sauerkraut

[JeremyinCzechRep]

It's my first attempt at sauerkraut so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I watched a few things on you tube to see how different people do it and then took the plunge. Yesterday I grated ten kilos of white cabbage and left the cabbage with a lot of salt, overnight. This morning I put the cabbage together with slices of horseradish (it apparently helps control the growth of mould) into a large wooden bucket and trod on it - as you do with grapes. I have covered it and hopefully it will ferment in the coming weeks. My question: Do I have to add caraway seeds? I live in the Czech Republic where they use tons of the horrible things - in bread, on potatoes, on roast duck and, yes, when making sauerkraut. The locals in my village think I'm nuts even thinking about trying to make sauerkraut without caraway seeds. Has anyone here made caraway-seed free sauerkraut?

[Green Aura]

It's alright Jeremy, don't panic! You don't have to put caraway in sauerkraut.

The locals are probably horrified/laughing at the thought of you farting round the village - caraway is a natural anti-flatulent and cabbage is its raison d'etre

[JeremyinCzechRep]

Thanks, Maggie. Note to self: investigate methane as source of house heating fuel.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I love sauerkraut, but I've never attempted to make my own. Please feedback on how it goes.

[JeremyinCzechRep]

I'm taking photos. I'll write it up after eating the first sample.

[Minnesota]

I've made several batches over the years...none this year,
my dear neighbor with the cabbage cutter has moved on
to a better place...leaving her cutter with her daughter
I add nothing but salt to the shredded cabbage.
layered in a bucket then pummeled with a baseball bat.
I cover with a few larger outer cabbage leaves and a sanitized
rock over that. let sit 6 weeks or so.
Yeah I get some mold growth...no biggie, I just spoon
that off on the day I process the Kraut into jars.

mmm, wherre's the bratwurst :)

[JeremyinCzechRep]

My stepmother gave me a fancy plastic cutter with a wickedly sharp V-shaped blade - but it took me about twenty minutes to cut half a cabbage. I then used a Czech made grater (looks like a big cheese grater and set me back £4.50). It works brilliantly. I would recommend anyone heading to Prague to check out Czech hardware stores. They have some brilliant products that either aren't available or cost ten times as much in the UK.

[JeremyinCzechRep]

A follow up as requested: I made the sauerkraut, trod it down nicely, added slices of horseradish, fitted the wooden lid and left it for 24 hours. After 24 hours I tried to open the lid - but it had expanded with the liquid from the sauerkraut. I pulled and pulled... got neighbour to help - but no, the lid refuses to move. A month later it now drops below zero at night so I am thinking of leaving it outside so that the sauerkraut freezes and forces the lid up. Unlikely what lies below will be edible but I'm learning. Fortunately 10 kilos of cabbage in the Czech Republic only costs about £2.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

That's a shame, Jimmy. Is there any possibility at all it might be OK? Can you have another go, or is that it for the season?

[earthworm]

I just bung a any left over cabbage in a glass jar with a lid, it's full of salt water. Seems to work, although I might just be eating salty cabbage for all I know.