tjr wrote:Nice! I made a couple quarts of kraut from a rather indifferent cabbage recently and found it does ferment faster in a slightly warmer basement. 10 days gave a mild crunchy result. I used 3% salt, have seen anywhere from 2% to 3% recommended but haven't seen much definitive advice on how the varying percentages affect the end product.
And gotta ask where you found the cabbages - did Beldar retire and open a farm stand?
I've settled on 2% salt by weight. Not that it's definitive or correct but that's the amount I've seen recommended more than any other and I've had nothing but success at that level.
LOL -- the conehead/arrowhead cabbages are from Three Sisters Garden in Kankakee. This is Tracey Vowell's farm (formerly of Frontera Grill). They do 2 weekly drops -- Wednesdays and Saturdays -- at Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, which is pretty convenient for us. So, I order online and pick up, free of charge, at PGC (iirc, 3SG also does home deliveries). Fwiw, Tracey's semi-weekly email, received this morning, indicated that the coneheads are just about picked for the season. I think she wrote that this coming week would be the last. I don't think that's a big deal. So many people recommend using
any variety of cabbage and -- more importantly -- waiting until after the first frost to kraut it (it's supposedly sweeter then). For all intents and purposes, right now is really off-season for traditional krauting.
=R=
Same planet, different world