things through the knives. If you do this very little pieces/leaves will break off you later need to slice/dice with the knife. The shredder will shred fingertips and hands too, be careful.

[Mad Trapper]

Start at the top corner of the quarter. Hold the quarter ~ 45 degrees to the shredder at the core pointing away from the knives. The head top of the leaves are ~ 90 degrees to the core axis. You need to shred these first. Work on the top and back to core, then you can take large cuts. As you pare down the quarter, remember to try to keep the leaves as close to 90 degrees to the shredder knives. You should end up with just a core in your hand and all the shreds in the pan. It’s a learning experience.

Tare your scale to the weight of your 1-gal bucket. Transfer 5-lbs of shredded cabbage to the bucket , it should just fit heaping. Transfer ~ 1/3 of the 5-lbs to the pickle bucket, sprinkle in 1-tbs of salt; mix well with clean hands. Mix each portion well. Repeat with other two portions. Allow mixed cabbage to stand while you shred another 5-lbs. Use the bucket lid to keep out debris.

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The salt will soften the cabbage and draw out moisture. When you have finished shredding the next 5-lbs,, use a clean Mason jar to compress the cabbage mixture already in the bucket. You want it tight as possible and to drive out air. Repeat as you shred more cabbage. About 25-lbs will be best for a 5-gal bucket.

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Pressed down

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You can take breaks as you shred/transfer. The longer the salt works on the cabbage the softer it gets and the more moisture comes out. When the bucket is full or you are out of cabbage, allow it to stand a while, then again compress the whole batch. Enough juice should have evolved to cover the cabbage. Picture shows plate pressed down w/natural juice covering

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If not let it sit and compress again, and/or add just enough brine solution to cover the cabbage (1 ½ tbs salt/quart).

Wipe out the inside of 5-gal bucket, from it’s top to cabbage level, with a clean moist paper towel. This removes splilled juices and cabbage fragments (these will spoil and drip into the ferment). Place the clean dinner plate on top of the cabbage and press down, juices/brine should be above plate level (try this before adding any brine). Use a turkey baster bag or crock pot liner (food grade) to act as an air lock on the ferment. Fill it with ~ ½-1-gal of brine (1 ½ tbs/quart) and place it on top of the plate. It should seal the circumference of the bucket above the plate and omit air. If the bag is large enough tie the top off, if not drape it over the rim of the bucket and secure it with the lid. Make sure there are no air gaps to the cabbage mixture below.

picture don't show the brine in bag, it's 4" deep sealing out air

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Place in warm location for 3-4 weeks. 65-70 oF is best. Below 60 oF ferment won’t start well and/or stop. Especially important to be warm to start the ferment.

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Last pic is cover with holes plugged to keep out fruit flies, the holes are as they double duty as maple sap buckets

[Mad Trapper]

3-4 weeks until I pull the top and can or refrigerate. Will start cider batches until then..........

[Slippy]

EXCELLENT!

Professor Mad Trapper I salute you!