Homemade Sauerkraut

Back in December I shared a post on how to make kimchee using the Harsch crock, a heavy-duty fermenting crock. We’ve used it multiple times and are really pleased with it. Still it’s expensive, and unless you intend on fermenting on a regular basis it is likely cost-prohibitive to purchase something like it. For a while I had been considering getting another smaller crock or fermenting jar so that we could have a couple of things fermenting at the same time, and we finally decided upon the Pickle, Sauerkraut and Kimchi Maker jar (currently priced at $24.97).

Sauerkraut Jar

This last week I finally took the time to make a batch of sauerkraut. I’d never made sauerkraut before, so I didn’t know how it would turn out or how different it would be from making kimchee. I have always loved sauerkraut, and I have pretty much only had the kind that you buy in a can at the grocery store. As you can imagine, I was extremely curious to know how different fresh sauerkraut would be versus the canned version.

Before I jump into the recipe, let me note a few things.

• I decided to follow the instructions that came with the jar since the jar comes with several pieces that are each meant for a specific function. I didn’t follow the instructions exactly, but I followed them very closely.
• If you use this particular jar, and since it does have multiple pieces, make sure you have everything and that it is all clean.
• I found that this is very similar to making kimchee, although this was much faster. This is likely due to the fact that when I make kimchee I often use a lot more ingredients.
• If you can help it, use a food processor to shred the cabbage (much faster), and definitely set the jar on a plate or tray.

I’ll note a few other things along the way, too.

Homemade Sauerkraut
Makes about 1 gallon of sauerkraut

• 2 or 3 heads of cabbage, shredded
• 3 or 4 tablespoons sea salt
• Water

Take your heads of cabbage, and discard the first one or two outer leaves and rinse well. Prepare your cabbage for shredding. I did this by cutting off the bottom of the cabbage and then cutting off chunks just off the middle (to avoid the very tough stem at the bottom).

Preparing the cabbage

I don’t have a hand-held shredder (believe it or not), and I didn’t really care to use a knife,  so I decided to use our food processor to shred the cabbage. I used the slicing blade as I did not want to have my sauerkraut be too fine. It’s up to you how finely grated you want yours to be.

Shredding cabbage in the food processor

Mix the salt in with the shredded cabbage (you can do this by hand). I wound up with a couple of large mixing bowls of shredded cabbage, so I mixed the salt in batches. Note that I also used the same salt that we use for making kimchee.

Mixing salt into shredded cabbage

Begin by putting handfuls of cabbage into the jar and then pressing down firmly with your hands. The reason for this is two-fold. First, you want to make sure that there is little to no air in the cabbage, and additionally by pressing down the cabbage will be more likely to release its own juices. The salt also helps the cabbage to release water.

Making sauerkraut

Quick note – I could have done one more cabbage (I did two – one on the smaller side and one medium-sized), but I didn’t want to make too much on my first try – but you can see that this jar really does hold quite a bit.

Pour in water to the top of the jar (I used filtered water), then place the small lid in the top of the jar and upside-down.

Pouring water into sauerkraut jar

Pour additional water into the jar and the upside-down lid until water has reached the absolute top of the jar.

Air bubbles escaping the jar already

Screw on the lid of the jar, and take out the black stopper from the middle of the lid only, leaving the black liner in the lid. A little water should come out – if not, unscrew the lid and add more water. Pour water up until the fill line in the airlock, then press the airlock gently into the top of the lid until the tapered end is no longer visible.

Closing up the sauerkraut jar

Place the jar on a plate or tray (believe me – you’ll want this, as water will overflow), and let it sit on your counter for the next three or four days.

When you first start off you’ll see that the cabbage has left a little bit of room at the very bottom of the jar, and is floating in the water.

Day One - Cabbage just went into the jar and has begun the fermentation process

In the next few pictures see how much room there is at the bottom of the jar as the cabbage ferments. Also see if you can find the bubbles escaping the airlock – this means it’s working! By the way, this was really only four days of fermentation, but I am calling the day that I put the cabbage into the jar “day one”.

Day Two - Basically 24 hours after it went into the jar

Day Three - Fermentation continues

Day Four - Check out how much space is at the bottom of the jar now

See how there is liquid on top of the jar? You’ll want to wipe that off every day, otherwise you’ll wind up fermenting some things on your jar and not just in it – not a good idea necessarily. Also be sure to empty your tray or plate every day if you can, otherwise you may have overflow on your counter – also not a good idea.

Day Five - Last fermentation day for the sauerkraut

On day five (fourth day of fermentation) I opened up the jar, removed the inner lid and took my first look at the sauerkraut. It’s really quite fascinating, but if you have ever had Rice Krispies it sounds just like that! Truly there was a bit of a snap, crackle and pop that I was hearing.

Opening up the jar of sauerkraut

I tried my first bite, and to be honest I was a little surprised – and disappointed. It wasn’t quite as sour as I had hoped, and based upon how much I had seen it ferment over those few days I had really thought that it would be more powerful than it was.

That said – I screwed the lid back on, popped in the black stopper and put it in the refrigerator -  it has continued to ferment since I made it, and basically after about a week it started to really get a stronger sauerkraut flavor. It’s probably still not quite as strong as what you’d get in a can at your local grocery store, but it tastes similar and more fresh.

Homemade sauerkraut

Sauerkraut can be used in a variety of ways. Some people like to put it on sandwiches or hotdogs, but I like eating it just by itself. I’ve been having a little bowl of it every day for lunch, with a touch of salt and sometimes with a dash of dill seed. Some people also like it with caraway or fennel.

Check out this video I found on YouTube on how to make sauerkraut in a similar, yet slightly different way.

Have you made sauerkraut or do you ferment other vegetables?

Homemade Kimchee

If I remember correctly, the first time I was introduced to kimchee was when I was living in a dorm. One of my friends was Korean, and she would sometimes have good homemade Korean food after being at home for the weekend or on vacation. At least one of those times she brought kimchee. I was hooked, but our dean was not. She thought the smell was so rank and terrible that she wound up banning kimchee from the dorm. Although disappointing, I still managed to have it every now and then, and over the past couple of years we have been making our own at home.

In case you’re wondering, kimchee (also spelled kimchi or kim chee) is an all encompassing word for the many varieties of fermented foods found in Korean cuisine. Typically, kimchee is made with a variety of vegetables, with the most popular tending to be napa cabbage. While a lot of kimchee is vegan, not all of it is – oftentimes you will see shrimp or other seafood found in the ingredients list on a commercial bag or jar. Vegan varieties do exist, and my favorite brand that I have come across so far is Sunja’s Kimchee.

Like other fermented foods (i.e. sauerkraut and pickles), kimchee is extremely good for you. Not only is it low in calories, it is high in fiber, contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, and it also contains beneficial bacteria which aids in digestion. When I have felt a cold coming on or if my digestion seems to have slowed down, even a quarter cup or half a cup of kimchee a day will help turn things around. Health Magazine has named kimchee one of the world’s healthiest foods.

While you can go out and grab a jar of kimchee, there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that you can make it yourself at home. If you’re anything like I was, you are probably overwhelmed at the thought of making your own kimchee or any type of fermented food. What if you do something wrong? What if you have to spend a lot of money to get started? What if you don’t like it?

I will admit that it does require a certain amount of work, but once you get the hang of it you’ll find that it goes easier and faster. There are many different ways to make kimchee, but I am going to show you how to make it in a Harsch fermentation crock with the ingredients I like to use. I first learned how to make kimchi using the very detailed instructions in this .pdf, so if you are still overwhelmed at the prospect of making your own kimchee this should also give you some good information that I may not be sharing in my post. (I’ve noticed that the original link to this .pdf no longer exists, so if the link I provide here no longer works, let me know and I can try to find another alternate link or email it to you directly.)

Kimchee

• 1 head napa cabbage
• 3 or 4 carrots, peeled and grated
• Daikon radish (this comes in varying sizes, so I would choose a small one), chopped
• 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
• About 1-inch size of ginger, peeled and chopped finely
• Coarse sea salt
• Crushed red pepper
• Sugar or agave nectar

First, boil about 4 or 5 tablespoons of salt in 8 cups of water, and let completely cool.

Boiling salt water

You will use this salt water at a later point when you are nearly done making the kimchee.

Take your head of napa cabbage and discard the damaged outer leaves. Remove about 3 or 4 of the intact outer leaves and salt them, then put in a large glass or plastic bowl (not metal).

Salting the napa cabbage

At this point I like to take the rest of the cabbage and chop it up into bite-sized pieces. Some kimchee is made where all the leaves are essentially left whole, but we like ours chopped up. Salt as much of the pieces as you can and put them in your large bowl with the larger outer leaves. Cover with water, and weigh down the cabbage with a bowl or plate. Let it sit for at least two hours.

Salting and then soaking the cabbage

I am using this salt which I have only been able to find in Korean grocery stores. If you do not have a Korean grocery store near you, you can try to use another sea salt or you can order it online. There are many different brands of Korean sea salt, so the one in the picture is not your only option.

Kimchee sea salt

After a couple of hours you’ll find that the cabbage has wilted. Drain the water and rinse the cabbage well.

Wilted napa cabbage

Prepare your other vegetables that you wish to use in your kimchee. Here I am using carrots, daikon, scallions and ginger.

Carrots, scallions, daikon and ginger

Add crushed red pepper (I usually do about two tablespoons which makes a batch of kimchee this size mildly spicy to medium spicy), a couple of tablespoons of salt and about a teaspoon of sugar (this is optional, but it gives the bacteria a boost). Mix all the ingredients together by hand, including the cabbage except for the larger leaves (it’s a good idea if you can use kitchen gloves, because the red pepper and salt can irritate your hands).

Making the kimchee spicy

Again, the red pepper can be found in Korean grocery stores, but I wouldn’t substitute on this one. If you can’t find it near you, then try to purchase it online. There are also many brands of red pepper, so you don’t need to be picky.

Once everything has been well mixed, place the kimchee mixture into the Harsch crock. We have a 5-liter crock, which is the smallest size that this company makes. Don’t let the size fool you, though. It can make about twice or triple the batch you’re seeing here, and the crock itself is extremely heavy.

Harsch fermentation crock

Once you have everything in the crock, take a dowel or rolling pin and mash your vegetables for a few minutes. This helps to release some of the vegetable’s water.

Mashing the kimchee vegetables

Once you are done, place the large leaves of cabbage over the top of the kimchee, then on top of that place the two half moon ceramic pieces that come with the crock. These weigh the kimchee down so that it stays below the water.

Covering up the kimchee

Pour the salt water on top of the two ceramic pieces until they are covered. Place the lid on top of the crock, then fill the reservoir with water so that the holes on the side of the lid are adequately covered. This makes it so that oxygen does not enter the kimchee as it is fermenting. After a few hours or on the second day you may see bubbles escape through the water – this means that your kimchee is fermenting!

Kimchee fermenting in the Harsch crock

I like to let my kimchee ferment for about four days, but some people prefer shorter or longer fermentation periods. As tempting as it may be, do not open the crock until you plan to take your kimchee out! It won’t necessarily ruin the kimchee, but when oxygen comes in contact with it, there is a greater chance for mold.

About to take out the kimchee

When you open up your crock and take a look at the kimchee, do check for floating mold or slime. This batch didn’t have any, but to be on the safe side, I still discarded some of the top part of the kimchee juice (including the floating veggies) before removing the kimchee from the crock.

When your kimchee is done, you can store it in a glass container in the refrigerator. If you use a container with an air tight seal, make sure it is not completely closed as the fermentation will still continue in the refrigerator and the air will still need a way to escape. I like to store my kimchee in mason jars, and as you can see I used a plastic sandwich bag and a plastic lid. I have used regular canning lids, but have found that they do disintegrate and start to rust after a while from the acids in the kimchee, so a plastic barrier of some kind is my current solution.

Storing kimchee

It has been a while since I’ve made kimchee, so I made a smaller batch this time. It turned out nicely, although it is a pretty sour one. My husband would probably prefer a milder kimchee (and sans ginger), so a couple of days of fermentation might have yielded him a nicer kimchee.

Still, if you wind up with kimchee that is too spicy or sour, there are ways that you can use it without throwing it out. We enjoy using it in stir fry, or a lot of Koreans will make soup or pancakes (not your breakfast variety) with them. It’s also nice to have with a simple bowl of rice, which will cut the heat and sourness down a little bit. The nice thing is that your kimchi will last for months and sometimes up to a year, so there is time for you to figure out how best to use it.

Never had kimchee before? Before you do anything else, I would strongly suggest that you find a small jar of kimchee at your local health food store, or a store like Whole Foods. It is not something that everyone likes, so before you commit yourself to making it, try it first.

I also recommend watching some videos on how to make kimchee. It’s not necessary to use a fermentation crock – and it’s not even necessary to ferment it before eating it. As they say, variety is the spice of life. ;)

Have you made kimchee before? How do you make it?

Back when my husband and I tried the raw food diet for a month we wound up making a lot of food from scratch that we might have normally purchased at a store. One of those things was almond milk. At first making this sort of thing was truly intimidating, but once done we realized how easy it could be. Prep time is minutes, although twiddling your thumbs takes hours.

I was reminded of our foray into non-dairy milk making when I was on VeganYumYum a few weeks ago. She made her own soy milk, which, if you have ever done it, is both labor-intensive and time-consuming. She wasn’t exactly happy with the end results, either.

Inspired by her post, I decided to start making milk again, and am I glad I did. This batch turned out wonderfully. It was creamy, mostly smooth (mostly!), and didn’t even last a full week because we just couldn’t help ourselves.

Raw Homemade Almond Milk

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 7 – 8 cups water
• Agave nectar or another sweetener (optional)

Put your almonds into a good-sized bowl and fill the bowl up with water until they are covered well.

Cover with a towel and let sit in a cool place for about 24 – 48 hours (honestly, you could probably get away with less time, but I haven’t tried it). Rinse the almonds once a day, and if you are soaking for more than one day cover the almonds with water again.

Once they are finished soaking they will have become plump.

The difference is pretty amazing.

Pour off the water from the almonds and rinse well. Place the rinsed almonds into a blender (we use a VitaMix, but any blender should work fine), add the 7 – 8 cups of water, and blend for a few minutes or until well blended. At this stage you can add a sweetener if you want, but I left it out myself. Since the milk can potentially be used in a variety of ways it seems that you may want to leave the sweetener out.

When it is done blending it will look something like this…

…and it will have a lot of froth on top.

Strain the almond milk through a bag strainer (probably best), or through a fine sieve into your original bowl or another large container. We used to have a bag strainer, but found it hard to clean, so I used our small sieve.

If I am going to be making this on a regular basis I need to get a good sized sieve.

As you are straining it you will be getting a lot of almond meal. It is up to you if you want to conserve this or throw it out. You can do a variety of things with it – i.e. dehydrate it, turn it into a flour, mix it into some bread, etc.

After you have finished straining it, strain it again into your final pitcher or container. This will ensure that it is as smooth as possible. You can strain even further, but it is up to you.

The final result – about a half gallon of good and easy almond milk. Store in the refrigerator and try to use within a week. You will need to stir the almond milk every time you bring it out of the refrigerator to use since it does settle.

In thinking about making your own milk there are a couple of things to consider. Firstly, it amazes me how many ingredients are in commercial vegan milks. There’s usually a lot of sugar, not many ingredients I even recognize, and some are just plain unnecessary.

Secondly, the actual price of the product in the store compared to the price of making it at home is definitely less (of course this depends on how much you pay for almonds). If you pay $3.99 for 64 ounces of Silk Soymilk, then it is about $0.49/cup. If you pay $1.59 for rice milk, then it is about $0.40/cup. If you pay $5.79/pound for almonds, and of that use one cup of almonds to make eight cups of almond milk, then your price will come to about $0.27/cup or $1.09 for 4 cups (32 ounces) or $2.17 for eight cups (64 ounces).

Bottom line, it’s worth it.

If you are allergic to tree nuts you can make other milks in similar ways, like sunflower seed milk. I made that this past weekend and it wasn’t quite as good as the almond milk, but it still turned out fine. Difference was the soaking time (about four hours).

Overall, this is a very easy, cost effective, and delicious way to get homemade vegan milk.

Maybe five or six (or seven) years ago my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, and I learned about the raw food diet. I was willing to try it out, and did so for approximately five days, if I remember correctly. A few years later, which was really only about three years ago, we were reminded of the raw food lifestyle by way of an article on CNN.com. After some back and forth, we decided that we’d try raw for a month. After our wedding. After our honeymoon, which was nine day cruise to the Caribbean. As you may be aware, cruises typically add on at least 25 or 30 pounds just because of the huge variety of food (I exaggerate – a bit), so of course, we couldn’t start to be healthy just yet.

So anyway, we got married, went on our honeymoon, then came back and started the “30-day challenge”. We kept an online food diary, mainly shared with family. I had evangelized the raw food diet to my mother when she was in town for our wedding, and she was dead set against even trying it. Then she secretly tried it as we were trying it.

She’s still raw. 100%. Some people think she’s a little crazy for doing it, and some people say that they could never do it. But the reality is that she’s lost a lot of weight, and she’s been able to lower the amount of prescription pills that she has been taking for years. I think that for her this started out as determination, but now it’s her way of life.

Anyway, so I decided that this Mother’s Day I would eat a raw breakfast in honor of my mother, the persevering raw foodist.

Tropical Fruit Salad

• 1/2 papaya, skinned, gutted and chopped
• 1 mango, skinned and chopped
• 1 young coconut, drained

Chop up all of your ingredients, mix together, then decide if you’re going to eat them in the coconut or in a bowl.

I’m not even going to go into how you open a young coconut, because there are many examples of this on the internet. Including my mom’s own website.

Young coconut is very different than mature coconut. Both are good, but the young version is one of nature’s delicacies. The flesh is very tender and creamy:

All I have to say is save that coconut milk because it is divine. And if you don’t like it, then blend it up in a smoothie.

Obviously I’m nowhere near raw at the moment (I think I lasted about 29 days or thereabouts), considering the many vegan cheesecakes we’ve been consuming lately. But, if anything, what the raw food lifestyle has given me is veganism. We decided – hey, if we can’t stick to raw, we can probably stick to vegan, and we’ve been vegan ever since. 99.9% of the time. Or thereabouts. :)