| "Some prefer carrot while others like cabbage.~ Irish Sayings |
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| Cutting in sauerkraut |
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| Stomping the cabbage. |
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| Adding a weight. |
Most years we cut in sauerkraut. For us, it has almost become a ritual. Not sure why I'm the only one of my siblings who are interested in doing these things, but I'm certainly glad my husband shares my interest. The krautknife was given to us by my mother and we've made good use of it over the years. If you ask me when is the best time to cut in kraut I'm going to tell you it's when the moon is growing. Sorry, it might sound old-fashioned but I totally go along with it. The juice on sauerkraut rises with the moon. I don't go along with this making a brine and pouring over the cabbage once it's cut in. That's just not how the "old people" did it, and didn't they know the best way to do these things? One thing we've found that works well when adding a weight to the kraut is to put water in a plastic bag and set in on top of the open bucket. It forms a tight seal and the water works as a weight.
I haven't eaten sauerkraut in years, and had no idea how it was made, so I'll have to take your word for this being the best method. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mom & dad used to make sauerkraut, haven't heard of anyone doing it for years! I'm glad to see you continue the tradition.
ReplyDelete@ Carol--I'm sure this all stems from my German ancestry. I practically live in Lunenburg County. You're not a good Lunenburger is you don't like sauerkraut, or so I've been told.
ReplyDelete@Patti---That's great to hear that your parents used to make sauerkraut. I'm afraid the tradition will stop with us as our kids have no desires to do it. Honestly, you have to really like sauerkraut to do it. It's quite time-consuming but obviously worth it. At least for us.