Making sauerkraut, giant cabbage slicer FTW!

[masraum]

We've been making sauerkraut for quite a few years. Many years ago my mom bought us an OXO mandolin for Christmas (not for the kraut, just for the kitchen). We've been using that mandolin. I had to cut cabbage heads into 1/4s and it was slow and messy. I live in central Texas, land of German and Czech immigrants, and finally got over to Heinsohn's (in the middle of BFE) and bought a cabbage slicer. Wow! The box on this thing is 6"x7" so fits a whole large head of cabbage. And I think once you were comfortable using it, you could go through a whole head in 15-30 seconds. (probably took me 5-10 mins on the mandolin.



I need a bigger container to catch the cabbage in. I also need to create a press to push the cabbage down. I'm sure there are probably 80 yo women out there that do this by hand, but I'm a bit nervous about running my hands down to the blades, something that I'd like to avoid. There was another bamboo slicer at the place that was basically the same, but it included a press. I've got an idea for a slightly different design (the other had 2 routed slots in the box for the press which mine doesn't have).

This was a great buy!

And we bought a 3 gallon crock to ferment it in which is much better than the old 1 gallon glass jars with airlocks that over flowed.



I've made sauerkraut with caraway like traditional recipes, and it's good, but my favorite (and what we make most of the time) has tons of garlic.

I've also made it with lemon and ginger which is also very tasty.

[WPOZZZ]

Lynyrd Skynyrd time!

[gregpark]

And one of the healthiest gut pleasing foods you can put in your body. Anything fermented. I love Kimchi too

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by gregpark

And one of the healthiest gut pleasing foods you can put in your body. Anything fermented. I love Kimchi too

Apropos. Korean surname and from Napa, land of the cabbage kimchee is usually made from.

[craigster59]

My Wife who's Ober Franconian makes great sauerkraut. You sauté onions and then apples and add the kraut, a bit of water and Knorr (they cook with a lot of Knorr Caldo de Pollo). Simmer/boil for 45 minutes. It's good stuff!

[gregpark]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

Apropos. Korean surname and from Napa, land of the cabbage kimchee is usually made from.

Yup, and I was weened on kimchi in your home town. I was born in Kapiolani hospital

[Tobra]

Dad's sisters all had cabbage shredders similar to that. Grandfather made them back in the 1930's and 1940's. Built houses for a couple of them too, as well as the original home.

Apparently an old German trick is to make a basement, then build a house on top of it.

[masraum]

I love sauerkraut, and have had it since I was little. My dad's side of the family was German.

I love homemade so much more than store bought, which is not that surprising.

And as stated, it's good for you, so win-win!

I was shocked at how much faster, and less messy it was to make with the new slicer and crock. Before using the OXO mandolin made a huge mess, and then trying to stuff it into a big jar was also messy. I hadn't really thought about the effectiveness of the slicer much before I used it. I knew it would be better. But it's got 3 blades that are supposed to take a 1/8" cut, so every swipe is cutting 1/4" - 3/8" off of the whole head. I am going to make a press to push the cabbage down for when there's not much left which will help me use more of the head. Last night I stopped when there was a big chunk left because I didn't want to slice off part of my hand, but I'd like to use MOST of the cabbage. I also feel like if you don't press the cabbage down hard enough, then you may get thinner slices. So you really need to apply firm, constant pressure to get consistent slices. I got better by the time I finished, but it was so fast that I don't think I was able to get into a groove.

And getting the crock set with the kraut is much easier than getting everything packed into the jars.

This is not my photo, but this is basically what our old setup was except that we had some "weights" that went on top of the kraut to hold it under the brine.

The problem was that the weights were too small and too light to really do anything. Once the kraut started bubbling, the bubbles were trapped down in the packed kraut and easily lifted the weights. And even a gallon jar with a couple of inches of headspace would expand due to the bubbles so that the brine would be pushed out through the airlock.

What we have now is essentially this setup.

The weights are 6# and get within 1/2" of the side of the crock. I'm not sure how well they are going to hold the kraut down once the bubbles form, and I can't see into the crock to check like I was able to see into a clear jar. I'm not going to remove the lid because it should be holding in the gases to keep the environment anaerobic. I've got a damp cloth between the crock and lid that I'm going to keep damp during the month-long fermentation to help "seal" the crock.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by masraum

I need a bigger container to catch the cabbage in.

Why not a stock pot?

Here's the Portuguese version.



It's commonly used to slice a style of Kale called Couve Galega that looks like this



And you end up with this.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by gregpark

Yup, and I was weened on kimchi in your home town. I was born in Kapiolani hospital

Same here. 5 days after Hawaii statehood.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by masraum

... bought a cabbage slicer.

We sold those at the hardware store I worked at as a kid. We called them "kraut cutters." We only sold maybe one a year. I don't know what we would have thought if someone had asked for a "cabbage slicer." I made sauerkraut once. It was just too much work for the amount of the stuff we eat.

[gregpark]

Originally Posted by craigster59

Same here. 5 days after Hawaii statehood.

I was 1954. 5 years before statehood, in the Territory of Hawaii. I belive Barack Obama was delivered at Kapiolani in 1961 a couple of years after statehood

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Dad's sisters all had cabbage shredders similar to that. Grandfather made them back in the 1930's and 1940's. Built houses for a couple of them too, as well as the original home.

Apparently an old German trick is to make a basement, then build a house on top of it.

As opposed to building a house and then a basement under it?

Don't worry, I got your point. many old Southern mansions had the kitchen in the basement. A walk out basement was even better.

@Steve, I wonder if a silicone kitchen glove would have a margin of safety and allow more grip until you get to the shreds. I know the fear, I sliced off a fingertip 50 years ago using one of those things.

Maybe they sell chainmail gloves. I think butchers in kill factories have something along that order.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Maybe they sell chainmail gloves. I think butchers in kill factories have something along that order.

They do. I bought a mandolin a couple years ago and it came with a stainless steel impregnated glove.

[TimT]

I didn't want to slice off part of my hand,

I lost part of two finger tips using my Benriner when slicing potatoes for scalloped potatoes.....

Maybe they sell chainmail gloves.

Yes they do, also Kevlar gloves, which I now have...

As opposed to building a house and then a basement under it?

We bought a house that was on piles, which we then elevated and built a basement underneath it

I make al sorts of fermented stuff, hot sauce, sauerkraut, pickles, sourdough bread So much better than store bought

[thingmon]

We used to pass by a sauerkraut factory on the way to my sister's house. Hope your processes smell better than that place did.

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

They do. I bought a mandolin a couple years ago and it came with a stainless steel impregnated glove.

The "michael jackson" cutting glove helps a ton, but doesn't make it idiot-proof.

Or at least this Michael sliced the tip off a glove's finger with one of the $40 Benriner ones. Only by dumb (sense a pattern?) luck did I not get stitches or even blood.

Those mandolins are in my mind like a table saw. Useful but at even the best of times not zero-risk. I use both, but I'm hyperaware of things.

(oh, I make kraut at least once a year and I see a fun woodworking project!)

[masraum]

Originally Posted by wilnj

Why not a stock pot?

Here's the Portuguese version.



It's commonly used to slice a style of Kale called Couve Galega that looks like this

And you end up with this.

I'd eat that, it looks tasty. I saw something similar to what you posted in the place where I bought mine.

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

We sold those at the hardware store I worked at as a kid. We called them "kraut cutters." We only sold maybe one a year. I don't know what we would have thought if someone had asked for a "cabbage slicer." I made sauerkraut once. It was just too much work for the amount of the stuff we eat.

I'm not sure how many they sell around here. Yes, the website for the place where I bought mine also calls it a kraut cutter.

Originally Posted by Zeke

@Steve, I wonder if a silicone kitchen glove would have a margin of safety and allow more grip until you get to the shreds. I know the fear, I sliced off a fingertip 50 years ago using one of those things.

Maybe they sell chainmail gloves. I think butchers in kill factories have something along that order.

I used a thick silicone pot holder last night as a buffer between my hands and the cabbage and blades, but I was still very conscious of the blades when the cabbage started getting thin.

They do sell "cut proof/resistant" gloves that look kind of like a brillo pad or maybe fine chainmail. I've been thinking about getting one for years, but never have.

Originally Posted by TimT

I lost part of two finger tips using my Benriner when slicing potatoes for scalloped potatoes.....

Yes they do, also Kevlar gloves, which I now have...

We bought a house that was on piles, which we then elevated and built a basement underneath it

I make al sorts of fermented stuff, hot sauce, sauerkraut, pickles, sourdough bread So much better than store bought

We've fermented several things besides sauerkraut, pickles, carrots and a few other veggies, kefir, yogurt, and a few other dairy items, and even kombucha. I'd like to try hot sauce and sourdough bread, but we haven't yet.

Originally Posted by thingmon

We used to pass by a sauerkraut factory on the way to my sister's house. Hope your processes smell better than that place did.

Yes, and no. WHen home made, the process is slower, so I think the smell is probably spread out over a much longer period of time. Also, ours is usually made with A LOT of garlic. So if you like the smell of garlic, then sure, it smells good.

Originally Posted by mjohnson

The "michael jackson" cutting glove helps a ton, but doesn't make it idiot-proof.

Or at least this Michael sliced the tip off a glove's finger with one of the $40 Benriner ones. Only by dumb (sense a pattern?) luck did I not get stitches or even blood.

Those mandolins are in my mind like a table saw. Useful but at even the best of times not zero-risk. I use both, but I'm hyperaware of things.

(oh, I make kraut at least once a year and I see a fun woodworking project!)

Good to know about the gloves not being fool-proof.

This cutter is great, and wouldn't be hard to make at all. If you ever get around to it making one and have questions, I can send photos or whatever would be helpful.

[TimT]

I need a bigger container to catch the cabbage in.

Get one of those Rubbermaid dish pans

[john70t]

Originally Posted by masraum

an OXO mandolin

That looks like a good one. Nice and simple.

After looking around at all the stores for a few years I made the mistake of the "OXO Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer".
(smaller and plastic)
Maybe I didn't bother to figure it out, but after using it a few times there were a dozen pieces to be washed and reassembled every which way, and then it didn't even slice very well.

I'm still making slaw the old fashion way w/a chinese cleaver.
The carrots are a pain