Real homemade Probiotic fermented kraut and pickles - EZ!


(Raj Seth) #1

Everyone wants probiotics these days - and you can go buy pills and prepared stuff in fancy “gourmet” stores for $$$, or make 'em for cheeeeeep at home.

However, there are cheap and easy ways to make lacto fermented cabbage (true sauerkraut), and pickle almost any vegetables. All one needs is an airtight but breathable jar - I use the Fido borromeo jars - the standrad glass jars with wire clamped lids. These jars have a one way breathable lid - it lets air out, but does not let air in. This feature is essential since the fermentation needs to be anerobic.

These true probiotic fermented pickles are loaded with probiotics and can repopulate your gut bacteria, prevent stomach upset and taste fantastic. The “lacto” in “lacto-fermentation”, comes from “lactobacillus” - not lactose

SauerKraut:
Cabbage and 4% kosher salt by weight. a 3 liter Fido jar will easily fit about 5 pounds of cabbage. Optional items: a few cloves of garlic, a few hot peppers, few sprigs of fresh dill, red cabbage, few tablespoons of shredded carrot, etc…

Method: shred the cabbage. mix in the salt. the cabbage should start sweating. now stuff the cabbage into the jar, mushing it down as best you can with your fist. My fist doesnt fit through the top opening, so my wife does the mushing. As you push the cabbage down, it will yield enough water that you dont need to add any extra water. Close the lid. set aside for 4 weeks. within a day or two, the fermentation starts in earnest, and the jar may overflow as the CO2 forms pockets and raises the volume of the contents. dont be tempted to open the jar and pour the fluids back in.
After 4 weeks, open and taste your yummy sauerkraut, and then put it in your fridge to preserve. Be careful to start with a small quantity, lest you unleash growling bears in your belly! If this is the first time you are having this super probiotic - be sure to be home or otherwise near the bathroom.

Lacto fermented pickles:
dill cucumbers, peppers etc… with these you add 4% (by weight) salt to water to make brine and add to a jar full of cucmbers. add one tea bag. close and put aside for 2 weeks. water will get cloudy - thats OK!.

All the sour taste comes from the fermentation process. the only ingredients are salt and vegetables.

Enjoy!


(Jane Reed) #2

I’ve been making sauerkraut using Fido-type jars for several years. So easy. Love the flavor of the kraut after it has aged in my fridge for several weeks, even months.

I’ve fermented other vegetables in the same way but I find sauerkraut tastes best. However, I occasionally make beet kvass, which requires a very short initial ferment on the countertop. After drinking the kvass (beet juice) as a tonic, I eat the beets a few chunks at a time. They continue to remain unspoiled in the Fido jar, in the fridge, and this last batch is at least 3 months old. I’m not at all a fan of beets but the fermentation imparts a nice sour flavor which gentles the beet flavor.


(Brian) #3

I’ve never made sauerkraut in anything other than a crock. I’m not sure how it could get much more simple.


(3c6f21097d06511a9e23) #4

I make sauerkraut in the wire clipped jars. Have three on the go atm, and two smaller jars in the fridge. I use a 2% brine though, as in 1kg cabbage, 20grms sea salt.
I pickle free range local eggs, with vinegar as well. All eaten with my salad or sausages or whatever I want.
Good for patience as well unfortunately as I usually leave the sauerkraut 21 days, pickled eggs just a week before I dip in. I also use the vinegar in my 1/2 avocado, mustard, cream cheese salad dressing.
\v/


(Garry (Canada)) #5

I ferment the garlic and peppers from my garden. Great cultures and salt for keto.

Only downside is that eating the garlic produces stadium clearing farts!


(Raj Seth) #6

Just gotta make sure that your SO has garlic when you do


#7

Now I know why my grocery store is always sold out of cabbage.


(Hoby Bradfield) #8

I found some wide-mouth Mason jar lids that are made for fermenting. They are made of silicone, and are made kind of like the old Platex nursery bottle. Essentially, they have a nipple on the lid that has a small slit in it to let out the gasses when you ferment veggies…
I usually make my sauerkraut from red cabbage, as it tastes a little sweeter that green cabbage does…


(Diana ) #9

Can you share where you found those silicone lids? They sound like just what I need.


(Hoby Bradfield) #10

I got mine from Amazon… but the website for the company that makes them is MasonTops.com

Hope they are what you really need!


(Sophie) #11

Funny I never saw this thread back in Jan. I just got back from a tour of all the Great Lakes and Ontario. It included a stop over in Ohio. We went to an Amish Outfitters store and aside from getting a butter churn, I also picked up one of these… I love the moat and looking forward to lots of fermented fun!


(Raj Seth) #12

Just buy a Fido boromeo jar.
https://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Ounce-Glass-Storage/dp/B0001BMYG6
That has an ingenious lid that lets gas escape but not enter


(Hoby Bradfield) #13

I bought one of these this year, and have made 2 runs of fermented dill pickles. Works great! Really salty, and the pickles are crunchy… I’m not a fan of the vinegar used for typical pickle making… but I love the salty ness of fermented pickles… will make a batch of sauerkraut with red cabbage soon…


(Diana ) #14

Thanks! I just ordered some, and some jar weights too, because I was having an issue with the kraut shreds not staying in place.


(Hoby Bradfield) #15

The weights work great… if you put a cabbage leaf on top of the kraut, and the weight on top of that, they work like a charm!


(Raj Seth) #16

You might be disappointed. I was. Can mix 1 red with 10 parts white cabbage - for visual effect, but red cabbage kraut was not to my liking… YMMV


(Raj Seth) #17

It doesn’t matter if some cabbage floats on top. If you have the Fido jar, the space above will be oxygen deprived anyway so it just doesn’t matter. I have been making Kraut fortnightly, 5 lbs at a time, for about 2 years now…


(Todd Allen) #18

I’ve been using wide mouth mason jars and the standard two part lids, plate and ring, for my ferments with good results so far. I put the rings on snug but not tight such that they usually out gas as pressure builds from the fermentation. Sometimes I’ll pick up a jar and if I see bubbles without a hiss I’ll loosen the lid a bit to let out some gas and reduce the pressure.

I fill my jar nearly full and add enough liquid, brine and/or whey from kefir or yogurt, to submerge the fermentation substrate and leave a small air gap under the lid. Too small a gap results in liquid oozing out so I keep my fermenting jars in a container to catch spillage. When I goof and have an oozing jar I’ll open it, remove a tablespoon or so, wipe the jar rim clean and put on a clean lid.


(Bob M) #19

Anyone else here have an issue with sauerkraut? My body tends not to like it, although I can eat fermented pickles seemingly with no problem. For cabbage/sauerkraut, I have to cook it and even then I can only eat a little. Too much causes me problems.

I also have issues with spiralized zucchini, so maybe it’s just me.


(Hoby Bradfield) #20

I have made kraut with both all green and all red cabbage… and I prefer the red cabbage. It’s sweeter to my taste, but I also don’t ferment it for more than 2 weeks or so… so it it still really crunchy. I don’t eat it often, and if I ate it more often my tastes may change to find the more tang more palatable… using a mix of green and red would be a good experiment…