Saurkraut-NT Style

I wanted to get this up yesterday, but couldn't access the site till later last night, then I was too tired. I made some saurkraut- a food I absolutely hate! At least, the storebought version-gag! But, I'd heard real fermented saurkraut was nothing like the canned kind, so I gave it a try.

Here's the lay out- I just used a regular cheapo cabbage, some sea salt, whey that I drained from yogurt, and caraway seeds.
Next I cut the cabbage in half with my very sharp santoku knife, then I cut it in quarters. To get the core out, I slice the core part off on an angle, as shown in the pictures. It's the easiest way I know of.


Next I finely sliced the cabbage and piled it in a large bowl. Next came the rest of the ingredients-1 T salt, 4 T of whey, and 1 t caraway seeds.

Then I have to beat the stuff for 10 minutes with a meat pounder. I don't have one and didn't really want to buy one, so I used my potato masher. The idea is the get the cabbage to exude it's natural juices. I got some juice, but not near enough.
This is what it looks like after pounding.

Then I put it in a quart sized mason jar and added filtered water so that all the cabbage was submerged. I had some leftover that didn't fit in the jar, so I added some other ingredients to make a different flavor.

I had some cilantro and also added about a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and three cloves of roughly chopped garlic. I added a little more salt and whey and pounded some more, then jarred it up. I put them in a cupboard for three days. By the second day you see a change in the veggies and the liquid gets cloudy. I then put the jars in the fridge for a few hours and then tasted it. I have to say, when first opening the jars, the smell is um, rather like a toot LOL. But, it tastes good! I like it!! The one with the garlic and cilantro is really good. It just tastes something like a pickle- tangy and a little crunchy and sour. The one with the caraway seeds would have been better with a bit more salt and maybe even some dill. I bet it's great with a hot dog!
Next I would like to re-try the ginger carrots- we weren't impressed with those, too salty, and then maybe some pickled beets. I've never eaten a beet.

But, probably before that I will make a fruit chutney from apples since they are on sale and in season. I tried a recipe with apples the other night. I took two Jonathon apples, which are semi- tart and great for baking and looked beautiful, half them, brushed with butter, then sprinkled chopped walnuts and a little brown sugar, then roasted them for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. They were supposed to go on top raw baby spinach with a dressing, but the combo didn't taste good to me, so I just ate the apples and spinach separate.

The apples were so yummy though.