Thread: Sauerkraut

Got some instructions on how to make it on my last visit to Krautland, and got lucky, found these in Chinatown, Bkk:

The left one is for pickling or Sauerkraut, which is similar to "Kim-Chee"; the barrel for aging Lao.

Cut your white cabbage (galam) into small shreds, add salt and need into a compressed mass to go into the barrel:

Took 1.5kg cabbage and a heaped tbl spoon of salt.

Weigh the Kraut down with an internal lid (and a heavy stone, I was advised, but didn't bother for this small amount):

Now I'm gonna have a look in there next week and report back.
My grandparents used to make huge barrels full of the stuff, a staple winter food during and after the war - hence the name "Krauts" for Germans.

Great idea Stroller. Keep the pics coming.

We make it all the time and put in ziplok bags when it is right, and freeze it.
Nother note, when you have mixed in the salt and put in the container, we use a water bottle with the top cut off so we make about 4+ gallons at a time, my grandma used to use her fist to smash it down til juice started to form, and do that with every layer of salted cabbage until you have it all in. Also mix a small amount of sugar with the salt as it makes it work better I find, some cabbage here is old and not as much sugar as is really needed to make it go.
My wife says that the flavor is not the same as we got at home because of the many chemicals that is used on the cabbage and some gets into the cabbage.
She uses the pestel from her mortar to smash it down with, makes my fist sore after awhile.
I find that the next morning after we set it there is some gas bubbles already working, and as warm as it is here a week is about ready to start eating it.
I have also had to mix in a small amount of salted water as some cabbage does not have enough juice in it to cover it.

I always wondered what sauerkraut was and now I know.

I hope I'm not ever downwind of you when you've been eating it

Why is that? do you mean KimChee?

i lived in franfurt for 9 months and the ONLY thing i miss is sauerkrautt.

Thanks a lot for this recipe stroll.

Down wind, smells something like the german americans who drink beer and eat those pickled eggs from the bar. When you work with them the next day it's bad.

Good thread Stroller. Kraut is great food.

There are some very good German restaurants in Chiang mai.
i can't believe they have all the necessary barrels to do this one.

can you buy ready made sauerkraut here?

^ I think you can, comes from Germany and it is sealed 500 gr. foil packs in the markets, at least thats what a friend that lives in Pattaya said.

But you do not have to have wooden barrels, most folks in the states make it in large crocks, 10 to 20 gallon ones, reason for that is where it gets cold at night the crock or barrel keeps it warm and it keeps working and don't let it over heat during the days.
We have a big water bottle with the top cut off and it has been OK for the last 5 years, be sure to scald it out with hot boiling water to steralize it so you do not get some stray bacteria in your kraut and cover it with a clean dish towel to keep the bugs out and be careful of the plate you use for on top of the kraut to press it down, some plastic is not good for that. and I use a 1/2 gal jar filled with water for a weight.

Fukkits.
i have had to green stroller and blackgang in the same thread.

i feel queezy.


thanks blackgang.

Originally Posted by blackgang

She uses the pestel from her mortar to smash it down with

Great idea! Thanks.

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

i can't believe they have all the necessary barrels to do this one.

Any non-metallic container, in which you can press it down, will do.

Recipes next, if it's successful.

But best eaten raw, very healthy apparently.

Flintstones Bakery ( or Flint-ones Bakery after the visit they had from some heavies from Hannah Barbara studio!!) in Phuket (Chalong and Rawai)make sauerkraut for sale in their shops - good stuff!

Home made german sausage and sauerkraut is a great meal.

In the US many families, especially german and dutch have large crock pots filled with many types of vegies. Do you guys know how to do this? Do the vegies have to be blanched first or just washed off and put into the brime? How is the brime prepared? I have only eaten this stuff, but, I don't know how to do it. It's all good. Even big kids like us like pickles home made.

Cabbage is the only veg. I know of that by adding a little salt will make it's own pickle brine, others need a mixture of a little salt, Vinegar and water to make them pickle, Use a short half white vinegar, water and salt and you can pickle most vegs.

For KimChee use knappa/Chinese cabbage, rub it with salt and set it back for 8 hours, then rinse it 2 or 3 times until it doesn't taste salty, cut in chunks and mix in some chilis, dry chili flakes, cut up green onions, lots of garlic and a little bit of dry powdered shrimp, mix it well and press down in a glass jar and add a little water and in a few days eat it when it is starting to work.

I also put in some of the cabbage cores in on top of the kraut and let them pickle with the kraut, my grandma used to do that and the kids love the pickled cores to chew on.

Basically, it's a process to initiate lactic acid fermentation, which is good for you and serves as a preservative.
Here's some biological background as well as practical info:

5.6.3 Brine salted fermented vegetables

Brine is used for vegetables which inherently contain less moisture. A brine solution is prepared by dissolving salt in water (a 15 to 20% salt solution). Fermentation takes place well in a brine of about 20 salometer. As a general guide, a fresh egg floats in a 10% brine solution (Kordylas, 1990). Properly brined vegetables will keep well in vinegar for a long time. The duration of brining is important for the overall keeping qualities. The vegetable is immersed in the brine and allowed to ferment. The strong brine solution draws sugar and water out of the vegetable, which decreases the salt concentration. It is crucial that the salt concentration does not fall below 12%, otherwise conditions do not allow for fermentation. To achieve this, extra salt is added periodically to the brine mixture.

Once the vegetables have been brined and the container sealed, there is a rapid development of micro-organisms in the brine. The natural controls which affect the microbial populations of the fermenting vegetables include the concentration of salt and temperature of the brine, the availability of fermentable materials and the numbers and types of micro-organisms present at the start of fermentation. The rapidity of the fermentation is correlated with the concentration of salt in the brine and its temperature.

Fermented and vegetables. A global perspective. Chapter 5.

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

can you buy ready made sauerkraut here?

They sell it in Villa in Bangkok, so I assume Rim Ping would sell it too. They also do a general pickled vegetables, which was quite nice.

Doesn't the company that does cured meats and sausages (Thai German Meat?) also sell sauerkraut?

Foodland sell a version of Sauerkraut, but it doesn't taste anything like the real deal.

Is it lazy buying it in a can? I have just discovered the stuff and mix with fruit...

Good stuff stroller and BG. How unique to green u both on the same thread.
Anyway- hows it coming along stroll?
Would also love some info on pickling veg in general- Mrs & I do a good pickled onions, but or pickled cucumber was a flop.

Originally Posted by Butch

Is it lazy buying it in a can? I have just discovered the stuff and mix with fruit...

The canned stuff is biologically dead.
And mixing with fruit? - yuk!

Originally Posted by sabang

Good stuff stroller and BG. How unique to green u both on the same thread.

We have a "ceasefire" agreement. BG is a German of sorts, after all.

Originally Posted by sabang

Anyway- hows it coming along stroll?

Fine, just tried some with the missus, that was ready fast!

I'd give it a couple o' days longer, and then, put it in the fridge? Not sure.

Originally Posted by stroller

Originally Posted by Butch

Is it lazy buying it in a can? I have just discovered the stuff and mix with fruit...

The canned stuff is biologically dead.
And mixing with fruit? - yuk!

A simple "no" would have sufficed....