Sauerkraut time!
Available this coming week beginning Nov. 24th will be our Sauerkraut! Yeah! A very natural, plain process to create quite a healthy treat! Our sauerkraut is simply made with our home grown organic cabbage, organic cooking onions and course salt! When I make a crock at home, Ben and I use our hands to smash the shredded cabbage with the onions and salt to create the juice, the 'brine'. When doing market amounts to share with customers we need to use a good friend of mine Mr. Hobart. The hobart mixer with dough hook is the most efficient way to bash the cabbage with salt and onions to make that juice pivitol to the fermentation process! We core the cabbage, shred the cabbage, bin up the cabbage, push the cabbage down in the bins with wooden tops covered by cloth until flooded with brine. Each day as it ferments, any scum is cleaned away. The 82 year old market manager keeps one burner on the gas stove burning low for close to 2 weeks while the sauerkraut ages. She likes to keep that kitchen 'warm'. We take turns checking the kraut throughout the days; to clean the scum, check the brine and I like to ensure the hall hasn't burnt down!! The bins/crocks are huge and years ago the woman had carts with 'wheels' on them custom made so they can move them around and keep them close to the stove. Smart, small, inexpensive things these women think of to make the whole process just that much easier! I am learning alot to share with generations to come! Sauerkraut Perogies coming this week too!
