Putting Food By - Janet Greene [161]
For fermenting you use the amount of salt you needed for the preserving just described. This means 2½ percent of pure pickling salt by weight of the prepared food: 10 ounces (15 tablespoons or a scant 1 cup) of salt to 25 pounds of vegetables; 4 ounces (6 level tablespoons) of salt for 10 pounds of vegetables; 2 ounces (3 level tablespoons) of salt for 5 pounds of prepared food. This ratio of salt turns the sugar in the vegetables to lactic acid, and the desired souring occurs.
The vegetables should be kept between 68 and 72 F/20 and 22 C during the fermenting period, which takes from 10 days to 4 weeks, depending on the vegetable being processed. Temperatures below 68 F/20 C will slow down fermentation; above 72 F/22 C, and you court spoilage.
As a rough estimate, allow 5 pounds of prepared vegetables for each 1 gallon of container capacity, with the crock/jar holding a slightly greater weight of dense food that’s cut fine. The instructions below use 10-pound batches, but you may want to deal with 25 or 30 pounds of cabbage or turnips at a time, using a 5-gallon crock.
Keep all souring vegetables covered with a clean cloth and weighted below the brine during fermentation. A top-quality vegetable should release enough juice to form a covering brine in around 24 hours; if it hasn’t, bring the level above the food by adding a weak brine in the proportions of 1½ teaspoons of pickling salt for each 1 cup of cold water.
By the second day a scum will form on the top of the brine. Remove it by skimming carefully; then replace the scummy cloth with a sterile one, and wash and scald the plate/board before putting it back and weighting it.
Take care of this scum every day, and provide a sterile cloth and plate every day; otherwise the scum will weaken the acid you want, and the food will turn mushy and dark. If the brine gets slimy from too much warmth it’s best not to tinker with it: do the simplest thing and decant the batch on the compost pile—and wait until cooler weather to start over again.
Fermentation will be continuing as long as bubbles rise to the top of the brine. When they stop, remove the cloth and weighted plate, wipe around the inside of the headroom; cover the vegetable with a freshly scalded plate/ board, and put a close-fitting lid on the container. Then store the whole thing in a cool place at about 38 F/3 C.
Sauerkraut (Fermented Cabbage) with Today’s Tools
Quarter each cabbage, cut out the core; shred fine and weigh. Using 2½ percent of pickling salt by weight—6 tablespoons to each 10 pounds of shredded cabbage—pack the container with alternate layers of salt and cabbage, tamping every two layers of cabbage to get rid of trapped air and to start the juice flow. You don’t need to get tough with it: just tap it gently with a clean wooden potato-masher or the bottom of a small jar. Top with a layer of salt.
Carefully cover cabbage well with a layer of heavy-duty plastic wrap pressed against the top of the food and tucked down at the sides. Top this with a 5-gallon freezer bag partly filled with water so that it plops into every possible cranny, and keeps air from getting to the cabbage. For the cure, 68–72 F/20–22 C is the range for good fermenting. Good temperature, clean handling, keeping air away—these make for good sauerkraut.
When the fermenting has stopped in about 2 weeks or so, the sauerkraut will be a clear, pale gold in color and pleasantly tart in flavor. It’s a good idea to lay a clean plate on it to keep it below the brine’s surface; at any rate, cover the container with a close-fitting lid. Store in a cool place and use as needed.
If your storage isn’t around 38 F/3 C, you’d better can it (pages. 43–4).
Chinese Cabbage Sauerkraut
Follow the method for Sauerkraut. The result usually has more flavor than regular fermented cabbage does, thanks to more, and sweeter, natural juice.
Sour White Turnip (Sauer Rüben)
Peel and quarter young rutabagas or white turnips (rutabagas are usually firmer and juicier than turnips).