Hi Marg - the basic instructions are pretty easy - 3 T of canning/pickling (not table) salt mixed and squeezed well into each 5 lbs. of shredded cabbage, packed tightly into any glass or other fermenting container, weighted down so the cabbage stays below the liquid, covered, and set in a dark corner at about 70 degrees for approx. 12-21 days (depends on how strong you want it to taste). When it tastes good to you it is done.

One tip - a ziplock bag filled with brine (1 1/2 T salt to a quart of water) stuffed into the top of the jar makes a good weight and seals the jar at the same time.

NCHFP gives you all the basic instructions and also tells you how to store it when finished. But no barrels behind the door, ok? :)

The discussions linked below from here contain all sorts of tips and how-to info if you want to browse through them.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: sauerkraut discussions

In my experience of 40+ years of making sauerkraut table salt can be used as successfully as any other salt. I used iodized and non iodized table salt, sea salt, kosher salt, pickling salt, european brands of salt and US salt over the years. The only difference is that that table spoon contains different amonunt of table salt and, for example, kosher salt (different particle size). So salt amounts need to be adjusted. It is best to use grams/ounces, not table spoons. Approx 2.0-2.25 ounces for 5 lbs of cabbage works well for me.
Each batch of sauerkraut will always slightly differ in taste depending on cabbage, temp variations, etc, but salt is really not a factor in my experience and for my way of making sauerkraut.
Olga

I think the only concern or issue NCHFP has with using other forms of salt, other than the measuring differences, is that some contain fillers and stabilizers that can cause the brine to turn cloudy. i have used pure Kosher salt with no problems at all but some brands of Kosher salt (and sea salt) has fillers in it that I don't care for.

So it more of a quality issue not a safety or taste issue.

Dave

Thanks. I'm going to give this a try. Marg

Dave, my brines are always cloudy once they get perking, and I use canning salt. Now, here, I talking about brines for dill pickles, dilly beans, etc. I'm only now waiting for my first batch of kraut.

Are you saying your brines remain clear?

Deborah

Fermentation brine is always a little cloudy in my experience, whatever you ferment, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, etc.
Olga

Now, here, I talking about brines for dill pickles, dilly beans, etc.

Fermented dills or vinegar brine dills? 2 different things. And Dilly Beans aren't fermented they are a quick pack vinegar brine.

Yes, vinegar brines are clear, well cider vinegar clear. Fermented brines may or may not be clear-ish or not depending on the ingredients used, air exposure, air temps, hard water, even utensils used can all affect degree of clarity.

There are different qualities of canning salt but cloudy Dilly Beans would be unusual IME. Perhaps from blossom ends left on or excess bacteria on the beans. Cukes need both ends trimmed too.

Dave

Dave, fermented on both counts.

And yes, I make fermented dilly beans.. no vinegar involved. Brined beans can be flavored with several herbs/spices. Mine are dill. Check out Ziedrich's book for recipe on brined beans.

Olga, I agree. Never perfectly clear with fermenting, not even cider clear. Wow, I'd like to see a perfectly clear ferment brine.

Deborah

Opps. I should have said fermented beans can be flavored with several spices. Mine are fermented dilly beans.

Deborah

Marg - my apologies for apparently dragging this discussion so far off topic. My intention was only to offer an explanation as to why using canning salt is recommended by the standard guidelines - that other forms can contribute to the cloudiness of the brine.

Those who are experienced with fermentation and choose to use other forms of salt are free to do so of course. But there is no need to dispute the guidelines simply because they prefer to use other salts.

Check out Ziedrich's book for recipe on brined beans.

But it was the reference to Dilly Beans and pickles of an unspecified type that threw me as we were discussing fermenting and Dilly Beans and most pickles are NOT fermented.

The recipe called Dilly Beans means one thing to most folks - a vinegar brined green bean with dill - as that recipe has been around for decades. It is not a fermented recipe. So cannond you really need to specify otherwise for clarity.

I don't use that particular book so I can't check her title in the book but I sure hope she calls them something else beside Dilly Beans - like maybe Fermented Dill Beans or Fermented Green Beans with Dill (yeah I know you can use all sorts of spices/herbs) - as a lot of confusion results otherwise as this discussion reflects. :)

As I said above, quick pack, vinegar-brined foods are clear - as clear as the vinegar used. Fermented brines may or may not be clear-ish depending on any number of factors - the ingredients used, waxed store-bought or home grown foods, air exposure - how the jar is sealed or not, if the container is dark or contents exposed to sunlight, air temps used for fermenting, hard water vs. soft water, utensils used, if any starters are added, if the blossom ends are not removed, etc. etc. etc. All those factors can affect the degree of clarity of a fermenting brine.

Does that mean a fermenting brine MUST be clear to be safe? Of course not. Does it mean a fermenting brine MUST be cloudy to work? No it doesn't. Is it possible to have a relatively clear fermenting brine? Yes it is.

I hope that clarifies.

Dave

"But it was the reference to Dilly Beans and pickles of an unspecified type that threw me as we were discussing fermenting and Dilly Beans and most pickles are NOT fermented. "

I'm sorry, Dave. I wasn't trying to be obtuse. I thought the discussion about salt was specific to fermented products, not vinegar brined.

"The recipe called Dilly Beans means one thing to most folks - a vinegar brined green bean with dill - as that recipe has been around for decades. It is not a fermented recipe. So cannond you really need to specify otherwise for clarity."

If you are uncomfortable with my calling my fermented beans Dilly Beans, then, alright, let's call them fermented dill-ish type beans.
Whatever they are called, they are green beans, seasoned exactly as I would season dilly beans, and preserved in the age-old tradition of fermentation.
As to "most pickles are NOT fermented." I'm sure you're right. But originally they were. Water bath processing is relatively new compared to the time honored methods our ancestors used. So I expect I can be forgiven for referring to fermentation as pickling or brining.

In future, I will try to be more temperate in my nomenclature.

I would still like to see clear fermentation liquid. I think it would be more attractive.

Deborah

To chime in... I have made sauerkraut in a jar. I use a picklepro from Homesteader's Supply

I've made sauerkraut for 40 years or so, and helped make it before that. We have used various types of salt, depending on what we had, although amounts do have to be adjusted depending on the type used. Canning salt, kosher salt, sea salt, table salt, it all works.

As has been mentioned, brines on fermented products are not clear, so additives in the salt make little difference, as long as the measurements are correct for the type.

Marg, good luck with that sauerkraut. I do not care for the commercially available types, they taste like vinegar, more pickled than fermented. Homemade stuff, though, it's a different creature altogether.

Annie

how do ziplock bags seal the top? with water, it seems they will bend and leave all kinds of air gaps.

Also, I made my first sauerkraut last night and I think it did it all properly. Today, it hasn't started bubbling or anything - should it?

I used a 250 ml jar, does that matter?

A good zip lock bag 1/2 filled with water (filling with brine is better in case it ever leaks) and most of the rest of the air removed becomes like a soft pillow than can be shifted and moved around to completely seal the top of the jar. Once you try it you'll see how well it works. The size of the bag needed all depends on the size of the jar opening.

How quickly fermentation begins all depends on your ambient air temperature. But it usually takes 48-72 hours anyway.

Did you use the approved NCHFP directions and salt ratio?

Dave

I'm very happy using a Perfect Pickler gadget. It fits on top of any wide mouth canning jar so sometimes I use a pint jar, sometimes a half gallon. I feel safer having the jar completely covered with the air lock. It's cold in our kitchen at night this time of year. I have not done sauerkraut but the fermented beets I had for lunch yesterday were wonderful.

I just finished and refrigerated my first batch of sauerkraut, and in spite of the fact that it came out just a tad salty, it's far superior to the commercial stuff. Fermentation could be observed after 48 hours--if you're using a clear container for fermentation, when you press the cabbage down, you can see lots of tiny bubbles coming up.

--Rick in CT