Sauerkraut
For a one-gallon container, core and shred five pounds of cabbage.
Measure out three tablespoons of pickling (or kosher or dairy) salt. Do
not use iodized table salt.
Alternate layers of cabbage with a sprinkling of salt, tapping each
layer with a wooden potato masher (or the end of a short length of 2x4
covered with cheesecloth). The top layer should be salt.
This will not seem like enough salt, but it will give you a 2 1/2 %
solution, the right strength for fermentation.
Boil an old dish towel or a piece of sheeting for five minutes and
cover the crock with it. Weight this down with a flat plate the size of
the inside of the crock and weight the plate with a canning jar full of
water. If you are using a glass pickle jar, you will not need so much
weight and the empty jar alone will suffice.
If your cabbage was fresh and tender, you should have enough brine to
cover the cabbage by the next day. If it doesn't cover, add enough
brine in the proportion of 1 1/2 tsp of salt to a cup of water.
In two or three days, white scum will form on the top. Skim this off,
replace the cloth with a newly boiled one, wash the plate and replace
it all. Repeat this skimming (a five-minute job) each day until the
bubbles stop rising. Then your sauerkraut is done; it takes about two
weeks.
At this point, simply keep the cabbage below the brine with the plate,
cover the crock tightly, and store at 40° to 50°. If your
cellar isn't that cool, heat the kraut just to simmering, pack in
canning jars, seal, and process in a water bath 20 minutes for quarts,
15 minutes for pints.
If you have made only one gallon, you will have no problem storing it
because it won't last very long.