Sunday, May 13, 2012

Cultured Mondays - Sauerkraut in the Harsch Crock

It's Cultured Mondays once again!  A lot of talk about fermentation this past week.  I am looking forward to trying my Harsch crock and Pickl-it jars to see if we notice any difference than when we used Mason Jars.  I have also purchased some glass weights for my mason jars to try.  After lots of thinking and more thinking and reading, I have come to the conclusion that I will probably be sticking to the Harsch crock (since we already had one) and a few pickl-it jars.  I'm on the fence about the mason jars with weights.  Since I have some gut issues that need healing and I have a toddler, I would rather not risk giving us molds and yeasts to eat, which seem to be a risk when using the mason jars.

Picture from www.amazon.com

I'm glad that I am doing Cultured Mondays as it will allow you, my readers, to follow my journey, and will allow me to have a place to record my results.

This past week, I filled my 10L Harsch Crock with 12 pounds of cabbage and a few heads of garlic.  I would normally let the entire thing sit for about 10 weeks, but I plan to harvest this batch a bit early and then get another batch going since we have no sauerkraut to eat right now and we desperately need some.  I see my son's eczema and yeast behind his knees starting to crop up, which seems to go away when he is getting good doses of sauerkraut.

Of course, I forgot to take pictures while I put up this batch, but hope to remember to take some pictures next time.  I also plan to take some time this week to figure out how to use my two pickl-it jars and put up some veggies in them.  Busy fermenting week over here!

How do you all feel about fermenting after reading through some of KerryAnn's posts?

(Featured in The Nourishing Gourmet, Food Renegade)
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  1. Annie at Haphazard HomesteadMay 14, 2012 at 6:53 AM

    I am just now beginning my journey with fermented foods. I have made kombucha, kefir, water kefir, and a sourdough starter. I'm ready now to try my hand at vegetables. I have read some of KerryAnn's posts and yours, and my decision at this time is to try a few batches in mason jars, with weights (small chunky glass votive holders that fit perfectly inside a wide-mouth jar).

    I am not sure at this point if my family will even be receptive to the veggies, and we don't have any serious gut issues that I know of, so I don't want to put out the expense for a crock at this time. I'm pretty sure I will like the fermented veggies, and if my husband and granddaughter do, too, then I will think about switching to a Harsch crock or Pikl-it jars.

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