Sauerkraut Day

Today we made sauerkraut.  Or maybe I should say Ken made sauerkraut with my help.  He brought up the storage cabbage - four large recycle tubs.  

I then pulled off any wilted leaves.

Then it was rinse and drain.

I moved them over to where Ken was shredding.

He has had this kraut cutter for more decades than I have known him!

We save the cabbage cores in a cool place for the next batch of soup stock.  This season it will be goose bones after we butcher them - once we get another warm spell and some pork bones from the locker

Then Ken weighs the shredded cabbage and adds salt...

...and juniper berries.

Then it goes down to the crock where Ken pushes it until the liquid rises above the cabbage, and then he places a weight over the kraut and covers it.  Fermentation time varies with the temperature.

The last batch just came out of the crock Sunday and is now in jars in the cooler. 

We took a field tip to get organic ginger root for the next batch of fermented vegetables - gingered carrots.