what is sauerkraut?
i'm having some health problems and need to clear out my digestive tract. i've heard sauerkraut can be great for this, and i've seen the basic recipe online. thing is, the only time i ever tried sauerkraut, i HATED it. granted, i was a child and children do tend to hate brassica vegetables. i'm going to try it again. i'm hoping, however, that there are different varieties of raw kraut that i can experiment with to get the health benefits without the (what i remember as) horrid, horrid taste.
so, anyone who knows about this, please chime in. i'm walking to the russian specialty mart in hopes they have real uncooked sauerkraut to make me poo.
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I just started making it this summer. I think i also hated it as a kid but now I love it! The stuff that comes in a can is also very much inferior to what i can make at home. I make it really simply, just salt and shredded cabbage. I have noticed that it keeps me extremely regular (which didn't used to be a problem before i got pregnant). If you can't find the live stuff try making it at home, it's extremely easy and cheap so if you make a small batch it's not like you'll be wasting much time or money if you don't like it.
Tigerfish Mama
I just play it by ear. The cabbage should be tangy cabbagey tastey- not dead sea salty. I use the recipe you're describing but it's really not that involved or complicated. i use a food safe plastic bucket, i throw in a big handful of cabbage and sprinkle it with salt, then i move it around with my hand to distribute the salt and then crush it down with my fist. Repeat until the whole cabbage is in there. Then i put a plate on top of it and a big bottle of spring water (as a weight) to press the plate down. The first day I check it every hour or two and just press the plate down to crush it more. I don't add any water because the next morning it's always covered by its own water (that the salt drew from the cabbage). Then i check it every 3 or 4 days to see if it's fermented enough or if a scum has developed. The scum is NO BIG DEAL!!! it's just some white frothy stuff. I skim it out with a mesh strainer. It's usually fermented to my liking after about a week and a half. It's reallly reallyyy easy, I swear!
it sounds pretty cheap to just give it a shot anyway. the stuff i got from the russian grocer did have a vinegary taste to it, so i bet it's not the good stuff.
what i was really wondering was if people infuse other flavors in it like garlic or whatever, or does that fuck with proper fermentation? i spent the day reading about fermented foods yesterday, i'm so into that shit.
I like my kraut just kraut tho. I wonder if garlic might mess with fermentation since it's so antisceptic.
I've made kimchi a lot, and it's kind of the same thing, but without the scum-skimming. I've added in radishes, pears, apples, carrots, celery, TONS of garlic.... No problems at all with the fermentation. Quality, ultra-tangy and a little fizzy goodness.
Most regular shops won't sell raw sauerkraut, because it has to be unpasteurized, and people get freaked about that. Health food stores or more earthy-crunchy groceries might have it.
Here's a helpful link:(no scum-skimming here, either)
http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=sauerkraut
Have fun!
whether other vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower can have the same benefits and taste.
you can add other vegetables, but anything you add changes the taste. i don't know about the benefits. i've mad kim chi also but i haven't noticed the same digestive benefits, it is awesome when you've got a cold though.
You mean there's a difference? Heck, I just buy a jar of the stuff and eat it with a fork...never bothered to find out anything about it besides that it used to be cabbage.
Yum...you're in for a treat!
Glamorous
Memory is a crazy woman that hoards colored rags and throws away food. ~Austin O'Malley
the fermentation is what makes it so healthy for your pooper. it has to be raw, and made traditionally but i've been reading it's really easy to make.
An uptight German.
"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius"--Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
great in the sack.
Hope, I'm not uptight 
. I love Sauerkraut BTW, it's got a fresh flavour, I think. You can even eat it warm with yogurt f.ex. That should be great for your stomach! But be sure to be near a toilet after eating it, sometimes it works very fast...
...the lover, the dreamer, and me (Jim Henson)
Get thee to a Korean market for some authentic Kimchee. If it is too spicy, you can always add veggie broth tone it down. Or peanute butter. Good luck.
How did it turn out? Dying to know!
believe it or not, i have not yet found a suitable container to make it in. and i just spied a stack of strawberry buckets behind a restaurant, and let Mr Filth talk me out of taking one.
i did, however, get the super-duper real stuff from a farmer's market and actually liked the taste. i'll be making my own soon.
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like if i shred one head of cabbage, how much salt, how much water, and what do i do, just let it sit there and wait a week? i saw some really involved recipe that involved stone crocks and skimming scum from the top daily.... if i have to skim scum, i'm not doing it.
the russians told me their kraut was fresh, but the language barrier was too much to clarify whether they use vinegar or if it's truly fermented. it tasted tolerable. like, i could take it as medicine, but i wouldn't want it as a condiment.