Greetings, I have been eating my newly crafted sour kraut with dinner for the past few nights. The flavor has become a bit less spicy but the sourness has increased some. I think tomorrow I will remove it from the fermenting crock and store it in the fridge. For my next batch I think I will use two heads of cabbage along with a different kind of salt, probably Celtic seas salt or Himalayan salt.

Here is a video showing the simplicity in crafting sour kraut.
VIDEO!

Tasted my sour kraut today for the first time, whoa! Surprisingly nice spicy fermented flavor. Compared to my first attempt I couldn't be happier. The first time use of the fermentation crock is going exceedingly well. I look forward to sharing this decent batch of amateur sour kraut! :)

Here is an update of the sourkraut fermentation looking nice with some bubbles! In this shot you can see how the ceramic weights fit together and keep the vegetables submerged.

Since my initial attempt I have done a lot of research. As a result I found and purchased a fermenting crock from made in Poland. The crock is heavy duty and has a capacity of five liters. Ceramic weights each a half circle fit within the crock to weigh down the vegetables and keep them submerged. This prevents surface mold. This particular crock has an inner ring around the top that can be filled with a little water and the lid placed within it. An air tight seal is created by the water and weight of the crock's lid, ingenious! I took pictures this time to help show my process.  In this attempt I am making simple sourkraut with local organic cabbage and sea salt. This has been sitting for a number of days now and is visibly fermenting nicely!

Greetings!

Been awhile since I have posted an update, although lately there really hasn't been much to post. I moved my giant salsa jar full of shredded vegetables into the fridge a couple of days ago. I just opened it and tasted the contents for the first time. Not to bad. tastes kinda like sourkraut and hot sauce. The mildness of the fermented taste leads me to believe I should have left it in the open a bit longer. I just went shopping and picked up some new local veggies for my second attempt. 

Something is happening! Ahh man, just went to check the water level for the second time this morning to ensure all the vegetables were submerged and ... Bubbles! In less then 24 hours it would appear that the process is macroscopically apparent. From what I have read one day to five is an average amount of time to leave the veggies at room temperature. My apartment is on the cooler side so I figured it would take at least a few days. Additionally according to Yumyum universe universe, the length of time spent at room temperature depends upon you individual taste. I personally like strong tasting vinegar like quality of sourkraut; kimchi, kombucha etc. So I figure I will wait at least 3 days before testing and refrigerating.


I plan on starting a second batch soon, need to go but some more vegetables. However last night when I went to the market they were out of local veggies which I greatly prefer.