Sauerkraut on a rainy day

Another wet morning in Brisbane, did I say wet? what I really meant was ‘it’s pouring down’.  This wouldn’t normally stop me going to the allotment, but I have been there the last two mornings and the ground is so soggy I can’t really achieve much.

So, I decided that today is the day I am going to venture into the world of fermented foods. Yoghurt is my fermented food of choice and there is always a pot in the fridge, but today I am making sauerkraut. A bit scary. I dipped my toe in the water a few weeks ago when I attended a workshop on sourdough bread, sauerkraut and kimchi (Korean sauerkraut).  Since then I have invested in a copy of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon which features a very interesting chapter on fermented vegetables and fruit, so I was committed.  And as I had become the owner of an enormous cabbage, sauerkraut was the recipe of choice from Ms Fallons’s book.

As an allotment holder I cheated a bit because I didn’t grow the cabbage, but my local greengrocer only supplies the freshest fruit and veggies and I decided to give him my custom. I already had the sea salt, caraway seeds and a brand new 2 litre wide necked jar all ready to go. This was an enormous cabbage (see para above!) so I decided to use half, reckoning that would fill my jar to the top. Here we are – sharp knife at the ready.

Here is the cabbage shredded finely, and ready to add the caraway seeds.

Now the sea salt (I see your eyes glazing over)

I then proceeded to knead the cabbage for about ten minutes until it released it’s juices. Very therapeutic, a bit like kneading bread, and packed it in the jar.  And here is the finished product. I photographed the sauerkraut on it’s own but I have to say it looked a bit (dare I say)  ‘boring’ so decided to set it alongside a few jars of my plum jam. That cheered the pic up no end.

So, despite the inclement weather, it has been a pleasant and productive morning.