remember that heatwave we were having a couple of weeks ago?
95 degrees in new england.
uh huh.
of course my early cabbage decided to sing in unison “we’re done, come & get us, now!”
i kind of have a rule; when vegetables sing – i dance.
as you can imagine, it gets kind of crazy around here right about now.
anywayz…
i didn’t grow a kabillion-kazillian pounds of cabbage to eat coleslaw all summer. this cabbage is supposed to get us through that long locavorian boat-ride called winter. sweltering heat or no, these heads were gettin’ pickled!
(in a passionate preserver’s logic – i quickly surmised that since it gets very hot in istanbul, and they have pickle carts everywhere, they must know something about warm-weather fermenting).
right?
turkish fermented cabbage
adapted from the joy of pickling
4 lbs cored & trimmed white head cabbage, shredded
6 tablespoons sea salt
3 tablespoons minced garlic (i used mid-summer scapes, heads only)
3 tablespoons minced ginger
3 tablespoons aleppo pepper (or korean, or 2 tbls hungarian paprika & 1 tbls cayenne powder)
1 & 1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 & 1/2 cups water
you can use gallon, 1/2 gallon or quart 2 piece screw cap or wire-bail jars
yield: approximately 2 & 1/2 quarts
1. to shred cabbage you can use this or you can use a knife. get it as fine as you can either way. once shredded, toss in a large bowl with 3 tablespoons salt. you will see the cabbage begin to ‘sweat’ immediately (well, i said it was hot, didn’t i?) place a plate over the cabbage to give it a little pressure and let sit for 3 hours at room temperature.
2. drain the cabbage in a colander, rinse with cold water and drain again. mix in the minced garlic & ginger, the pepper and the sugar.
a note about summer garlic: if you grow your own, let the scapes stay on through mid-summer – until the heads are ready even – and use them as you need them. they get stronger as they go and the garlic heads (just pulled up yesterday) don’t seem to mind. it’s a great way to enjoy local garlic all summer.
3. pack the mixture into clean and dried jars (i actually worked with double the amount of this recipe and a very large wire bail jar). dissolve the remaining 3 tablespoons of salt in 4 & 1/2 cups of cool water. pour enough of this brine over the cabbage to cover it. try and leave a good 3 inches of headspace (space between top of cabbage & top of jar) in each jar.
4. in the art of fermenting you want to allow the gasses to escape but prevent a lot of air from getting in. if you are using a two piece screw cap – simply screw it on lightly. if you are using the european wire bail jar you can actually take the wire bail apart and just rest the glass lid on top – (as i did in the top photo). don’t worry you can easily re-assemble the wire bail.
5. the jar should be kept out of sunlight throughout the fermenting process. a cotton kitchen towel & elastic work nicely:
(is it me, or does he wear it well?)
6. once a day for 10 to 14 days take the top off and give it a good stir with a very clean spoon. if you do this daily, you don’t have to bother with the weighting down as in the traditional sauerkraut method. try and get some of the bottom on top and the top on the bottom with your stirring – nothing to be exact about tho.
ideally the temperature should be between 65 and 72 degrees. as i said, i did this in the middle of the heat wave. there were days over 90 so i had to bring it down to the cellar – where the temp was around 76 and rising. i would say that there were a few days where it was in 80 degree temperatures.
but have no fear because on about the 2nd or 3rd day gassy bubblies will happen. there will be a lot o’ action in those jars. you may even need to switch out the towel due to a bit of leakage, depending on how crazy things get in there. on about the 6th day the raw veggie smell is all but forgotten, and the most delicious aroma replaces it. you will know it’s done when things settle down and the bubbles have subsided.
the warmer the weather, the faster the fermentation happens. my batch was full-on done at the 10 day mark. don’t be afraid to taste! if you like it more sour, then leave it another day or two.
7. once you’ve determined it’s doneness you can place the jars directly in the fridge as is, or re- dispense to different size jars. i like to do the fermenting in 1 jar if possible, and then transfer to quarts and pints. plastic caps are nice here, as the jars are now stored in the fridge. this will last well for 6 months or more in the fridge. do remember to label your jars with date & contents.
i love this fermented cabbage, it is quite the cross between sauerkraut & kimchi, goes well with everything, and i fear that my big winter plans are foiled by our summer appetites! we’ve been serving it cold along side all manner of turkish & middle eastern meze – with a side of feta, and hummus, etc.
…and my slovakian/hungarian mom just left our house with a jar all her own, of which i’m quite certain she’ll eat warmed on a plate with kielbasa.
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Have you tried canning fermented cabbage, either this or traditional sauerkraut? I've seen instructions for processing it, but have never tried it. I know it would kill all the friendly bacteria, but it would be so convenient to be able to produce large quantities at once and stick in the larder rather than the fridge. Any thoughts?
This looks wonderful. I made kraut this year with cabbage, jalapeno and green onions, salt, vinegar and sugar. It ferments right in the jar. So easy.
Oh my goodness is it good!
oops that was green tomatoes, why I typed Onion I don't know
Thanks TIgress. Just in time for my cabbage haul from our local CSA farm. When I was a kid, I remember people making sauerkraut and then canning it in a water bath process. Does that make sense or was I too little to understand the process?
This sounds delicious, and I have half a large head of cabbage sitting in the fridge begging me to do something with it. This might be it.
Last year, I made sauerkraut per my boyfriend's grandma's directions, which was to mix shredded cabbage with salt (I don't have the exact amounts in front of me), let it sit for a while until you had liquid. Then add cabbage to jars, cover with liquid, let sit 5 days, then process in a boiling water bath. My sauerkraut came out fine, so I'm guessing you can can it (hehe).
alex, karen, kaytee – you can most definitely hot water bath process (can) traditionally fermented sauerkraut. many people, especially in the USA do. but you lose all that good-for-you bacteria that you worked so hard to create! that said, it is not bad for you to do it, so if your fridge real estate is scarce – then do it!
texan – that sounds delicious!!
I've been toying with the idea of kimchi; I loved it when I was in Korea, but not the traditional cabbage – I was a fan of the spicy, spicy zucchini version. On the list of things to do.. things to do!
I've done a couple batches of kraut already this summer, but I love ginger; maybe the rest of my cabbages will get the Turkish treatment? Also, freezer slaw is a good way to preserve some of that cabbage-y goodness for the winter and spring.
I was just yesterday talking with a friend with a surplus of cabbage. I though, I don't want to make loads of sauerkraut, as much as I like it. Now, I know exactly what we'll do!
This is interesting. This week my recipe is for Green Beans with Cilantro and Lime
http://www.ingredientsinc.net/2010/08/summer-fest-2010-green-beans-with-cilantro-and-pine-nuts/
This looks good. I once made sauerkraut, but it's been about 25 years. I have to say that the home made version is even better than what you get at the market. I'll have to try this recipe for something a bit different.
I posted a Green Curry Shrimp recipe for my first Summer Fest contribution here: http://bit.ly/96cwR8
I love fermented cabbage. Its been on my mind since cabbage is big in the fall. Note to people buying your cabbage at a farmer's market makes for much better final product. I have good kraut recipe here its lots of fun and you get to learn about, uh, smells: http://cantaloupealone.blogspot.com/2009/09/sauerkraut-worth-waiting-for.html
I just made this!!! Soooo good, but my bf almost moved out during the fermentation stage… It really doesn't smell good at all when it's fermenting. Especially first thing in the morning when you walk into the kitchen and want to make/smell fresh coffee LOL!
I skipped the rinsing step and just mixed the primer in right after it juiced a bit. Also I didn't mix it at all during fermentation. I cut a perfectly fitting round "plug" from the outer leaf of the cabbage and stuffed it in the jar to keep all the bits in. It works really well and make for a lot less maintenance… Tigress, you are really good with spices, Aleppo pepper is AMAZING…
sorry, I didn't mean to be anonymous… don't know what happened
I love fermenting cabbage! Here's my favorite that I just made a batch of yesterday: http://just-making-noise.blogspot.com/2009/06/cortido-latin-american-sauerkraut.html I will have to try yours… only I have spanish paprika… would that work fine? Should think so! Nice to find your blog… hope you will stop by and say hi!