Making Sauerkraut: How easy is This? | 1800'S | ROOT CELLAR | FOOD SECURITY | FERMENTED FOODS | 

Enjoyed the video. My mom, (a German post war bride) always canned a lot of fruits and veggies. We lived out in the country where a farmer had sold off a strip of road frontage into small lots to let people build small houses in the 50's. We had our own wells, gardens and farms all around us so canning was a big thing. She always made a lot of sauerkraut, but I hated it at the time. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, we along with our neighbors' kids were helping out fathers who were digging under our small houses crawl spaces to make fall-out shelters by dragging the dirt away. We lived close to Ft Knox, a big tank training base and the nations gold depository. One thing we had a lot of were jars and jars of kraut as dad called it. I helped moved all those jars under the house once there was enough space for us all to sit. I can remember thinking I hoped nothing happened because I really hated sauerkraut and we had more of that than anything else. Such are the concerns of little kid. Today there is nothing better than a hot Ruben sandwich with a lot of sauerkraut. :)

Cabbage bacon and potatoes is what I grew up on here in Ireland 🇮🇪 it really is a fantastic plant

Growing up in the Smokey Mountains, we ate a lot of kraut. Jars are quite a bit cheaper than crocks so most people around here used either quart or half gallon jars. we made regular sauerkraut, sweet kraut (which I never cared much for), red kraut which had a sliced beet in the bottom of the jar and cabbage over top of it. And last but not least was my favorite, hot Kraut. To make hot kraut they would slice a couple of cayenne peppers lengthwise and stand them in the jar as they filled it with the cabbage. Kraut juice also made a pretty good chaser for our homemade moonshine

I love fermenting cabbage. I also ferment other vegetables from my garden including beets. Pickles , carrots onions and list goes on. It’s all good. Your cabbages look beautifully. Thanks for sharing.

Appreciate your efforts and dedication! My mother told a story of her father making kraut. Apparently he had never performed the task before and put it in a sealed container or forgot and sealed it. Anyway as the gases developed and nowhere to go the container ruptured with such force it cover the interior of their cellar. My father had a similar experience making wine. He would put a balloon over the bottles to allow for the gas. Either he forgot to check on it or it became overactive forcing the balloon off the bottle. We learn by trial and error! Thanks again and keep your powder dry!

That is some amount of cabbage. Enough to feed an army. Good video.

Hi Peter! I love cabbage in all ways one can prepare it. I remember my grandmother would slowly simmer pork chops in kraut until it was so tender it would fall of the bones. It was sure good eaten. Take care friend see ya on the next! 👍

I remember helping grandma making it.. thank you..

Can't wait till we're in our forever home so I can have a garden and can do all these wonderful things 💕

When I grew up on the farm in South Dakota there was always a 20 gallon crock of kraut in the root cellar along with all the other canned goodies.

My mom talked about my grandfather making sauerkraut and also grinding horseradish.

Liberty cabbage, that reminds me of freedom of fries!🤣🤣🤣

Watching this episode brings me back to my childhood. Grandpa and grandma had two big ceramic vessels with home made sauerkraut. I remember as a very little kid going to the root cellar with grandma and scooping out sauerkraut for dinner. To this day I can open a can of sauerkraut and eat it cold. My wife thinks im not right in the head. LoL!!!

good morning peter. love sauerkraut.

Excellent video - very informative. I never knew Sauerkraut was so healthy. I love it in the crockpot with a pork roast and potatoes.

When I make sauerkraut I chop up some jalapeños and throw in there. Gives It a nice pleasant kick.

Thanks for sharing this and for the wee bit of history.

My previous post was somehow deleted. Here it is again: Peter, your videos often bring back memories of my childhood. My mother had a 55 gallon crock (big brother to the one you have) that she would make full of sauerkraut. Every year she would "steal" my baseball bat to "bruise" the cabbage. My wife uses a recipe where the kraut is fermented directly in quart jars and then hot water bathed to stop fermentation and preserve the sauerkraut. Hot water bathing is a process where jars, filled with food and lightly covered, are boiled in water to kill all bacteria and then sealed. Instructions are easily found on the internet. Note: It is dangerous to preserve some foods by hot water bathing.

How great, thank you so much

Good afternoon from Syracuse NY USA brother and everyone else thank you for sharing this living history videos

I didn't get mine made this year. But do it the same way you do. Except I have an old slaw cutter to cut it with. One of the easier foods to make. Enjoy all your videos. Look forward to them.

Love hearing the wee bit of sauerkraut 👍

Yummy 🎉

I just love hearing these stories. Thank you

I gotta get a coffee ☕ and learn somethin ,awe thanks😋🎄

Hey Peter. I pulled my cornstalks and tomato vines and came upon some cheap cabbage plants last September. I fought to keep them alive with blankets and coverings all winter. They never made a head. Now that the weather is beginning to warm they're growing and beginning to curl in the middles. I think I'm finally going to get some home made kraut, sometime. Hope it's not so tough it bends a knife blade.

Looks real cozy by the hearth Peter. Stay warm

Very interesting episode Peter, I’m always fascinated with your “wee bit of history”. I think I’ll have some kraut for lunch! Does your root cellar keep food from freezing?

Great video once again. I have my Grandfathers Kraut knife. I remember the whole family passing it around to "put down" their winters supply. Sauerkraut and corned beef is my favorite dish.

My father in law grew up on a farm in the 1920s an1930s and talked about making their sauerkraut and corned beef in the crocks like yours . Thanks

Always a interesting history 😃👌👍

I made my first batch 2 months ago and i’m hooked. Awesome facts.

I just got some jars to make my own, and you put out a video on making some! Great minds think alike!

Wife makes it and cans it. I love homemade saurkraut. Three deer for the freezer this year. We made a feast of half a loin injected with softened butter and rubbed, them smoked and baked. Some homemade kraut would have gone pretty well with it. Good wishes to you, Peter.

Nice history lesson too👍👍

Great job!

We have bee making it in my family for over 100 years. The only thing wr do differently is we keep the out side leafs of cabbage on the top then the wood and the rock.great video

I have been wanting to try making homemade sauerkraut. After seeing this I think I will give it a go. My sister makes it all the time and like most everything, it is far superior to anything in the stores. Thanks for the motivation. Enjoy in six weeks!

Thanks for the video. I do love sauerkraut. I was aware of Captain Cook. He was one of the few early users in the British navy and he did not have any scurvy as you say. Any sailor refusing to take their allocation was flogged.

I love with porkchops and potatoes

Oh yummy, I love souer kraut!, Er should I say liberty cabbage? My wife hates the stuff, so I don't see it often. I'll have to sneak it into the house as "Liberty Cabbage".

Interesting Peter. In addition to the benefits of sauerkraut that you already mentioned, it is very nutritious (one cup of sauerkraut contains more than one gram of protein, 6 grams of carbs, lots of fiber, and many other essential nutrients. It has been suggested that sauerkraut also improves digestion (because of the high fiber & high probiotics content) and one scientific article suggested that it may help reduce stress and maintain brain health. Very good super-food indeed. Anecdotally, I didn't like sauerkraut when I was a kid, and my grandparents -of german origin- used to force me to eat it. So I hate it as a kid. Now as an adult, I love sauerkraut in almost every meal. Thanks for sharing.

Lactobacillus ferments are a staple here. Cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, carrots all good; kraut, kimchi, pickle are all the same just from different parts of the world. Good video, good info for first world societies that may be eating like pour societies in the near future. Like you said the healthiest veggie preservation method.

I believe I am ready for some sauerkraut dogs, I love them so. I also put lots of mustard and hot sauce on them. Thank you.

Liberty cabbage! That reminds me of a political argument between the U.S. and France during The gulf War or Afghanistan where we in the U.S. started calling French fries 🍟 Freedom fries🤣🇨🇵🇺🇲 friends forever

In 2010 there was a Ukrainian banquet I was invited to partake of and 'sauerkraut" was in abundance. I had never eaten it and thought I may as well try it. I placed a timid spoonful on my paper plate and had it 'cold turkey' = no other food 2 accompany this mouthful. It 'exploded' in my mouth and I began to weep profusely and my nose drained as well...my face flushed and it was precisely then that a lovely old couple wanted to introduce themselves. I recall the woman looking quite curiously at my face, while I smiled and tried to appear as though all was well. It can suuuuuuure pack-a-whollup = sauerkraut! No wonder it can destroy so many nasties within the bod! Yes fermentation is the 'new old'. We simply need 'return to the past' to erase all the mistakes of the present. Thanks soOOOoo much 4 sharing your wisdom Peter and your talents Catherine. Health and God Bless! "To eat is human, to digest, divine." (Mark Twain) :)

Another good video. I'm heading out for the opening day of deer season here in Pennsylvania tomorrow.

I really need to do this again. It has been 45 years or so since I last made any Sauerkraut. The area was small and it took up so much space I just never did it again. The mashing and pounding is a new twist, I didn't do that. I can see where it would really help get everything mixed together better than a hand tossed method. Maybe I'll grow a few extra this year and give it another go. Gotta find something to mix it all in...

Great video, while i know that sauerkraut is easy to make, i have never tried making it myself.

Good video. I would have liked to have seen into your pot for the consistency. We have a lot of Swiss & German heritage around here. Almost all of it is thinly sliced.

Peter you know l love cabbage my heritage Polish and Mohawk my father loved it with his eggs in the morning love cabbages salas pigs in a blanket or boiled yum yum have a nice and cherries holidays season you and the wife good days not so good days staying strong as l can be love you all always Freddie 😄😎😄👍❤️🇨🇦🛶💪🍝

I hate sauerkraut, but love cabbage rolls. Interesting video, love it as always. Keep your powder dry

Growing up on the South Shore of Nova Scotia with a German heritage out of Lunenburg my family has made Sauerkraut here for over 200 years. A type of cabbage has even been developed on Tancook island specifically for making Sauerkraut in this area. Most families have a specially designed "Kraught Knife" for cutting cabbage. Mine has been handed down through four generations. Did you know that to make good Sauerkraught it has to be made during certain phases of the moon? To say the least we love our Sauerkraught! ----- Cameron Broome, New Ross Nova Scotia----

Hi Peter, I just ran out of sauerkraut. It lasted 6 to 7 months. I make one crock the same as you do, cutting packing & salting layers, crushing to release the juice, and covering with a weighted wooden cover. I do have a hole in the middle of the cover for lifting. I also add strips of Bell Peppers and Mushroom, and sometimes green beans or other veggies. In the other crock I put quartered cabbage ( cut off the hard center part) add veggies and cover with a brine. Both methods taste the same and store well in refrigeration. I like the brine method because processing in much faster, however, when ready to stop fermentation, I cut up the kraut, pack it in large jars, add the fermentation liquid, cover with saved uncut leaves and a weight, and refrigerate. That is my story, and I am sticking with it. Buy the way, my garage is my blacksmith shop, and I gave our friends Ron and Justine in Ste. Genevieve, MO some iron ware (one very large tined fork, hanging on the wall beside some skewers, etc.). I belong to the Sudbury Militia & Minutemen in Mass. and celebrated the 4th with Ron and their militia. It is a small world Peter and I live in Springfield, IL. Regards, Rick

Here in Europe we add buttermilk and some juniper berries

What is your pestle wood? Hop hornbeam, maple? Looks like you carved the knob end from a root ball for density.

My Granny Grunt...made kraut...Chow chow...best Apple butter....and many more...😎

I plant a garden here in South Carolina. We let cabbage, collards, brocolli, etc over winter in the garden. I usually plant 100 cabbages, 25 collards, 25 brocolli, etc. Plant a section of turnips too. We usually have no problems. I was wondering....... If you were to take pine straw and leaves and pile them deeply on your crop as mulch while still in the garden, would the cabbages and such live thru the winter?

I take it leaving the 'tails' on in storage retains moisture & thus crispness - which listening to your pounding is a fair proportion of the cabbage. I must admit that it's an acquired taste, but with a game meat, quite nice. I think Captain Cook had to 'convince' his crews to eat the sourkraut - apparently pretty stubborn with their food - no matter how beneficial.

Peter- your method of making Sauerkraut is perfect. As an American of German decent I do have to add one more ingredient. One tablespoon of Caraway seeds per head of cabbage!! Good luck with your hunting this year!

I’ve made many times and I like to add peppers 🌶️ to it to give it a extra kick

My mom and grandma used to can sauerkraut as well as bread & butter pickles. I literally could not stand the smell when they were making them but could eat my weight in both.

👍💝

I guess when it's winter and your refrigerator is outside you don't have to worry about leaving the door open

Great video, Peter. You're making kraut like my Dad did it. I have been cheating the last couple years and using wide mouth gallon jars and putting airlocks on them. My brother still has a crock like that one. "Liberty Cabbage" LOL!

Very interesting, I’ve always liked Sauerkraut never knew it was so good for you I know that Cabbage Soup is good for the stomach. I’ll have to buy a couple cabbage and try my hand at this. Does the vessel used matter and I believe you said one table spoon salt per cabbage.

Not everyone loves it but I sure do. One question though. My mom always rinsed the sauerkraut a bit and squeezed out the moisture. So of course, I do as well. Does that remove some of these wonderful benefits that you listed?

I have been to the Great wall of China when England still renting Hong Kong

Very educational, Peter! Does the sauerkraut you buy in stores today have as many benefits as the homemade kind?

I do like sauerkraut and knew it is healthy, But not to the point you explained... as a kid I would eat in and try to not frown as I ate it. It took awhile, but I eat it with no problem now.. My mother used to fry it in lard, and I loved it with cornbread..... I also loved to see the inside of your cabin again.

The way I helped my grandmother make it was, chop cabbage up fine, fill earthenware butter churn with it, add salt on top, then boiling water over it, weight it down, let ferment, excess water would work out of top.

put 3 or 4 whole heads in the bottom, they ferment slow and last until spring

Peter, what the heck? Ten minutes? I looked at your link to see if you had written instructions then looked back up and you were gone! I'm giving it a second shot to ensure that I get the basics down. Am interested in trying this veg. One question. How is it stored? Thanks, Millie from Mississippi, USA.

I have made karat for years, taught by my father, and his mother,. Go you know when the karat shredder came out? I have a old one with sliding box on it.

It was a good video. I had forgotten about sour kraut! Some of your viewers have reminded me of the tasty dishes to be made! On another note,I see why you passed on the pig hide. There got to be 3" of fat to come off!! There still an 1 1/4" of fat on the carcass! He was one big pig! Also how long do you have to dry oak for? I made 2 handles for my scthye and both of them split!

You are using canning salt? My dad family was 💯 percent German. They came to the US prior to 1900. Never once heard the word sauerkraut (kraut) was negative. My dad has been gone for over six years so I can’t ask him about it. Very interesting history. I am going to make Pickled Red Cabbage for January 1.

Hot Sauerkraut with chopped up hot dogs in it.

Love me some sauerkraut with pork ribs. the pork seems to take some of the sour out of it.

Interesting that sauerkraut is also called sauerkraut in the USA and Canada :), a German food with a German name. I live in Germany.

Howdy Peter I have not had that for dog's age .... Are you going to invite all of us , 53.7K , for diner when it is ready ? LOL One of those things on my " list of things to do " .If I make it and live , I will to tell you about it ... I have put it on hot dogs !

Fermenting, as my sister will tell you, was probably the first means of long term storage to get through the winter, long before canning was invented. Of course this only pertains to veggies. Don't know of any fermented meat products, and if there are I don't think I want to taste them!

I had no idea the Chinese came up with it, that long ago. Did they have salt in theirs or was it just the rice wine? Making sauerkraut without salt would be optimal for many older people that have issues with higher blood pressure.

Can someone tell me how much salt per cabbage ? I missed that and can't find it on the video...

One of the best ways to 'describe' the benefits of "pro-biotic" ('for' Life) fermented food I've heard: The probiotic organisms in Your digestive tract 'take-over' the territory there, and there's no place for the pathogenic organisms -- the ones that make You sick -- to grow. And, as You've already said, Our Bodies need the 'by-products' produced by fermented food to adequately perform the (most Wonderful!) building and repair processes..., going on inside of Us, daily. (Note: when the French government was against invading some Middle Eastern Country in the 90s -- lookin' for those elusive, imaginary "warpins o' mask dee-struction" ("Nope! Not there, either", eh Mr Bush the younger?!?), Folk in 'Merika started buyin' "freedom fries" with thier hamburgers.) 🙂 Rick Bonner Pennsyltucky

Well, you sure don’t take very many pains chopping up your cabbage. Lol Not the shredding I expected.

Not much on the taste of sauerkraut, but it DOES keep the scurvy at bay.😜

Controlled decay or controlled break down sounds much better than "controlled decay".

In World War I sauerkraut was called “Liberty cabbage” in a surge of anti-German feelings in the U.S.

My favorite way of eating cabbage has just been ruined, which is raw. Bacteria that causes slow rot, lol

Sadly it’s cheaper to buy it than make it.

You won't be a sour kraut if you eat sauerkraut cause it cleans you out.