roll out the barrel

With a wooden clothespin I picked up a generous pinch of the briny sauerkraut from the barrel whose lip was about at my shoulder. Pointing the end of the clothespin into my mouth, I ate my first crunch of fermented sauerkraut. Salty, crunchy, and a little sour. From that day in my childhood I’ve never forgotten those delicious mouthfuls of garden-to-barrel goodness.

That is my earliest memory of eating fermented sauerkraut. And, if you’re wondering about the unconventional utensil, all I remember is that it was an adult who introduced it to me – not my mom, but someone. In those days, people would make huge batches of sauerkraut, enough to feed a large family for a year, I’m sure. The vessels were usually a large wooden barrel, similar to a whiskey cask, or in pottery kraut casks.

I can also remember ‘helping myself’ to multiple clothespins-ful of that amazing briny crunch.

Fermentation: the ancient form of preserving and catalyzing food by letting bacteria go to town on its tantalizing and naturally occurring sugars.

Thanks to YouTube I have recently learned it is possible to make anything fermented in small batches. It’s not necessary to spend an entire day shredding cabbage or slicing vegetables to fill a barrel or cask. It’s now possible to make a single jar of a fermented vegetable, if that is all you wish to have on hand.

We’ve been sweltering in record breaking hot temperatures so, rather than spending every waking hour outdoors, I’ve been finding things to occupy myself in the shelter of the house. So what does one do when it’s scorching hot outside? Make sauerkraut, of course.

If you’ve never eaten homemade sauerkraut, believe me, it is not even remotely like the stuff you buy in cans at the grocers.

So I now have two jars of sauerkraut fermenting. I plan to give it a taste on day seven to see if it’s ready or if it needs a bit more time before refrigerating. I’ve also gone out and purchased the proper type of jar for fermenting — Fido brand hermetic jars. What’s next? I plan to make a jar of kosher dill pickles and then some kim chi.

I found this very interesting tidbit from www.ampoleagle.com:  The first mention of the medicinal properties of sauerkraut appeared in the writings of Hippocrates in the fourth century BC. But its fame started with the first great maritime expedition of famous traveller and explorer James Cook. “Due to the high vitamin C content and ease of storage, during the long journey it proved to be an excellent cure for scurvy, which at that time attacked sailors for a long time deprived of fresh vegetables and fruits” — quoted by Dr. Ewa Ciska from the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research PAS in Olsztyn, Poland. For the observations and conclusions concerning the effects of diet enriched with sauerkraut on the health of seafarers, in 1776 Cook was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society in London.

So dear friends, may the coming week bring you fond memories and a new adventure.

PS: I persevered and found a way to contact the administration of Bloglovin and made a firm request to have my blog removed from them. They contacted me to advise it will be done — hooray.