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Keith holds two of nine jars of sauerkraut I just made
They have beer bottles in the top for pressing them.
click images to view larger
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I am on my feet for hours and hours. I am making sauerkraut again, cutting, chopping grinding red and green cabbage, carrots, parsnips, yellow and green squash, broccoli, cauliflower, blueberries, lemons. After I grind them, I beat them with as glass carafe until I am tired, and then I add salt, stuff them into nine jars, add weights and press them.
Then, there is a huge mess to clean up. Then I walk to the store for mushrooms and
other things I can’t grow. After that, I
stand at the counter cutting vegetables for dinner, and then I take a walk while
I am waiting for my husband to return from visiting his mother at assisted
living.
I am tired, but this, and the above, is not a complaint.
I was sick for so long, for over a year (and for many years
before that, to varying degrees). For a
year, I literally could not do anything.
Sometimes, I thought I would never recover. And I am not recovered, not entirely. But it is a miracle that I can stand for
hours and hours and do all that work. This
is not a complaint; it is a good thing, a thing to celebrate.
I think perhaps the raw sauerkraut helps. I don’t know this. But I seem to be feeling gradually better.
Here is a note for anyone contemplating making sauerkraut. My second to the last batch before this got
moldy. It was gross. I kept scooping the mold off, because supposedly,
the stuff in the juice is safe. But some
of the mold flavor carried over and I didn't like it. So I read up on how to prevent mold. This what I read: mix 1 teaspoon of salt in a cup of water and
add this just to the top of each jar.
That’s a pretty strong salt solution, and I was afraid it would make the
sauerkraut taste bad, but instead, it worked great. My whole last batch was the best batch I've
made yet. Hope the one I made today is
as good when it ferments.
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| The finished sauerkraut (from the last batch) is a more uniform red color. |
