when i make kraut: (basic recipe)
i add salt to shredded cabbage and proceed to smash the hell out of it until it is about 1/4 the size (at least) and covered with its own juices. repeat. many times until my jar is full of smashed cabbage/salt/cabbage water.
i have read some posts where people say that they don't pulverize their cabbage when making kraut and just add salt water to it and wait.
it makes sense cause when making kimche you dont pulverize the broccoli, etc.
it would be A LOT easier to just shred the cabbage and put it in a jar with some salt water. what do you do?
i add salt to shredded cabbage and proceed to smash the hell out of it until it is about 1/4 the size (at least) and covered with its own juices. repeat. many times until my jar is full of smashed cabbage/salt/cabbage water.
i have read some posts where people say that they don't pulverize their cabbage when making kraut and just add salt water to it and wait.
it makes sense cause when making kimche you dont pulverize the broccoli, etc.
it would be A LOT easier to just shred the cabbage and put it in a jar with some salt water. what do you do?
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Portland
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Re: to smash or not to smash
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 12:05 PMHey, Jessica,
When my friends and I get together to make 'kraut, we massage it :-) It stays crispier and we find it more appetizing that way. You cut it up, add salt and squeeze and squish it in your hands till it's the consistency you like. If we don't get enough juice, we add some brine...
Kim -
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Re: to smash or not to smash
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 5:11 PMI find brining SO much easier. There's a recipe in my profile's blog if you look at my earlier tribe blog entries. -
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Re: to smash or not to smash
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 5:20 PMmark-
brining meaning just adding a brine to the chopped cabbage? aka salt water?
thanks!
j -
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Re: to smash or not to smash
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 11:44 AMyep. The exact proportions I use are something like 3 TB salt to 5 cups water, full recipe here:
people.tribe.net/a8423872-...4ac85cf33e
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Re: to smash or not to smash
Fri, April 11, 2008 - 5:05 PMI don't smash or massage I just stir it up and put a plate and weight on it. The weight is important. i stir again the next morning and press the plate down. If it's not covered in it's own juice soon after that I might add a brine of 1 Tablespoon of salt to 2 cups of water just till the liquid is over the cabbage. I always considered the smashing step a tenderizing method rather than a way of getting the liquid out of the cabbage. Works for me, but I usually grow my own cabbage, so it's very fresh and straight kraut is probably my least made fermented product, so your mileage may vary. Can't hurt to experiment. Let us know what happens if you do. -
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Re: to smash or not to smash
Mon, April 21, 2008 - 6:53 PMhi mark,
so i finally got around to reading your kraut/kimchee recipe and am going to make some kraut right now. i was surprised to see that you only leave it in the brine for 24 hours? im confused
when you transfer it to jars after 24 hours is it covered in the brine in the little jars? could you just leave it in the big jar?
when i make it, i smash with salt it till it is covered in its own juices and add a little brine cover the cabbage if the cabbages weren't particularly juicy. then i ferment it in a gallon jar weighted down for a week (or so) oh, and i add all the other goodness from the beginning (garlic, cayenne, etc)
i use this:
store.therawdiet.com/pisaandkimch.html
im fascinated with your brining method but i want to do it right. it seems SO MUCH EASIER. im into that.
thanks for your help.
jessica -
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Re: to smash or not to smash
Thu, May 1, 2008 - 7:33 PMoops, I'll have to look at my blog post again to clear up that point soon. Sorry.
The initial brining for 24 hours only serves to shrink down the cabbage. Then you put it into a jar or jars or a crock or whatever, and cover it completely in the brine you used (you'll have some left over). You'll find that the cabbage has shrunk down by half from the initial brining.
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