I went to the farm market and they were selling cabbage $1 a head. So I bought five heads and the farmer threw in two more small heads. I brought it home and had my little helpers peel off the outer layers. And then I shredded the cabbage,which would have been much easier if the food processor would have worked. But a good sharp knife and a cutting board and my farm girl muscles did the job. It was actually kind of therapeutic since I'm a little stressed.
I have a food grade pickle barrel that I pack my cabbage into because I cannot afford a real crock. It's on my wish list. And when I was at the Prim shop I saw stompers there and didn't buy one. I should have! I used my Pampered Chef meat tenderizer, it really is a multipurpose tool, works great on crushing nuts and crackers too!
So I layer 5lbs of cabbage with 3 Tablespoons of salt and stomp. I had a pretty good helper with that too...
and then continue to layer the cabbage and salt and stomp. When I was done, I put a layer of the washed off outer leaves on top and filled a garbage bag with water and set it inside the barrel. The weight of the water will keep the cabbage pressed down and the gasses will be able to come out without anything else getting into the cabbage. Now it will sit in my basement for eight weeks and when it is fermented I will can it in jars. Never again will I put kraut in my freezer. It makes everything in the freezer taste like sauerkraut!
And then...
I got this from The Morris Tribe blog...I'm going to figure out how to create links. But I'm making lavender oil. All I did was put dried lavender spears into a canning jar and pour olive oil over it. It is setting on my window sill in a few weeks it will be lavender oil. I also bought beeswax at the Farm market. That was $1 for a 1 ounce block of wax. I'm not sure if that is a good price or not but it's from a local family. I also buy all my honey from them.
I am going to make a lavender salve to rub on all those dry rough areas and give it away as Christmas gifts! Shh don't tell anyone!
If you want to keep the enzymes in your kraut, don't can it. I made several gallon jars and they are in the back of my fridge because I don't have a basement or cellar. My fermenting guru friend told me they should keep for up to a year there. But...I will keep a watchful eye for mold.
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