Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
at a time and use a clean potato masher to mash the mixture
until enough juice has been squeezed out of the cabbage that
at least one or two inches of juice are above the cabbage by
the time all the cabbage has been added.
Fill and seal a noncolored food-grade plastic bag with a
mixture of 6 Tbsp salt and one gallon of water, and put this on
the cabbage to weigh it down and keep it completely
submerged, then cover the top of the container with plastic
wrap. Keep the container at room temperature, and in four
weeks, your sauerkraut will be ready. Just like with the brined
pickles above, check daily for scum and remove any that you
find. Once the kraut is ready, pour it in a large pot (or a
portion of it at a time depending on the relative size of your
pot) and heat while stirring to 190 degrees as indicated by a
candy thermometer. Do NOT let it boil. Pack into clean
canning jars and add brine to leave 1/4 inch of headspace, and
process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes for pints or
20 minutes for quarts. Yield: depends on how much cabbage
you use.
Quick Process Pickles
Quick process pickles rely on vinegar for their acidity rather
than fermentation, so they are faster and easier to make. (And
you needn't worry about scum!) The vinegar used to make
pickles lends its own character to the pickles, so be cautious
about using flavored vinegars such as red wine, cider, or
balsamic vinegar unless specifically required in a recipe.
When the type of vinegar isn't mentioned in a recipe, use
white distilled vinegar. The preservation process relies on a
certain specific amount of acid, so always use vinegar that is
5% acidity.
