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[sholio]

Homemade sauerkraut:



The unusual pink color is because I made it from (home-grown) red cabbage.

And it tastes fine -- better than fine; I'm pretty sure it's still under-ripe (or whatever you'd call it), but it's very fresh and light-tasting and crunchy compared to what you buy in the store.

I'm still in Testing Phase 2 (PARAMEDICS ON STANDBY) but assuming I don't keel over in the next few hours, I think Operation Sauerkraut is a success (which is good, since there's also a 2-gallon crock of the stuff fermenting in the corner).

Comments

[monanotlisa]

Colour me impressed (much like the cabbage ;)!

[sholio]

Thanks! I feel all accomplished and everything. :D

[calime]

Mmmm, fresh saurekraut is nice (I do deeply dislike sauteed sauerkraut though - I think it's like the equivalent of boiling pancakes or something, though considering my ethnic and cultural origins, this opinion is deeply heretical :) ).
From what I recall from childhood and home-made saurekraut, if you use ordinary white cabbage, then adding a bit of carrot (IIRC 1/3 of the whole or so) makes for a very pleasant flavour. We also used to add cranberries to sauerkraut - also nice (but IMO, avoid sauteeing sauerkraut that has cranberries in it - hot sour bombs in food were what largely turned me off of the sauteed version:) ).
Also, fresh sauerkraut, especially one with carrot, is delicious if you sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top.
Now I feel like I should go and prowl the farmer's market to see if anyone is still selling home-made sauerkraut...

[sholio]

Thank you for the suggestions! :D I saw the shredded-carrot idea on some of the websites I was looking at for instructions in how to make it -- I think I'll try that next time! The cranberries also sound quite good, and I'll have to give the sugar a try as well ...

I've never been much of a cook, but I grew up in a rural/farm setting and I'm starting to really love getting back to my roots and making some of the foods that normally we buy processed from a store. It's time-consuming, but there are so many different things you can do with it, and it's so much better!