Making Fresh Sauerkraut - 18th Century Cooking

Here in Czech Republic we add raw onions, dill and caraway seeds in with our cabbage and it's very good too.

You don't really need to chop cabbage head to make sauerkraut. The way we make it in Serbia: we core the cabbage head like an apple, and fill the hole with salt. We then put cabbages in a barrel (salt side up so it doesn't spill), and fill the barrel with water. Occasional stirring is required in the beginning of the fermentation, so that salt doesn't settle in the bottom. This way leaves stay firmer and crispier than in German style sauerkraut. Chop it, put some oil and paprika on it, and it's a wonderful side dish with roasted meats, for example.

It's honestly delicious when paired with rich sausages. The flavors really compliment each other.

I've said it once I will say it always. "The controlled spoilage of food is awesome."

Sauerkraut, peas and salt pork eaten by 100 sailors. Can you imagine the fumes below deck at night? Makes you think the crows nest isn't that bad.

And not just in Europe - Korean kimchi is also pickled cabbage.

Townsends: Sauerkraut is an acquired taste. Eastern european: U mean breakfast, lunch and dinner?

My grandma told me when she was young they made big barrels for the whole family. To smash it down her cosin did first thoroghly wash his feed and then danced in the barrel to his harmonica while the girls where cutting the cabbage and thorwing it in.

Just a little warning. Perhaps you said it and I missed it, but I would warn viewers that they MUST allow gases to escape or it might explode. You mention mason jars, but people must not leave the lids sealed. Also, avoid bare metal lids (get the coated ones) as it reacts to the acids produced during fermentation. Thanks for awesome videos! Love them!

A tip that I use is that after shredding the cabbage and before packing it in the fermenting vessel, massage the cabbage with the salt and let it sit for an hour or two (longer is fine as well). This will help to draw out a lot of the liquid from the cabbage so that you can tightly pack it in the fermenting vessel. Pour all the liquid that extracted out of the cabbage on top of the cabbage in the fermenting vessel.

Sauerkraut, Bratwurst, German Mustard, and a nice crusty bun! My oh my I think that's my favorite meal in the world. I love Sauerkraut my great grandmother was a German immigrant and made if for my grandmother and her husband and they made it for me, have loved it ever since. Its great on any-kind of sausage with some mustard.

I helped grandma make hundreds of gallons of sauerkraut over the years. She had several 20 gal. crocks and we pickled everything I think. we made just as shown in layers ramping till juice came up then adding more. We did one extra added bonus though Hungarian wax bananna peppers just a few to each layer have it a touch of heat a little kick that really made difference in the flavor.

Add some apples to cabbage while souring it. But use sour (sweet varieties not very usable for this) cultivars, in russia we often use Antonovka (one of better varieties of apple for this) or kinda of that. This sauerkraut may taste better and gonna have much more vitamins in it. To do it just add one good midsized apple per two pound of cabbage. Wash apple, clean it (peel skin off if you like). Slice to pieces about quart inch thick. Add apple slices between layers of cabbage after you mashed cabbage and waited 3-4 days (as you say to do after mashing). (sorry i don't remember exactly) P.s. try to poke cabbage to the bottom with stick every day. This can make your sauerkraud less bitter.

I can't stand commercial sauerkraut, but I agree that homemade is AMAZING! I made it because I was on a serious probiotic kick, and homemade live sauerkraut is a benediction of probiotic goodness. I was steeling myself to choke it down because it was good for me, but was thrilled to find it was incredibly delicious! I scarfed it all up, and my kids loved it too.

I've made my own kraut for 50 years as my grandmother taught me. One thing I did add is taking the heart of the cabbage that is cut out before slicing and add it in a blender with water and salt and use that to top off the liquid. No waste. I just add the liquid when making it assuring there is plenty of liquid. A slice of home made bread with good butter and a cup of kraut makes for a wonderful quick lunch.

Sauerkraut... very nice. Norwegians call it (surkål) Sauerkraut is best with mash potatoes,homemade gravy and norwegian meatballs.(bigger ones then swedish) also with pork chops to and Sausage. (surkål) are a very old traditional food here in Norway and mostly allways a side dish and served on the table whole december Christmas time.The more fatty meat like pork belly and so on the best sauerkraut taste in my opinion.But moose and deer steak is great to .Turkey meat are best with red Sauerkraut. I personal like red Sauerkraut as its best in taste. but white are just as good.We use apples,honey and some other stuff in our red sauerkraut.And its allways Kumina spice in white sauerkraut also dried juniper beeries...Great channel btw.

Being a "Kraut", born and raised and having grown up with Sauerkraut, needless to say that I LOVE this stuff! My grandpa used to put Kümmel (caraway seeds?) inside. I assume to aid digestion? My mother prepared it in rendered Speck (Bacon?) and served it with the cracklings mixed in, Bratwurst and mashed potatoes... I think this is how to learn to love Sauerkraut Jon, hehe 😊 Thank you for this wonderful episode!! You guys are amazing, I'm sure none of us know how much work you're actually putting into these episodes! Just wonderful! Thank you!!

I have central European roots, where Sauerkraut is a staple with countless dishes. My grandmother and mother always used to prepare and store large amounts of it. I have grown up loving it. But over the years I have learned that not all Sauerkraut is created equal. A good one can be a light dish on its own, mixed with a bit of sunflower oil and eaten with bread. But much of the commercially available stuff, is simply bad, as they take the "Sauer" in the Sauerkraut too seriously and end up with extremely acidic and sour products (this is because they extremely often add catalysts to the product, instead of allowing a natural fermentation). My grandmother also used to add things like Dill, Coriander, Black Pepper (whole), and Laurel leaves. These often substantially improve the taste of the Sauerkraut, without really altering its properties.

So... Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food?

This is pretty much how we've been making it for years. I haven't had store-bought kraut in over 35 years (since I married my wife) and she grew up making this with her mom. We use a 10 gallon crock and do a big batch every four or five years. When it is ready, we hot-pack can it in mason jars (not USDA approved, but nobody's gotten sick yet). We've opened jars of kraut that were packed 5+ years previously and it still tastes better than store-bought, great texture and flavor. Wonderful with smoked sausage or kielbasa!