Sauerkraut, Part 1--The basics

I have a confession to make: I never did like sauerkraut. I never could understand why someone would do that to perfectly good cabbage…Until I started making it myself. I’d like to say it’s because my tastes matured, and that’s certainly part of it. I’d been reading about sauerkraut, thinking about the wonders of fermentation and was now ready to look at it with a much more open mind.

I think it’s also kind of like the guy who hates children…until he becomes a daddy. Now all children are special, but of course HIS kid is the best!

As I’ve learned more about fermentation I’ve come to appreciate foods like sauerkraut, and of course (to me) mine is the best! I eat some every day. I love its sour, crunchy, cabbage-y goodness. I credit my fondness for sauerkraut and other fermented foods with a dramatic improvement in my overall health over the past few years.

So, what IS sauerkraut, anyway? In its simplest form, It is chopped cabbage that has been salted and allowed to ferment. Generally this is done in a barrel or crock with a weight to press down the sauerkraut. However, this is Life in a Jar, not Life in a Barrel, so I am going to show how I’ve adapted it to making it in a canning jar.

The following recipe is the most basic recipe, and it really is extremely simple. There are only two ingredients! After describing the process I’ll explain a little of what is going on. Over the next few weeks I’ll give some historical and cultural background along with some (hopefully) intriguing variations on this basic recipe. After that I’ll address kim chi.

If you’ve never made sauerkraut before, I recommend you try this simplest method first. It’s cheap and easy to do and even if you’ve never been a fan of sauerkraut before you might learn to love this basic and healthy food as I have.

Ingredients:

1 or more heads of cabbage (green, red, or napa)

Salt, preferably non-iodized (kosher, sea salt, etc.) a few tbsp per head of cabbage.

Equipment:

Canning jars with lids and seals, quart and/or pint size

A large pot, tub, or bowl

1. Cut up your cabbage. I usually start by cutting into quarters uncored (I just cut the brown parts off.) Next you can cut it as fine or coarse as you wish. I like to cut it into pieces large enough to be interesting on a fork but small enough to pack easily into a jar.

2. Place cut cabbage into pot, tub, or bowl. Add salt, mixing it with your hands to coat the cabbage completely. Taste the cabbage. It should be salty. If it doesn’t taste salty enough, add a little more salt. At this point you can add other spices if you wish. Press and squeeze the cabbage a little bit to help rub in the salt and get it “sweating.” Once the cabbage is salted, some people let it sit for a little while, from 20 minutes to overnight.

3. Pack the sauerkraut-to-be into your jar(s.) Pack it in a bit tight, pushing it down. Fill jars right to the top. Any liquid in the container should be poured in as well. Seal the jars.

IMPORTANT: Be certain to completely fill your jars as much as possible. A gap in the top of up to an inch is okay, but no half filled jars! A half full jar will run risk of contamination, and contamination is just simply no fun. There are three things you can do with your extra cabbage: 1. Graduate to a smaller jar (i.e. from a quart to a pint); 2. Save the cabbage in a container for a few days and then stuff it into the other jar(s) as they start to “settle.” 3. Eat it. You can eat it plain, or stir fry or in a soup or on a sandwich. I generally do some combination of these three tactics.

Once your jars are sealed, place them in a quiet place for a few days. Check on it: when you open the jar it should “hissssss” from gas escaping. Taste a little bit…It’s not gonna bite you. After about three days it’ll start getting a little “tang” to the flavor. In a week it should be pretty sour, depending the temperature. Here in Southern California it’s officially sauerkraut after about a week. Well sealed it should continue to develop for months. You can keep sampling it, deciding how fermented you like it. Fermentation can be slowed by putting it in a refrigerator.

VARIATIONS/ADDITIONS: I like to add Korean red pepper flake and/or cracked black pepper. Try your favorite spices or spice blends. Caraway seeds and fresh cut dill are tasty, and you can try any fresh herbs that strike your fancy (I have not had great results with dried herbs, but maybe that’s just me.) You can grate carrots, beets, radishes, or mince some garlic, onion, chives, leeks, fennel etc. I understand that many people slice apple into it, and I see how that could work nicely, but I haven’t personally tried it.

I’ve explained the procedure, but what is happening here? Very simply we are encouraging some specific bacteria to develop, bacteria that is good for us. Let’s break it into the component parts and see what is happening:

1. The cabbage. Cabbage is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals. It is an excellent source of vitamins K and C. Cabbage is also a very good source of dietary fiber, manganese, vitamin B6 and folate, and a good source of thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, vitamin A, tryptophan, protein and magnesium. Consumption of cabbage has been linked to reduction of breast and certain other cancers. Cabbages, like other plants (and animals and people) have resident inside them a variety of bacteria, such as lactobacilli, that during fermentation can make many of these nutrients, especially the minerals, easier for our bodies to absorb.

2. The salt. Salt has been used since the beginning of history as a preservative. Here it serves two functions: It inhibits the growth of “bad” bacteria, allowing the beneficial bacteria to thrive. It also helps the cabbage retain its crunchiness so that the mature sauerkraut has that distinctive “squeaky” crunch. Too much salt is not a good thing, but too little can end up with soggy sauerkraut that is likely to go bad more quickly. The balance of salt is something that varies and is dependent on personal taste. I recommend non-iodized salt as the iodine can add a slightly bitter flavor. If you don’t care about that, then go ahead and use iodized. I personally use a sea salt because I believe there are some extra essential minerals that the fermentation process makes easier to absorb.

3. The jar. As I said, traditionally sauerkraut is done in barrels or crocks and pressed to limit the amount of air the cabbage is exposed to. I have read warnings against using canning jars because of risk of contamination. Certainly one must be careful, but I’ve had only one jar go bad, and that jar was filled halfway, with too much exposure to air before the lactobacilli had a chance to fully propagate. Canning jars are cheap (less than $10 per dozen,) reusable, and it’s easy to get replacement lids and seals. Also, the seals on canning jars are designed to keep things out, but not in, so if too much pressure builds up the seal “blows” instead of the entire jar exploding. It is comforting to know that when the weather gets warm I don’t have a cupboard full of glass shrapnel grenades.

4. The bacteria. You can’t see them, but they take center stage in this show. They process the minerals and nutrients in the cabbage that are harder for us to assimilate and make them easier for to absorb. They also combine to produce nutrients such as vitamin B, making the cabbage a more complete food.

In the process of protecting itself, the lactobacilli create lactic acid making the distinctive sour flavor. This mimics the natural acidic environment of our gastrointestinal system, making it easier on our digestive system. Also, the living bacteria aids our body in digestion and helps protect against unfriendly bacteria that can cause food poisoning and other illnesses. The juice is also a good tonic, filled with vitamins and minerals and stuff. I drink it straight or mixed with vegetable juice.

Okay, so that’s the basics. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to send a comment. I will be happy to reply. Next week I’ll discuss history and give a couple more interesting recipes!

(Jim's) Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots!

About a year ago, I went to an Indian restaurant with a friend of mine. On the table were the usual little jars of condiments, chutneys, etc. One little jar contained chopped carrots marinated in a hot oil with sliced jalapenos. There was a hint of ginger to the flavor as well. We finished off that little jar and debated asking for more.

I decided to try replicating the recipe at home. Because I’m into fermentation and I’m leery of preserving things in oil (which can lead to anaerobic fermentation, something that can be a little dangerous) I decided to try duplicating this wonderful combination of flavors as a pickle. It didn’t take me too long to work out this very simple recipe for spicy jalapeno/ginger pickled carrots, although I did make a few mistakes along the way before realizing that in this case simplest was best.

I believe that this would make a great recipe for children because of its simplicity. Carrots can be a little tricky to cut so I recommend that an adult cuts the veggies or supervises carefully. Prepackaged carrot sticks would also work. Whole baby carrots would also be good.

If you don’t like ginger, you can omit it. If you don’t like jalapeno pepper, you can either omit it or use a bell pepper for milder flavor (or if you’re a hothead, you could substitute habaneros and/or add some cayenne.) I like to nibble on the jalapeno and ginger as well as the carrots. Mirin is a sweet asian rice wine used for cooking. I find adding a little mirin or sherry adds a little sweetness and complexity, but it’s certainly not necessary.

I should note that in my head this recipe is not Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots, but JIM’S Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots. I feel that this recipe is MINE, ALL MINE!! (Maniacal laughter) I came up with this recipe on my own, and I’m very happy with it. However, the truth is that the recipe is so simple that I’d be surprised if it isn’t also Linda’s/Betty’s/John’s/Toshio’s/Whoever’s Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots. Whatever. I definitely invite you to try this recipe and make it YOUR Spicy Jalapeno/Ginger Pickled Carrots. You’ll be glad you did and I promise I won’t tell. Now on to the recipe.



Per 2 pints or 1 quart:

Approximately 1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 hand (meaning a whole root with it’s “fingers”) ginger, peeled and cut into strips

3-4 jalapeno peppers, cut either lengthwise

2 tablespoons mirin or cooking sherry (optional)

Whole peppercorns (optional)

5 tablespoons non-iodized salt.

First, make your brine. My brine formula for this recipe is 5 tablespoons salt per quart of water. I find I use about ½ quart of brine per quart in this recipe, but I usually make a full quart just in case. Put the salt into a quart jar, add a couple tablespoons of mirin or sherry, fill the jar with water, seal the jar and shake to dissolve the salt. Let it sit as you are preparing the other ingredients, shaking it occasionally. If you are using tap water, you may want to boil this mixture a bit to evaporate any chlorine.

Next, cut up your veggies. Whether using a quart jar or a couple pint jars, I measure my carrots against the jar. I usually cut them about to 3/4 of an inch shorter than the jar. You can cut them shorter, but I don’t recommend cutting them any longer, as you need to be sure to keep the carrots completely submerged in the brine.



A trick I picked up recently for peeling ginger from a cooking show on TV: use the back of a spoon to scrape the skin off. This works like a charm. When I saw the chef do this, I kind of did a facepalm because I’ve always had trouble with ginger and ended up throwing away about half of it in the peeling process.

Now, pack the carrots, jalapeno slices, and ginger into your jar. Turn the jar on its side and start packing them in, alternating them to make it attractive. Your goal here is to pack them in kind of tightly so that when you add the brine it remains submerged and doesn’t float to the top.



Once the jars are nicely packed, add the brine almost to the top, leaving about a ½ inch gap and seal the jars. Place jars where if the jars start to “blow” the water can drain harmlessly. I place them in a bowl or around the edge of my sink for about a week.

Fermentation should start in 1 to 3 days. Crack the lid once or twice a day to allow gasses to escape or leave the lid a little loose. The brine will get very fizzy. Don’t be alarmed; this is natural. After about 3 days you can start sampling the carrots. Carrots will take a week or two to fully develop.
These carrots are so tasty I don’t think you’ll have to worry about how long they’ll keep, but they should keep for at least three months.

Thank you for reading. Next week I’ll start discussing sauerkraut, and I’ll probably do several posts on that subject—history,anecdotes, practices…and of course recipes!

Kombucha Follow-Up

Okay, so here's a little follow up to last Sunday's post on kombucha, where I go into a bit more detail and hopefully answer some questions that I forgot to include in the first post.

First, I'm aware that my SCOBY picture is a little scary looking, so I've updated that with a little quick fix. I figured adding a smile to it might make it seem a little friendlier. Trust me, this is what the SCOBY would look like if it had a mouth to smile with:



In regards to preparing the tea:

The goal here is a strong, sweet tea. The sugar is what the SCOBY (Symbiotic Commnunity of Bacteria and Yeast) eats, and the tea provides essential nutrients to help keep the SCOBY healthy.

I've been asked if a sugar substitute is acceptable, such as Splenda. The short answer is no. The sugar is not for you, it's to feed the kombucha. If you want less sugar in your kombucha, then let it age longer; the yeasts will eat and process the sugar, making it less sweet. The yeasts and bacteria need real sugar of some sort in order to eat. Plain white sugar is the easiest for the SCOBY to process, so it ferments fastest and produces a good "clean" flavor. Right now I'm experimenting with honey, which is more complex and therefore produces a more complex flavor and nutrition profile. Later on I want to experiment with agave nectar and other natural sugar sources. I will certainly post my results. If you are just starting out, I recommend starting with white sugar.

My general formula is about 2 cups of sugar per gallon of water.

What kind of tea is best? Green tea, black tea, white tea, or a combination of teas all work fine. Because the different teas have different nutritional profiles, some kombucha brewers recommend a combination of black and green teas. This kind of makes sense in producing a healthy happy SCOBY, but some people use just one kind of tea with no problems.

I use a loose leaf tea, but tea bags work fine. I put a small handful of tea, or about 4-5 teabags per gallon. As in using wine for cooking, I recommend a decent quality "drinkable" tea, but you don't need to go crazy and get something very expensive. This is a situation where Lipton's, Tetley, or PG Tips is perfectly fine. I tend to use a tea called "Madame Butterfly" which I buy from a local coffee and tea place; it has a nice peach flavor to it, is not too expensive, and complements the natural kombucha flavor very well.

Length of time for fermenting varies with temperature and personal preference. After about a week, start sampling your kombucha. I use a clean turkey baster to draw up a small sample. The longer you let your kombucha ferment, the more tart the flavor becomes. I tend to let my kombucha ferment for at least 2 weeks at a stretch.

When the weather is warmer, the kombucha ferments faster. Also there are variations in flavor between a kombucha that is fermented in warmer temps than cooler ones. If I were producing kombucha for commercial purposes, I would want to keep my culture at a constant of about 85 degrees F for consistant flavor. Since I'm producing kombucha for personal consumption I really enjoy how every batch is different.

One other thing I'm doing with my kombucha is "racking" it. I set aside a quart or two of kombucha, put it in sealed bottles or jars and put it in a relatively cool dark place, aging it like wine. I wasn't sure if this would work or if I'd just end up with vinegar. So far the results are promising: The kombucha is becoming more wine-like, drier and pleasant. I've only been doing this for a month and this is an experiment that will take 6 months to a year. I will post later on the success (or lack thereof) of this technique. Kombucha wine? Oh yeah!

Kombucha!

Welcome to my first posting for Life in a Jar. This is my blog about fermentation and cultured foods. Most of these products can be done simply and easily, without much outlay in either time or money. Most of these products I do in canning jars, hence the name. It's also a metaphor for my life at this time, where I live in a small space, have limited travel ("You live in Los Angeles and you don't have a CAR?") yet I live a full, rich, and varied life. Now, on to my first posting...I'll try not to suck!

Today I started a new batch of kombucha.

Westerners have this beautiful knack for misnaming things...for 400 years we've been calling Native Americans "Indians" after a continent on the other side of the planet, and we continue this tradition with "kombucha" which is Japanese for "seaweed tea," a broth made from dried kelp that is fed to invalids. In Japan it's called "kōcha kinoko" ("Red tea mushroom".) Although I prefer the term "tea-kvass," I'm going to stick to the name "kombucha" as that's the term by which it is best known in the U.S. Who am I to buck tradition? It IS similar to Japanese kelp tea in that it has many health benefits (more on that below.)

Kombucha is drink made from sweet tea cultured with a kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) which looks sort of like a big rubber pancake. Here's a rather scary picture of my SCOBY at rest waiting to be put into the new batch:



Here's a picture of the same SCOBY in a 2 gallon jar filled with tea that is ready for drinking:



Note the bubbles. This is a sign that this is an active culture and still fermenting.

Yesterday I boiled 2 gallons of water, added a couple of handfuls of green tea, a "hand" of sliced ginger, and 4 cups of honey. I allowed this to boil for about 10 minutes, then left it covered to cool overnight. Normally I use 2 cups of sugar per gallon instead of honey, but I am experimenting with the honey. Ginger is optional, and many people will tell you that ginger will kill the culture, but I've been adding ginger for nearly a year with no ill effect. Also, although flavored teas are considered bad for the culture, I've been using a blend called Madame Butterfly which is a peach flavored tea with great success (and flavor.)


Once the tea cooled to room temperature, I was ready to begin. I keep the kombucha for drinking in my refrigerator in a 2 gallon plastic water bottle with a spigot for easy decanting. I was nearly finished with the previous batch so I pulled it out, had one las glass of the old batch, and washed out the container.

I then opened up the jar with the fresh batch of fermenting kombucha. I pulled out the SCOBY and gently rinsed it. I poured the new kombucha into the plastic container, quickly washed out the jar, and poured the cooled tea into the glass jar.

I pulled off a bit of the kombucha SCOBY and put it into a jar with some of the fresh kombucha, sealing it tightly and putting it in the fridge. This is in case something goes wrong with the main culture (something that has only happened to me once in the past three years.)

I put the rest of the SCOBY (the "mother") into the jar with the tea. If you look at the picture above, you can see that I put cheesecloth over the top, and a plate upside down over the top. This is to prevent critters from getting in. Everything loves the kombucha and wants to get into it (except perhaps my cat.)

So, why do I do this? First and foremost I REALLY like the stuff. It has a sweet/tart flavor, similar to cider. There is delicate effervescence to it, as the process produces a gentle carbonation. I like it better than most sodas, and I can age it be as sweet or tart as I want it. It is chock full of vitamins like B and C as well as a cocktail of amino acids.

It's very cheap to produce. I can make two gallons of tasty kombucha for about the cost of a 12 oz can of Coke. I can make about 4 gallons for the cost of a 12 oz. bottle of commercially produced kombucha AND I know that the culture is alive and fresh.

Tasty AND healthy? Woo hoo! Cheap? BONUS!!

NOTES:

Kombucha is a living cultured food, and like all cultures, try a small amount at first. Although the bacteria in kombucha are generally considered good for digestion, some people may experience some upset if they imbibe to much the first time. If you've never had kombucha before, start with a small glass (say, about 4 oz.) and then try more later. I should mention I NEVER had any trouble with kombucha. Still, better safe than sorry.

Many people report miraculous results from drinking kombucha. Most of that info is anecdotal, and although I believe kombucha is very good for you and will have beneficial effects, I do not promise miracles. I DO promise a very tasty drink! The fact is that no real study of the benefits of kombucha have been done in about a century. The Russians and Germans at the beginning of the 20th century wrote about the benefits of kombucha in treating a variety of conditions. My personal belief is that because kombucha is full of healthy vitamins and amino acids, it had an overall effect of making people healthier, and a variety of conditions were helped as a result.

If you are interested in trying to brew your own kombucha, you can get a culture from a health food store, online, or find a kombucha discussion group, where you might find someone who will give you a culture for free. If you want a free culture from me, no problem. If you live outside my area I'll ask for a couple dollars for shipping.

How do I know when it's ready? Basically I start tasting it after a week. Nowadays I can tell just by smell. It's ready when it tastes as tart as you want it. I've seen where they sell PH strips so you can check it, but your tongue is the best way to tell. Remember, the longer you leave it, the tarter it will become.

If you wish to experiment with herbal or flavored tea, I recommend you always keep a spare kombucha on hand. Almost every time you brew kombucha it will peel off "babies" and I always keep a few in a sealed jar filled with kombucha in the refrigerator. I have in the past three years only had one batch go bad. I started over again with a culture that I'd kept in the fridge for over a year. You will hear about how delicate the culture is, but it's really very tough.

Lastly, remember that kombucha is a living thing. Think of it as a pet. Feed it, treat it with love and respect, and it will respond in kind, feeding and nourishing you.

Okay, that's my first blog! Hope you enjoyed it and got some interesting information from it. Please feel free to comment and critique.