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captain belly

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Location
Missouri
Anyone else here like fermented cabbage??? Eating it straight from the crock is best, however, I canned most of it for low-maintenance storage. A couple months in the crock was worth the torment of my wife complaining of the smell. I happen to love the smell of kraut!.....or as my wife calls it "the smell of garbage" HA! Now that it's canned, peace has come back in to my life once again.
Kraut.JPG
 
Do you water bath it to can it? If so, would that take away from the probiotic effect? Or do you just put it in jars, and if so, does it need to be refrigerated or not? I'm just full of questions tonight, huh?!
Canning kills the probiotic unfortunately.......so............why did I decide to ‘can it?’..... because of 2 reasons: Low maintenance with storage (no daily skimming). And.... my wife hates the smell in the house. And I love her more than kraut!
 
I freeze my kraut. The wife likes to cook it with a small amount of brown sugar before eating so she sets some aside for me, that is still raw, so that I can get the probiotic benefits.
 
Canning kills the probiotic unfortunately.......so............why did I decide to ‘can it?’..... because of 2 reasons: Low maintenance with storage (no daily skimming). And.... my wife hates the smell in the house. And I love her more than kraut!
Grandma always put a slice of rye bread on top then a plate upside down with a rock on the plate. I don't remember the garage smelling. I was the one that had to carry the crock pots into the garage after grandma filled them. Suckers were heavy too
 
Here's my favorite way to eat it:
layer the following on a plate ......mashed potatoes on bottom, then a layer of shredded pork or roast, then a layer of kraut on that, and then a layer of cottage cheese on top. season with seasoned salt. It's amazing! In fact...... I'm eating this right now at my computer desk.
 
There's a crock of kraut sitting in our hallway right now. It's been there about 3 or 4 weeks now. I must check on it. It looked fine a week or so ago. It's not a huge crock, 3 gallon, I think, and it's only about half to 2/3 full.

Last time we made kraut, we just bagged it and put it in the freezer. I'm not sure if that messes with the "good stuff" in it or not. My wife does cook it to eat so I'm sure that messes with it. Maybe if I take a little pinch and just eat that before she cooks it, that would give me a dose of the good guys down there. (?) :)

There are some more cabbage plants in the garden right now, not sure whether they have enough time to make some more cabbage or not. If they do, there will be another batch of kraut.

It's so simple to make. For me, just cabbage and salt. I know some people add other things but that's the way we like it, plain and simple.
 
I love kraut, but I can only get hunny to eat it one way. . . . Have to make them when he is not around. What he doesn't know wont hurt him. ;)

Surprise Sausage Bundles
6 bacon strips, diced
1 cup chopped onion
1 pint sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
1/2 lbs fully cooked smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage,
coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (16 oz) hot roll mix ( I make my own dough)
2 eggs, divided
1 cup warm water (120-130)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Poppy seeds

In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove to paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings. Sauté onions in drippings until tender. Stir in sauerkraut, sausage, brown sugar, garlic salt, caraway, and pepper. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; add bacon. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine contents of hot roll mix. Stir in one egg, water and butter to form soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Divide dough into 16 pieces. On a floured surface, roll out each piece into a 4-in. circle. Top each with 1/4 cup filling. Fold dough around filling, forming a ball; pinch edges to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray. Let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Beat remaining egg; brush over bundles. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 350° for 16-17 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 16 servings.
 
Cabbage into kraut: back before refrigeration, kraut was one of the ways for a farmer and his family to preserve their harvest. In my genealogical research, I learned that there are people who were known to raise certain things, and their names reflected that. There were people who specialized in growing cabbage. During the times of peasants or serfs, people were taxed on what they produced. A Zelicky in Czech or a Kohlbauer in Germany were cabbage farmers. They may have had to give up 30 heads of their finest cabbage for every 100 they grew.

I wonder what kind of container is used to commercially produce kraut? Is it ceramic, glass, or plastic?
 
I make kraut in both a crock and in a plastic bucket.

5# of shredded cabbage then sprinkle with 3 Tbsp of salt. I stomp that until liquid comes to the surface then I add another 5# of cabbage, 3 Tbsp of salt and stomp again till my bucket is as full as I want it. I have a round stone to weigh it down but a plate works. Fermented food must be wighted. I then make up a brine and put it in a plastic bag. I use a 2 1/2 gallon zip loc bag partially full to seal the edges. This keeps the air out and if the bag leaks the brine won't stop the fermentation. I never add water, if you stomp the cabbage enough you won't need any additional liquid.

These are the best kraut crocks. Pour a bit of water around the lip after you put the lid on and you won't have to bother with the plastic bag. They come in larger and smaller sizes also.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077S5Y3TJ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I got a wooden stomper with my crock but I prefer the one I made. I took a chunk od 2" ABS pipe and glued a flat cap on one end. I added some lead ballast that I salvaged from the range but sand would work as well. I then put a cap on the other end. I like a heavier stomper but YMMV.
 

I was going to mention that but decided against it. I don't even use plastic to freeze most of our food. Some foods will leach out the chemicals in the containers. We use Pyrex glass in different sizes and shapes. Cook only in stainless steel or cast iron cookware.
 
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I was going to mention that but decided against it. I don't even use plastic to freeze most of our food. Some foods will leach out the chemicals in the containers. We use Pyrex glass in different sizes and shapes. Cook only in stainless steel or cast iron cookware.
I know someone who wrapped everything in aluminum foil that went into the freezer. If the food contains any acid, such as tomatoes, I would thin it would eat the foil.
 
In a freezer it is extremely difficult for any chemical reaction to occur. Plastic leaches at temperatures not lower than about 60F. Acids will leach into some plastics but not the other way around.Aluminum foil has a sealant baked on and reacts very slowly to acids unless the temperature rises to about 80F. If you put red Kool-ade into a plastic container it will turn the plastic pinkish. If you want to get the color out use milk. The fat in milk and the associated fatty acids will pull the color out of the plastic and you have pink milk. There is little taste change but the color is noticeable.
 
In a freezer it is extremely difficult for any chemical reaction to occur. Plastic leaches at temperatures not lower than about 60F. Acids will leach into some plastics but not the other way around.Aluminum foil has a sealant baked on and reacts very slowly to acids unless the temperature rises to about 80F. If you put red Kool-ade into a plastic container it will turn the plastic pinkish. If you want to get the color out use milk. The fat in milk and the associated fatty acids will pull the color out of the plastic and you have pink milk. There is little taste change but the color is noticeable.
How interesting that the milk will remove the color. I would never have thought of that. Now I wonder if milk would remove stains from cloth?
 
I love kraut, but I can only get hunny to eat it one way. . . . Have to make them when he is not around. What he doesn't know wont hurt him. ;)

Surprise Sausage Bundles
6 bacon strips, diced
1 cup chopped onion
1 pint sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
1/2 lbs fully cooked smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage,
coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (16 oz) hot roll mix ( I make my own dough)
2 eggs, divided
1 cup warm water (120-130)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Poppy seeds

In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove to paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings. Sauté onions in drippings until tender. Stir in sauerkraut, sausage, brown sugar, garlic salt, caraway, and pepper. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; add bacon. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine contents of hot roll mix. Stir in one egg, water and butter to form soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Divide dough into 16 pieces. On a floured surface, roll out each piece into a 4-in. circle. Top each with 1/4 cup filling. Fold dough around filling, forming a ball; pinch edges to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray. Let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Beat remaining egg; brush over bundles. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 350° for 16-17 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 16 servings.

This sounds similar to bierocks. Is that a family recipe? In Nebraska they make a similar food called a Runza. In fact, there is a restaurant chain called in Runza's in Nebraska.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/23893/kraut-bierocks/
 
Sa
Cabbage into kraut: back before refrigeration, kraut was one of the ways for a farmer and his family to preserve their harvest. In my genealogical research, I learned that there are people who were known to raise certain things, and their names reflected that. There were people who specialized in growing cabbage. During the times of peasants or serfs, people were taxed on what they produced. A Zelicky in Czech or a Kohlbauer in Germany were cabbage farmers. They may have had to give up 30 heads of their finest cabbage for every 100 they grew.

I wonder what kind of container is used to commercially produce kraut? Is it ceramic, glass, or plastic?

Saw it on one of the educational channels, they shred it and "lightly" ferment it in large stainless steel, tumblers.

Didn't look too apatizing but it explained why store bought is the way it is.
 
The bierrocks I'm used to have a different recipe. Hamburger, cabbage, onion, and cheese stuffing.
Maybe the brown tint to some kraut is due to using regular salt with iodine and not Kosher salt.
Our family used to only use ceramic crocks, but now use large glass canning jars. I use a crock and weightstone.
 
This sounds similar to bierocks. Is that a family recipe? In Nebraska they make a similar food called a Runza. In fact, there is a restaurant chain called in Runza's in Nebraska.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/23893/kraut-bierocks/
It's a recipe that I found in one of the prize winning Taste of Home cookbook magazines. Growing up, we never had it. After I started raising a garden and trying to find ways to preserve was when I first tried it. Good thing I liked it since I made a gallon sized crock of it. ;)
 
Similar to what we make. But not a sweet dough, and hamburger instead of sausage in the filling. And cheese with the cabbage. But I just used cabbage, not sauerkraut in bierocks. Eat the sauerkraut straight up.
Do do something similar with hamburger meat too. Cook onions with hamburger meat and taco seasonings. Put a little on dough and wrap up. Bake then add shredded lettuce, cheese, olives, jalapenos and salsa. Kinda like a taco made with bread instead of shell
 
My question is how do you know when it's ready to can? Do you have to leave it ferment for a certain span of time or until Mars crosses Jupiter or? Then in the water bath - for how long? We both like it but didn't grow up eating it so no experience on this one.
 
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