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“Bread and cabbage dashing will not be allowed” – so, they said among the people. In winter, these products saved people from a hungry existence. Fortunately, we are not in danger of starvation now. Nevertheless, cabbage, especially sauerkraut, remains an important part of the menu throughout the long winter.
There are many fermentation recipes, everyone can choose any of them to their liking from classics to real exotics. But almost all have carrots. It enriches fermentation with sugars and vitamins, gives it a pleasant color and taste.
How many carrots do you need for fermentation
In the classic recipe, the weight of carrots is approximately 10% of the weight of cabbage heads. But everyone has their own taste. Someone will put it less, someone, in general, will do without it. Each option has a right to exist. There are regions in which it is customary to add so many carrots to cabbage that the sauerkraut turns orange. In any case, this vegetable should be fresh, juicy, contain a considerable amount of sugars. Only such carrots will give a product of the highest quality.
Fermentation in own juice
This is classic sauerkraut with carrots. Many people know her recipe, it is prepared quickly and simply.
Ingredients:
- cabbage heads already peeled – 5 kg;
- carrots – 0,5 kg;
- salt – 100 g.
The cooking process is amazingly simple. Heads of cabbage, cut vertically into pieces, cut into thin strips.
We rub the peeled carrots or cut them in a convenient way. Someone likes thin sticks, and some cut it into slices. We put our cuts in a wide and deep dish, sprinkle with salt, mix. If you want it to give juice faster and ferment, you should grind it well so that this very juice stands out. For lovers of a crispy product, it is enough just to mix the future fermentation well. In both cases, the further action is the same: filling the container for fermentation with compaction of each layer. You can do it just with your fist. A wooden crush is very good for these purposes, with which our mothers made delicious mashed potatoes. Now they use a different kitchen utensil for this.
A well mashed cabbage mixture is covered with a cabbage leaf or a lid and pressed down with a load. In the old days, a special stone was used for this, and we can get by with any suitable container of water. After about a day, the released juice will completely cover the fermentation.
It happens that fermentation does not release enough juice to completely cover it. Either the cabbage lay for a long time, or it was not harvested on the right day, for example, when the moon is in the sign of Leo. Cabbage should be helped, otherwise fermentation will slow down, and its top layer will begin to deteriorate. Slightly add salt to the water and pour it into a bowl with fermentation to correct the situation.
On the second day of fermentation, bubbles appear, which become more and more. This is a signal that the time has come to remove the foam and pierce the fermented product to the bottom. If gases are not released from cabbage, it will be very bitter. You need to do this at least a couple of times a day until the end of foaming. The foam on the cabbage contains microorganisms that may well bring all the work of the hostess down the drain and quickly spoil the finished product.
After about five days, you can transfer the finished workpiece to jars, or you can leave it in the bowl in which it was fermented, but be sure to put it in a cold place so that it does not peroxide.
Sauerkraut is an international product, but the traditions of its preparation in each country and even in each region are different. This is how unusually they cook it in the Kuban.
Kuban sauerkraut
To prepare it, take:
- cabbage heads – how many are required to fill the dishes;
- carrots – 1/10 of the weight of heads of cabbage;
- a glass of salt dissolved in 3 liters of water.
To give our preparation spices, season it with allspice, peas, bay leaf.
Shred the cabbage finely, three or cut the carrot. We mix. We prepare a solution of salt in water. It needs to be completely dissolved. We take a handful of cabbage mixture, dip in salt water. Spread in layers, tamping well and seasoning each layer with spices. When the dishes are full, cover the fermentation with a lid and put the load. You need to pierce such cabbage and remove the foam already on the second day, and a delicious dish is ready on the third day. Store, like any sauerkraut, it must be stored in a cold place.
german sauerkraut
In Germany, sauerkraut is also a national dish. They cut it into very thin strips and ferment it “all the way”, so the cabbage turns out to be very sour. How to cook sauerkraut with carrots in German?
In addition to the ingredients familiar to us, apples and juniper berries are added to it, giving a slight resinous aftertaste. Cook such cabbage, and your menu will always have a classic German dish – sausages with sauerkraut.
Ingredients:
- 6 kg of prepared cabbage heads;
- 4 medium sized carrots;
- 4 tbsp. spoons without the top of salt;
- 6 art. spoons of cumin;
- 6 apples;
- juniper berries – 1 cup.
We cut this vegetable very thinly, the cabbage will not be crispy, but cooked in German, it should not be so. Carrots in three usual ways. The cumin will have to be roasted. The pan must be dry. Mix the spice well. We release the apples from the core, cut into thin slices. Grind a mixture of cabbage and carrots, adding salt. Mix with the rest of the ingredients and put it where we will ferment.
Fermentation will have to roam under the load for three days. During this time, it will have to be pierced several times to the very bottom. We keep it cold. For fresh consumption, this fermentation is sour, but cabbage soup and stewed cabbage are beyond praise.
Conclusion
There are a lot of dishes that can be prepared from this delicious preparation. It is especially good for those who fast. Shchi, hodgepodges, zrazy and pies with sauerkraut allow you to diversify the menu, indulge yourself with delicious dishes even on a lean diet.