The dinner club’s canning session was a success, but we also decided to do the first fermenting session. I took on the task of fermenting the cabbage, beets and kale as we couldn’t really spend 6 weeks together watching the process. I made real sauerkraut with the cabbage and did the same thing with the beets. For the kale, I made kimchi.

Sauerkraut was first recorded by the Romans but came from the Orient. The method, however, was lost in Europe, but then re-introduced in Austria in the 13th century by the Tartar hordes, who had acquired it from China.

Sauerkraut is old, and fermentation older. Fermentation helps digestion, it preserves nutrients and food and produces delicious and pungent results. Doing it yourself doubly preserves the vitamins and beneficial live cultures that result from fermentation, as when store-bought, products are often pasteurized (heated to high enough temperatures to kill the good stuff). Micro biodiversity also gives our immune-system the challenges it needs to come up with more complex solutions, ie, live cultures keep our immune-system on its toes and in-shape.

Here are the instructions for straight-up sauerkraut made with cabbage or beets, fast sauerkraut (the cheater way, not as nutritious, but still delicious), a sauerkraut soup recipe, my great Grandma’s sauerkraut salad recipe, British pickled cabbage, and, lastly, a video I made explaining how to make kale kimchi.

Sauerkraut

 3 tbsp of salt per 2 kg of cabbage (you could also use beets, carrots or other root vegetables)

You will also need:

a container to put it in

a plate that fits snugly in the container

Something to weight it

A Tea towel

A Sterilized or well-scrubbed weight (A big jar of something)

Shred the cabbage, put it in a food safe, non-reactive receptacle with the salt. Put the plate on top, weight it and cover it with a tea towel. After 24 hours add enough salt water (1 tbps of salt for 1 cup of water) to cover the plate. The brine keeps the kraut from the air and spoilage. Check every few days and skim off the “bloom” (usually mold).

Cheater Sauerkraut

If you’re not up for 6 weeks of fermenting cabbage, this is the cheater way. You will not get the health benefits, but it will still taste really good.

1 onion, cut in half and then finely sliced

1 head of green cabbage, shredded

2 tbsp of salt

1 c. of cider vinegar

1/2 c. of cider, beer, or white wine

1 tsp of caraway seeds

Mix the cabbage and onion with the salt and let it sit covered for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours. Drain. Put in a pot and simmer 45 min.

Sauerkraut Soup Recipe

This recipe was sent to me by Melissa Denecke in Germany, who is a member of two dinner clubs in Germany!   I met her on a cycling tour of Montreal with Fitz & Follwell. The soup is very original and surprising. Although I don’t have the food porn to convince you, I really recommend you try it.

300g of sauerkraut

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp of butter

1 small can of mandarin oranges and its juice (I used fresh mandarins and 2 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice)

500 ml of chicken stock

salt

pepper

1 tsp of dried ginger (I used 1 tbsp of fresh ginger)

1 tbsp of honey

300g of crème fraîche (or you can use a mix of cream and sour cream)

Sauté the onion with the butter until soft. Add everything but the crème fraîche. Simmer on low heat for 45 min. Add the crème fraîche and purée with a hand mixer.

 Sauerkraut Salad

 I worked as a cook in a tree-planting camp in the summer of 2010. It turns out that my Great Grandma Elsa Lamarr was a logging camp cook for many years and this was one of her recipes.

A 1 kg jar of sauerkraut, rinsed

1/2 c. of chopped celery

1/2 c. of chopped peppers

1 c. of chopped onions

1 c. of honey (I use 1/2 c.)

1 c. of vinegar (I use 1/2 c. of cider vinegar)

salt and pepper

Combine all of the ingredients and let it marinate at least 45 min before serving. This is really good with a hot dog.

 Pickled Cabbage

This is yet another fast way to conserve cabbage. It is delicious. You can serve it with a roast, fish, or use it as you would sauerkraut. It is a British recipe, but I put a lot more water to make more of a vinegar brine than a straight-up vinegar marinade. Do it as you prefer.

2 red cabbages (about 3kg), shredded

6 tbsp of coarse salt

1 L of malt vinegar (I use 500ml of malt vinegar and 500ml of water)

1/4 c. of sugar

2 tbsp of pickling spice (Here I also improvise, using a variety of seeds and herbs: coriander, cumin, dried chilies, juniper berries, whole all-spice, mustard seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves)

Arrange the cabbage in three layers in a non-reactive container, putting 2 tbsp of salt between each layer. Cover it and let it sit for 2 days, stirring it a few times each day.

On the third day, combine the marinade ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil briskly for 5 min. Meanwhile, drain the cabbage. Put the cabbage in sterilized jars. Strain the marinade or leave the spices in if you like the look of it in the jars. Pour the hot marinade over the cabbage and close the jars. Wait at least 3 days before eating.

One more idea….

Enjoy the pineapple sauerkraut and ham your-style.

Kale Kimchi

Just as a side note – I’m a lot spunkier than that in real life, but I was nervous. It was my first experience on film, and it was for a contest to win a trip to Korea. I was trying to look really Canadian with my sweater, but I just made Canadians seem really awkward….Enjoy! The video is below: