Well, The cabbage was harvested and put in the crock during optimal times according to the signs. 20lbs of cabbage yielded 12 quarts of delicious kraut. It turned out well. Next month I'll do another batch in the worst sign. It won't be till around Thanksgiving for the results.

I kept 5 qts in the fridge raw, canned the rest. I love raw kraut...

Mine should be ready in a couple of weeks. I can't wait I didn't get any made last year

I like kraft as well as other pickled veggies.

I've been looking for the longest for a recipe that replicates a nice cold salad I used get in the guesthouses in Germany.

It had pickled veggies like cauliflower, carrots, larger cuts of cabbage usually red. This salad was often sweeter or just not as sharp as kraut.

I like to age it at least a year before eating. Just had some the other day from 2020, that was really good. We don't can it, we put it in jars and let it age.

Nittany could you explain your process please?

Actually this is my mother-in-laws process. I sometimes help and when I do help I am the shredder and packer, lol.

She has an old cabbage slaw shredding board that shreds it. We then stuff as much as possible in a quart jar, really pack it as tight as possible, you then add a teaspoon of salt and fill the jar almost to the top with boiling water, it is a good idea to take a knife and jab it up and down to get rid of some of the air. You then put a lid on it and turn it tight, as it ferments the juices will spill out over if you don't turn the lid tight enough and you will have a mess, lol. We then let it age. My wife and mother-in-law just made about 20 quarts recently. We won't eat that until next year.

NL - and no jars break or explode?

Always wondered how to do it, but never knew the correct way.
Tried to do some an then clean the top off an it about make you sick.
This may need archived

Nope, I've only been around this process about 15 or 20 years, but to date no busted jars.

I love this stuff, never had homemade but the "sweet" is really good. Made many great rubens with it.

Nittany, thanks! Jayme, that's for girls.

I'm going to have to give this a try. Thanks!

Best I've had was made by an elder German girl.
Not "saur" at all, perhaps that is the recipe Warrior seeks.
I've been looking too.
Sitting here thinking maybe same recipe-brine my Grandma had for pickled peppers.
Going to ask my relitives.
That one was in archive here but lost in one the site crashes, I think.

I make mine somewhat like NL.

I use a saurkraut cutter and when i get 5 lbs of cabbage shredded I mix in 3 tablespoons of sale. Then pack it into a jar. I use wide mouth jars, 5 lbs pretty much will do a half gallon. The reason I use wide mouth is the girl's hands fit inside and they use their fist to pack it in. Where I do it differently is I leave the lids loose and put the jars on a cookie sheet. Then I tighten them down. Like NL I don't can them and after 5 weeks it's ready to eat.

Nothing easier than making homemade kraut and IMHO it's night and day difference from store bought. Usually I make about 8-10 gallons a year, so far this year only three and that looks to be it.

Your kraut looks great Jeff.

Sadly, my Great Pyrenees, Lanita, knocked over and broke my 15 gallon, not all the way full, sauerkraut crock I inherited from my grandfather. The rock holding the plate down shattered the side. We pitched the whole batch.

There's a German buffet in Columbus, Ohio, Schmidt’s Sausage Haus, that has many types of sauerkraut and sausage to eat. I recommend it highly if you like German food.

I am currently fermenting some batches of pears to make vinegar. There's some apples and peaches in some of the batches too. All of it smells nice and vinegary. It's been messier than I thought it would be. All the containers are covered with Bounty paper towels. The fermentation process has been violent enough to pass a fair amount of liquid through the towels. This is my first attempt at intentionally making vinegar. I've accidentally made vinegar making wine, when the airlocks failed.

Keith

Thanks Keith, you can get a PH tester to check acidity in your vinegar and if it's 5% or more you can use it for canning, pickling etc. That's cool!

NL and 49'er. Your ways are really neat. Without canning them, do y'all store them in the fridge or just leave them at room temp?

I do the whole heads core it pack the hollow core with salt and then pack shredded cabbage amount the whole heads. love using the whole leaf's to make cabbage rolls.