Sauerkraut
Our cabbage died early this spring; between the cabbage loppers and my following some not good advise, it died. Spraying with white wine vinegar does not kill the loppers but it will kill the cabbage thus getting rid of the loppers.
On Sunday, Ronnie’s mom brought by 6 large heads of cabbage. If it were just one or two heads, we’d steam these up with potatoes and have some good eatin. Six heads will not store for too long and our neighbor 
said she could show me how to make kraut. I’m game. Love to eat it, never made it. So last night Pat came over, bringing her shredder and crock and we proceeded to quarter all 6 heads and began to shred. To every 5 lbs of shredded cabbage we mixed in 3 tbsp of salt (roughly). Once mixed, the cabbage must be bruised and for this we used a potato masher. After suitably bruising, it was then placed into the crock and 
pushed down again. Otis’ ears looks like he is ready to fly. LOL And yes, that is me with the cook stove in the back ground. Ronnie was making dinner while camera-shy Pat and I were making kraut.
Bruising and the salt causes the cabbage to release its juices and this is what you want. After the cabbage is all pushed down, you take an upside down plate and push down the cabbage again; place a water filled quart jar on top and then cover the whole thing with a layer of cheese clothe across the top (keeps stuff from falling into the crock. This crock will now live in the basement (50-60 degrees) for the next several weeks with one of us going down to skim the ‘schtuff’ off the top. Pat and Ronnie have both experienced kraut making in the past and they assured me that I would know exactly what the ‘schtuff’ would be – can you say gross? *bleck*
Once the kraut has stewed for several weeks, we will can in a hot water bath and voila! Kraut for whenever. =) I’ve only eaten kraut with sausages. Anyone have a cool recipe for us to try?
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My daughters and I moved to Bath County in 2003. We purchased a home on Sam Snead Highway that the community always referred to as the W
ard House. At the time of the move, we did not have 911 addresses and most utilities had trouble with Rte 1 Box 72A when trying to set up service. All I had to say was “Madeline Ward’s home” and they knew exactly where I was. Guess that is a benefit of living in a small community.
Ward House- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
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I never can my kraut. I like the crispy-crunch that only fresh kraut has. Mine keeps just fine in the crock in the cellar. In early summer, when the temps down there rise above 60 degrees, I'll transfer what's left to big, empty, peanut butter jars (sterilized a bit by filling with boiling water first) and keep it in the fridge. I still have a little over a quart in there from last fall's batch, that will be gone soon.I use a sealed zip-lock freezer bag filled with brine (2 qt water:3 T salt) to cover and submerge the cabbage, and cover the top of the crock with plastic wrap. That way, I don't even have 'schtuff' to skim.http://firesignfarm.blogspot.com/2008/10/crock-stored-sauerkraut.html
I like how your way sounds – thank you for including the link! I'll show it to Ronnie tonite.