Directions: |
Directions:
Remove outside leaves from cabbage. Quarter, core and shred cabbage. Thoroughly mix 1 cup salt with 20 lbs. cabbage.
Firmly pack into stone jar or tight keg. Cover with wooden lid or dinner plate. Place a jar filled with water on the lid to hold the kraut under the brine which forms as the salt draws juice from the cabbage. Start curing at a temperature of about 85º.
When fermentation begins, move to a cooler place, about 65º. Remove scum each day. Sauerkraut is cured and ready to can from 15 to 40 days, depending upon the temperature at which it is kept. (It takes 3 - 4 weeks at a temperature of 70 - 75 degrees, and 5 - 6 weeks at a temperature of 60 - 65 degrees.)
Pack into hot jars and seal. If there is not enough juice to cover the kraut, add brine made by dissolving 2 tablespoons salt in 1 quart water. Process 30 minutes in hot-water bath.
ALTERNATE METHOD: Sauerkraut may be made by mixing 1 scant tablespoon salt with 1 quart shredded cabbage and packing directly into jars. Do not seal jars until the kraut is cured. Remove scum as it forms. When cured, if there is not enough juice to cover the kraut, add brine made by dissolving 2 tablespoons salt in 1 quart water. Process 30 minutes in hot-water bath. (This type kraut is seldom as good as that cured in bulk.)
Note from Juanita Bundy Owen: My memory of Mom making kraut is that she put the cabbage and salt into the jars, let it cure, added more brine if necessary and tightened the lids, but did not process in hot-water bath.
Alan called me one time to see if I knew how Mom made kraut, saying it was the best he ever ate. He said he could eat a quart at one sitting!
When we asked Alan if we could use his quote he replied, "Of course you can, it is true. I would do it today, the stuff was great. It was tasty and very crunchy. The stuff you buy at the store is mushy. She used to make some for just Daddy and me. I wish that some one had her recipe. I made some a couple of years ago and it definitely was not like what she used to make!"
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