Fermenting Adventures: Packing the Sauerkraut

Earlier today, I set about prepping my sauerkraut for the fermenting pot. Last evening, I’d set the produce aside in a weak brine solution that I’d prepared and today, I rinsed the quartered cabbage thoroughly and started chopping up all that produce.

It looks lovely, don’t you think?

I chopped the cabbage with one of my large knives. I guess, it took about twenty to thirty minutes to chop everything. Who knows? I wasn’t really counting.

Once the chopping was finished, I started adding the produce layers to the fermentation pot. In between the produce layers, I sprinkled salt and other seasonings. I continued to do this until I stuffed everything into my 4 gallon fermentation clay pot.

I then placed the outer cabbage leaves on top of the produce. The leaves keep the shredded produce trapped. I weighed everything down with a few plates and set a weight on top of the plates. Tomorrow, I’ll take a peek to see if the brine is covering the shredded produce. If not, I’ll add enough water to complete this task. The next time I’ll check, will be about the two week mark. If it’s not ready, I’ll check two weeks later.

Although we have been having some cooler temperatures, we’re still have some hot days ahead. Because of this, it might not take as long to ferment as it would during the cooler months.