Hi vmax. You did the right thing. That 'stuff' at the top is just bloom. From several years of experience, I have discovered that is is not toxic as I have never been able to get rid of all of it, so I just ate the bits left floating on top. I put too much down last year and when I finally got to my second crock there was quite a lot of 'bloom'. The bit underneath was still in perfect condition. Only it had gone a bit too soft for me so I dumped.
Do you want to hear about my new experiment!
vmax2,
Apr 13, 4:37am
Gidday buzzy.Yes tell me your new experiment.Actually that sauerkraut that went funny on the top is now in my garden.Hadn't used it for a few days and the fuzz had got even fuzzier.So I'm mulching the vege garden like uli told me to and the sauerkraut is one layer.It's disappointing when it doesn't work out when you put time into it, but them's the breaks.
buzzy110,
Apr 13, 5:21am
Yes. It is a bit of a pain when a plan doesn't come together. I don't mind so much with sauerkraut. The cost for a 10L crock is totally minimal - even buying the cabbage, it comes in at $8. $8.00 is not a bad price to pay for a full winter of salad for two people. It takes me less than an hour to slice up and salt till my crock is full so I don't mind throwing it away if I can't finish it.
Last year I made masses of sauerkraut using whey. It had to be made in Agee jars and stored in the fridge. That is a lot of fridge space so I decided to make a similar mix, only no whey, and put it down in my 8L crock.
I have one more crock to spare. I was thinking of making a batch for my daughter's family but I'm not sure her husband would appreciate sauerkraut. I've got him sorted in the bread front and now they only eat sourdough, but I still need to educate him about fermented vegetables.
He's really keen to start making his own cheese and I have tracked down a raw milk source nearby where they live. He just needs to finish his house projects first. Can't wait.
vmax2,
Apr 13, 5:37am
I just use agee jars orslightly larger jars that I've found 2nd hand.I used to use just salt but now whey as I have heaps left with making lots of cheese.Do you chop your veges by hand!Thought about using a food processer, but then you've got the washing up to do and it really doesn't take too long to chop.I think the brew that didn't work was left at room temp for too long.Into the fridge after 3 days on bench is best for me.
It's so exciting introducing people to new foods.I have a lady at the moment who is right on the edge of changing and asking lots of questions.She loves my cheese and yoghurt and looking at other changes.Having Sally Fallon in the country has been an instigator in lots of change in thinking.
buzzy110,
Apr 13, 5:49am
I was lucky. I bought 2 Harsch crocks from America. I had them delivered to a Hotel where someone I knew was going to be staying and he brought them home for me. They are fabulous.
I think the whey sauerkraut is very delicious. But I also make the same mix but use celery as the starter. You whizz up the celery and filtered water in a blender till it is total mush. Then as the jars are filled I keep adding some of the celery liquid. Without looking at the recipe I cannot remember if I use salt. That sauerkraut is out of this world and I always used that first.
buzzy110,
Apr 13, 5:51am
I need to add in here that I use a lot of spice seeds as well. I choose any selection I like from dill, fennel, cumin, coriander, juniper, mustard and anything else I think will taste nice.
buzzy110,
Apr 13, 5:51am
Blow. That reminds me. I was going to add some to this year's kraut. Must make a note to remind myself for next year.
vmax2,
Apr 13, 5:55am
Do you prefer red or green cabbage!My family prefer the red.Love using caraway seed with it.The celery would make the mixture quite salty I would imagine.I haven't bought celery since someone told me it has heaps of sprays on it.Have lots of it growing in the garden at the moment though, won't be ready for a while.
buzzy110,
Apr 13, 6:01am
This year I only had green cabbage so that is all I used but in the past I have grown red cabbage especially.
This year I went a little crazy and made my second crock with a mixture of cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, carrots and masses of onions. I could have used more but I am not sure just how it would turn out. I know the cabbage leaves have yeast on them and all my recipes only specify the exactly amount of salt to use for cabbage, so I had to guess wildly how much extra salt to add for the other veg. I know that too much salt will stop it from working and too little will leave it open to bacterial attack.
I can hear uli now saying - "What is that woman up too. She must be mad." Oh well. If it comes out well I'll keep the recipe otherwise I'll dump it in the compost with the contents of my crock. lol.
vmax2,
Apr 13, 6:06am
Ah, so that's your experiment.If you used less cabbage and replaced that cabbage with other veg you'd have the salt about right.Do you have Sandor Katz book!He has lots of different recipes.My best sauerkraut was with garlic, ginger, daikon radish and onion and of course red cabbage.So yum.Experiments are good, if you don't try you won't know.
buzzy110,
Apr 13, 6:27am
Yes. I actually had two copies of Wild Fermentation. I gave one to my daughter when she weaned her firstborn. He had instructions on how to ferment the grains she was going to feed her baby so that all the gluten and sugars were neutralised. Brilliant.
I'm sorry I forgot to say how I cut up my veg. I have a simple V-Cutter Mandolin with several attachments. I use a large square food grade bucket into which I do all my slicing. It keeps everything in one place and there is zero mess. As you must be aware, cabbage goes everywhere and I cannot figure out how that happens. Before my current plan, I just used to slice onto a board and transfer to the crock as I went and It was chaotic. Now it is nice, neat and tidy and also very quick.
vmax2,
Apr 13, 6:34am
My kitchen gets messy too with sauerkraut - organised chaos.Never heard of a v-cutter mandolin.Do you do several cabbages at 1 time!I haven't read all of Wild Fermentation yet.Got too many books on the go and then I go 2nd hand shopping and buy some more.Think it might be bacon and eggs with sauerkraut for tea.Can't be bothered.My kids enjoy beating up the cream so I might chop up a pineapple too.
vmax2,
Apr 13, 10:41pm
Morning buzzy.What weird and wacky things are you going to cook today!My favourite snack at the moment is a huge slice of colby spread with butter on top, a few slices of cucumber on top of that and a grind of pepper.Yum.As I don't eat bread or crackers I don't spread butter on anything and I miss that lovely taste in the mouth.Thought it would be useful to have an alternative food thread for those who think outside the square.
buzzy110,
Apr 13, 10:55pm
I bought the mandolin at a show - Boat Show I think it was but they usually have several stands at most of the big shows. It wasn't cheap but it was more practical and any of the others I'd seen being touted in kitchen specialty shops. I use it consistently and it is so easy to clean and store.
I tend to just look at the parts that I want in Wild Fermentation rather than read the entire book. I was very interested to read what he has to say about fermented vegetables and the creation of the vitamin B complex group.
It is no wonder it is considered so healthy when fermented vegetables make a much better source of vitamin B than grains, which I don't eat at all now. Which is a pity because I have had to stop making sourdough unless cooking for guests.
vmax2,
Apr 13, 11:03pm
Why did you stop eating sourdough bread buzzy!Did you find you were intolerant to it or was it causing weight gain as grains do!
buzzy110,
Apr 13, 11:11pm
Sadly I am the worlds most boring cook.I'm a vegophile. Always have been. I prepare what seems like a kilo of raw vegetables in a day, but it is probably less, in the form of salads with lashing of xv oils. That is my base. To that I add in a scant handful of protein (fish, eggs, meat, cheese) and at dinner I will do lightly steamed vegetables. Nuts round out my morning and afternoon tea to provide my body with a small stash of protein and oils to use when it runs low on glycogen and would otherwise start cannibalising muscle.
I recently got hold of a fabulous Raw Food recipe book from my library and am going to start wrapping my salads in sheets of seaweed for a change. Big divergence into weirdness, eh!
Sauerkraut will be my mainstay over winter but I have taken the precaution of planting my one raised garden (which I don't use in summer because it gets dry too quickly) with a wide variety of winter salad greens. It'll be ready for picking once the current glut peters out.
I do have lots of snacking ideas that no one seems very interested in on here, even the low carb beginners. But it is interesting to note that raw, low carb vegetables with lots of oil and seasonings will keep a person feeling full for ages and really helps with sleeping at night, unlike cooked veg, which induce loo stops every 2 hours. I have to discipline myself to actually eat my nuts. I really don't want to lose muscle.
vmax2,
Apr 14, 12:13am
I sometimes look at my breakfasts and realise how far from what most people would call 'normal' they are.My boys in the holidays are just grabbing toast with butter and honey on it.And I sit beside them with my delicious real food breakfast.During school times I cook them eggs.This morning my daughter had for breakfast - cheese with butter and cucumber and sprinkling of pepper.Carrot and radish with olive oil and pepper over it.Small bowl of yoghurt with crushed pineapple and grapes from our vine.So much nicer than toast.I can be a bit boring with food too.Never stick to recipes if I ever use one.Make things up as I go along.But there's nothing nicer than fresh veg well presented on a plate with lots of butter or olive oil as you say.
buzzy110,
Apr 14, 4:18am
Well for lunch I made my usual salad and tossed in some chicken livers cooked with sliced mushrooms and a handful of chopped sage in duck fat. I deglazed the pan with the juice of half a Lisbon lemon. The meal was to die for and took all of 10 - 15mins to throw together.
vmax2,
Apr 14, 4:42am
I know I should eat kidneys and liver, but I've never really liked them.Do you soak them in lemon juice like it says in Nourishing Traditions to take out toxins or whatever it is!Tell me how to cook them so I'll like them.Maybe this is my next taste challenge.Like lots of other things such as sauerkraut it took a while for me to like it.But I persevered because I knew it was so good for me.For lunch I had a wonderful omelette with pineapple and grated cheese and basil.
buzzy110,
Apr 14, 6:26am
I've not had much experience with liver and I cannot stand the taste of kidneys but maybe I'll check in the NT book and see what it says about soaking in milk and maybe that will improve the taste of kidneys.
I buy both chicken liver and calves' liver. I don't know what everyone else does, but I don't like mine pink. They have to be well cooked. My mother used to braise calves' liver and casserole it with onions, celery, leaks etc and tell me it was stewed steak. I believed her and always loved it.
For the chicken livers I just take out the connective tissue and the vein and just gently pan fry in butter/duck fat/lard with masses of sliced mushrooms or onions and a large handful of chopped sage. When it is done I squeeze over the juice of ½ Lisbon lemon and stir it all around until the juice has gone. (all properly seasoned as well). If you like garlic throw it in. My DH has a problem with garlic but I love it.
I slice it and either eat the lot as a dish and as part of a meal or toss it through one of my famous salads.
Chicken liver pate is another good way to get started.
I don't soak liver. I could eat sauerkraut for b/f, lunch and dinner but DH would complain.
Your omelette sounds delicious. I have bushes of basil. I want to make up some pesto with a few extra ingredients and serve it up with raw scallops that I caught and froze immediately a weeks before the season closed. Yum. I love raw scallops but I'm not sure if, once frozen, they can be eaten raw, however, I'll give them a go.
Bluff oyster season is now as well. Yummo.
buzzy110,
Apr 14, 10:24pm
I have a wee correction on the liver. It is Lambs' Fry not calves'.
vmax2,
Apr 14, 10:45pm
I'll be brave and try some in the next week or so.Went out for dinner last night, buffet.Thought a buffet would be safe and find a good choice of uncontaminated food, you know what I mean.Ham and chicken with gravy all over it.Veg, yes with lots of butter on it but also funny flavourings.Went for the plain fruit salad and cream.Cream had sugar in it.Why when cream is so beautiful on its own.Sore tummy today and daughter is a bit rashy.Oh well it was great to get out and have great conversation.
buzzy110,
Apr 15, 12:35am
Interesting that the cream had sugar added. It is ubiquitous. Many years ago I thought I'd buy a tin or two of Watties tinned stews, to have in times when I was too rushed to cook. I bought one to taste and I swear you could have had it with cream and icream and you wouldn't have known you were supposed to have been eating a savoury dish. Needless to say I never did bother and thank goodness.
Finding anything to eat when out is hard. The only place in AK that caters to my taste is The Observatory at Sky City. It is a high class smorgasbord. It has a wide range of beautiful, freshly prepared salads from real vegetables and dressings made without sugar and with XV olive oil and herbs. The hot smoked salmon is to die for and all of the meats and fish have 'safe' sauces. You can choose fresh fruit and a range of cheeses for afters if you don't want dessert. Gets a bit boring going to the same place all the time though and as we don't eat large servings it may not be cost effective either.
vmax2,
Apr 15, 1:02am
The only tins of food I buy now are tuna in water, coconut cream and pineapple in its own juice.I dare say our emergency kit of food would look quite different to most people's.Sky City sounds wonderful.Never been to Auckland.It's a shame restaurants take short cuts with their food.Soup made with stock powder for instance.Chefs should know how to make a good stock.
buzzy110,
Apr 15, 1:24am
Yes. Our processed foods list is very, very short. I don't have a pantry so that is just as well. I have two tiny cupboards for processed foods. They contain things like tinned fish, gelatine, raw honey, a jar of maple syrup that I've had for over 8 years, untouched, seameal custard (!), pkts of fermented miso soup, nori, wakame, a tin of peaches (! - think I was going to make a trifle to give away but never did), a pkt of spice mix for Indian style eggplants, baking soda, cream of tarter, stevia, pkt of pectin, herbal teas, a tin of tomatoes in tomato juice and a jar of omebushi plum paste. Lol.
My oils, vinegar and some baking things live in another cupboard. What flour I have lives in my deep freeze. I don't think that too many people, other than me, would be able to create food from my 'pantry'.
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