Wanting to make a green cabbage pickle but

jan2242, Aug 26, 11:32pm
if possible, a sugar free one. Has anyone got a great recipe for this? Originally was going to make sauerkraut but thought it best to buy a tin first to see if I liked it ($4.60! ) but it is far too sour for me. So I thought green cabbage pickle, but all the recipes I have use tons of sugar. Any help would be appreciated.

stefanie, Aug 26, 11:42pm
Hi, it's not a pickle but a salad (get lots of compliments as it's not a 'Kiwi thing').
Shred cabbage as thin as possible and put salt on it. Stand for about 1/2 hour or longer and then squeeze out the liquid. Dress with vinegar, oil, pepper (probably no salt needed), chopped onion and caraway seeds. You can also add crispy fried bacon, cut into bits.

For the sauerkraut, have you tried to rinse it of? We cook it with fried onion, about the same size can of water, bay leaf, caraway seed and a grated raw potato and a shot of white wine for 40 minutes or longer. (It's healthier to cook for less time or eat raw).

jan2242, Aug 26, 11:57pm
Thanks. That recipe sounds great, will try that. Still would like a cabbage as have a huge one here to use. As for the sauerkraut - yes rinsed it lots. Even tried cooking it with bacon and potato (suggested to me), was a waste f the bacon and potato. Maybe I just can't tolerate the sour taste? The brand I bough was Edgells, in case it is a yuk brand?

stefanie, Aug 27, 12:22am
I buy the big can, it's a Dutch import (I forgot the name and it costs just under $6). I am not a friend of Edgells, it's too roughly cut, but I don't think it's that bad in flavour.
OT, I made a white raddish salad and my husbands thinks it's just plain weird, perhaps it's the food we grow up with? I am not a big fan of whitebait and paua, to me it's just ok, but not special at all.

pam.delilah, Aug 27, 1:03am
you might like this one, it has added vegs and flavors, have a look at the recipe

Sauerkraut
Cabbage
Salt (couple of teaspoons per cabbage)
Carrots
Ginger
Celery
Garlic
Chilli
Bay leaf

Other ingredients you can add include: radish, fennel, spinach, kawakawa leaves, mustard seeds, dill, celery leaves, parsnip.
Try red cabbage for some colour.
Measure by taste

Method
Remove core and outer leaves of cabbage.
Chop or grate cabbage finely.
Pound cabbage (use bottle or other implement).
Grate and pound carrot.
Put ingredients, and liquid caused by pounding into a 1.5L jar.
Cut cabbage leaf into a circle and place on top of ingredients and push down until there is 1 inch of liquid above it.
Secure cabbage leaf with a weight (a stone works well).
Screw lid on and place jar in an ice cream container as it will bubble over.
Cover with cloth to keep bugs away.
Leave in a warm place for 3 days then transfer to the fridge or other cold place.
You can eat it after 3 days or leave for as long as you like depending on the desired flavour/texture
Store in the fridge for up to 3 years!
Some key notes:
If you are short of cabbage juice make a brine out of water and salt to top the jar up.
Black or red mould is not good
If it smells bad. don't eat it!

jan2242, Aug 27, 1:22am
Thank you ladies. And yes maybe it is an acquired taste? That recipe sounds nice pam.delilah, perhaps will try that instead. Surely if it is horrible I can find someone who will eat it LOL

jan2242, Aug 27, 1:37am
pam.delilah, do you pound the celery etc also please?

mjhdeal, Aug 27, 2:20am
I haven't tried commercial sauerkraut as I make my own - but I don't find mine sour? However, I make it with caraway seeds, which my husband isn't keen on, so for him, I make 'Cortido,' a Latin-American sauerkraut, which has (I think) a more mainstream flavour (from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook by Sally Fallon):

Cortido
1 large cabbage, cored and shredded
1 cup carrots, grated
2 medium onions, quartered lengthwise and very finely sliced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)

In a large non-reactive bowl (glass or ceramic) mix cabbage with carrots, onions, oregano, red pepper flakes, sea salt and whey.
Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices.
Place in 2 quart-sized, wide mouth mason jars and press down firmly with the pounder or meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage mixture should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jars.
Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.

*I find this recipe fills two large Agee jars
**I don't have whey, so follow the instructions for using extra salt
***I don't rinse or cook it, but eat it raw.

jan2242, Aug 27, 3:01am
Wow, that sounds nice too. Can't buy caraway seeds in our town so was going to leave them out. Love the sound of pepper and onions in this. Could you also have garlic in it?

mjhdeal, Aug 27, 3:35am
Garlic - sure thing :)

jan2242, Aug 27, 5:08am
Awesome - will addd garlic too. I think the Cortido is the one I will make first.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.

mjhdeal, Aug 27, 4:21pm
Oh, that reminds me OP, I find after fermentation and the kraut/cortido is in the fridge, the taste gets 'smoother' (can't think of a better word). So if you're not keen on it, try it again in a month!

jan2242, Aug 27, 10:59pm
Thanks everyone. I know what I will be doing this weekend.

uli, Oct 30, 9:53am
How did it work out jan2242?