Love watching your cooking videos with the Lord of the Rings music as I watch on my TV The 2 Towers though never care too much for sauerkraut really..just too sour for my sweet Hobbitity tastes buds lol
I was never very interested in it until I learned how beneficial even just the juice is for the microbiomes in our guts! Now I am introducing it to some of my meals and there are lots of different flavors you can try! Awww that sounds so lovely, thank you, Pip!
OMG what beautiful cabbages - I'm jealous! Here in the South, it's very rare to get cabbages that even begin to form a head before bolting. (I still plant them every fall, though. Hope springs eternal, right?) If you do try this again with store-bought cabbage, be sure to use organic cabbage only. Maybe try getting it from the farmers' market in Michel Delving. Most store-bought cabbage has been irradiated, which means all the beneficial bacteria has been killed, so no fermentation will occur. Try to get yourself a pickling crock, too, if you can find one! They have straight sides, which makes it so much easier to fish out that white scum if you have to, without having to deal with the shoulders of a jar. And you can use it for other things, too, such as making kimchi - which can be your next experiment after you master sauerkraut. There are SO many delicious types of kimchi you can make with all sorts of garden vegetables and even fruit!
What wonderful tips/advice! Thank you so much! 💕 I feel your pain about the cabbages - I planted 12 at the start of last autumn (half red, half sweet green) thinking they would size up and we would have heads in the spring… they became these shriveled, aphid-infested Jack Skellington plants 🥺 Then they tried to bolt 😭 So I ended up ripping them out and feeding them to our hens. I have tried to grow Napa cabbage again since filming this video and have also never had it form a head before bolting 😂 it’s a curse! Maybe I should try in Ireland!
I remember my mom's Saurkraut very fondly, and she was full blown Hungarian! I used to help her make it as a youngster. Bur alas, it's been too many years, and I don't recall the recipe. But enjoyed your video none the less!
Those were very nice cabbages, sorry that they went bad on you. I haven't yet made sauerkraut, but I have read about fermentation. One key is to keep all the cabbage under the salted water so no air touches it. A simple 'weight' can be a plastic bag filled with water. And you can press down the cabbage firmly with a tamper tool, such as a large dowel (clean and just for ferments). I've made some pickled onions, and beets/carrots. They taste really good. Going to try fermenting beets and carrots when I can. :) Oh, and they do make a 1 gal. size Mason jar.
Sorry it didn’t work out! Did you sterilize the measuring cup and spoon you used to make the salt water? And the jar with the pie weights every time you put it back in?
Those are great questions. As I pulled this footage from the “archives” 2 years ago, I can’t remember off the top of my head but I likely did as I am used to brewing protocol. But that could definitely be a contributing factor!
@@HappyHobbit I make my own jams and brew beer from time to time and ever so rarely there is this one little piece of equipment that didn’t get (re-) sterilized, sneaky little things. (I feel silly for asking before since it said in the beginning that the footage is 2,5 years old)
Shame, next time. I tried making Sauerkraut once. Followed the recipe to the dot. Did not turn out good....So I know how disappointing it can be. And I used store bought cabbage. I can't imagine the complete let down of using your fresh garden cabbage that you grew from seed. All that time and nurturing it from germination to fully grown.
I have 20 canning funnels want one?😂
😂
Canning funnels? You mean the best dog chew toy ever?
Love watching your cooking videos with the Lord of the Rings music as I watch on my TV The 2 Towers
though never care too much for sauerkraut really..just too sour for my sweet Hobbitity tastes buds lol
I was never very interested in it until I learned how beneficial even just the juice is for the microbiomes in our guts! Now I am introducing it to some of my meals and there are lots of different flavors you can try! Awww that sounds so lovely, thank you, Pip!
Thank you for providing the research and educational experience for us all 😄
I always hope I fail so that others don’t have to! 😂
Sauronkraut!😊
😂
OMG what beautiful cabbages - I'm jealous! Here in the South, it's very rare to get cabbages that even begin to form a head before bolting. (I still plant them every fall, though. Hope springs eternal, right?)
If you do try this again with store-bought cabbage, be sure to use organic cabbage only. Maybe try getting it from the farmers' market in Michel Delving. Most store-bought cabbage has been irradiated, which means all the beneficial bacteria has been killed, so no fermentation will occur.
Try to get yourself a pickling crock, too, if you can find one! They have straight sides, which makes it so much easier to fish out that white scum if you have to, without having to deal with the shoulders of a jar. And you can use it for other things, too, such as making kimchi - which can be your next experiment after you master sauerkraut. There are SO many delicious types of kimchi you can make with all sorts of garden vegetables and even fruit!
What wonderful tips/advice! Thank you so much! 💕 I feel your pain about the cabbages - I planted 12 at the start of last autumn (half red, half sweet green) thinking they would size up and we would have heads in the spring… they became these shriveled, aphid-infested Jack Skellington plants 🥺 Then they tried to bolt 😭 So I ended up ripping them out and feeding them to our hens. I have tried to grow Napa cabbage again since filming this video and have also never had it form a head before bolting 😂 it’s a curse! Maybe I should try in Ireland!
@@HappyHobbit I do love the way nothing ever really goes to waste when you have chickens! 😁
@@maggiepfob Right? It makes me feel less guilty! We also have 2 worm bins for the stuff too rotten for the hens.
I’m cooking some brats and sauerkraut tonight!
What marvelous timing!
@@HappyHobbit A chance timing! 🧙
I remember my mom's Saurkraut very fondly, and she was full blown Hungarian! I used to help her make it as a youngster. Bur alas, it's been too many years, and I don't recall the recipe. But enjoyed your video none the less!
Awww what wonderful, special memories and such an integral link to your culture! 💕
Those were very nice cabbages, sorry that they went bad on you.
I haven't yet made sauerkraut, but I have read about fermentation. One key is to keep all the cabbage under the salted water so no air touches it. A simple 'weight' can be a plastic bag filled with water.
And you can press down the cabbage firmly with a tamper tool, such as a large dowel (clean and just for ferments).
I've made some pickled onions, and beets/carrots. They taste really good. Going to try fermenting beets and carrots when I can. :)
Oh, and they do make a 1 gal. size Mason jar.
Ooooo that is all wonderful to know! 😃 I will have to get some more tools! There definitely seems to be a technique I am missing! 😂
Thought sauerkraut has vinegar in it…I’m wrong?
Idk, vinegar is often used for pickling but after this experiment, I would gladly add some! 😂
It does not. The sourness comes from the natural fermentation process.
Sorry it didn’t work out! Did you sterilize the measuring cup and spoon you used to make the salt water? And the jar with the pie weights every time you put it back in?
Those are great questions. As I pulled this footage from the “archives” 2 years ago, I can’t remember off the top of my head but I likely did as I am used to brewing protocol. But that could definitely be a contributing factor!
Sterilization is important when making sauerkraut but the issue here is the wrong cabbage is being used.
@@HappyHobbit I make my own jams and brew beer from time to time and ever so rarely there is this one little piece of equipment that didn’t get (re-) sterilized, sneaky little things.
(I feel silly for asking before since it said in the beginning that the footage is 2,5 years old)
@@k.s.333 hmm preservation by fermentation should basically work with all cabbages, although I never tried it with Napa cabbage
@@Exarathas Aww don't feel silly! How wonderful that you also brew and make jams! 😀 You know the sanitization struggle! 😆
Shame, next time. I tried making Sauerkraut once. Followed the recipe to the dot. Did not turn out good....So I know how disappointing it can be. And I used store bought cabbage. I can't imagine the complete let down of using your fresh garden cabbage that you grew from seed. All that time and nurturing it from germination to fully grown.
Yes, it was fairly devastating 😢