Sauerkrautrock

Trying to make sauerkraut at home has been on my agenda for a while now after running across Sandor Katz‘s book, Wild Fermentation. The Brooklyn Public Library’s waiting list for the book itself is actually quite long, so I basically followed the method he outlines in this video:

My kraut was made from a white cabbage base, with a bit of carrot and onion. I also have a smaller auxiliary batch that includes some leftover diced jalapeno. I think the cabbage I used must have been a bit old because after a good deal of kneading, it didn’t release nearly enough liquid to submerge the veggies. So, I ended up adding water after I packed it into jars so that everything would be covered in liquid.

I’ll check back in a couple days to see what sort of progress it’s making. Anybody else made sauerkraut before? Any useful tips?

Tangentially, I fell down a google hole while first looking up sauerkraut videos and then krautrock videos and found a cool BBC krautrock documentary on YouTube. Really interesting story about the development of post-WWII German pop music. FYI – there is some nudity etc. etc.


Andalusian Cabbage Stew w/Polenta

After being able to eat leftovers from Thanksgiving for a while, we realized we had to get something else in our stomachs!  Realizing that we usually use cabbage in its raw form, I went searching for something different and the NYT’s Recipes for Health series provided a variety of recipes for cooked cabbage.  We made the Andalusian Cabbage Stew and added some peas (frozen, hidden in the freezer) and some cooked Roman beans.  The addition of paprika to the cabbage was great and since we didn’t have sherry vinegar, I combined Port with some regular vinegar and hoped for the best – it worked out just fine.