How to Make Kickin' Kraut

by Caroline ~age 2

Momma is too tired to tell you about our seven-hour sauerkraut endeavors so she asked me to blog about it for her.  First you need to start with about 40 pounds of cabbage.  You could start with a more realistic amount, say, just one head of cabbage - but my mom likes to make really big messes.  As for recipes, she didn't follow one, exactly but sort of used this one.

Next, shred some carrots.  We used ten pounds today.

 After shredding your cabbage, sprinkle sea salt over the top.

 Don't be stingy.  Be very generous.

And the fun part is squishing it through your hands.  Massage the salt into the cabbage to make the tasty juices come out.

My mom wanted to work out her arms, so she used a giant stick (French rolling pin) as a kraut pounder.

Because we wanted to make a kickin' kraut (not a tame one) we decided to also add about 12 pounds of radishes and 10 pounds of onions and 6 cloves of garlic (thank you Kellogg Valley Farms).  All shredded and stirred together in a 5 gallon bucket (twice).  We also added some whey for good measure.

Be sure to gather your supplies before getting started.  I had a lot of fun with the rings today.  Did you know they make really pretty bracelets?

 Momma and her friend Mrs. Stuckey made about 31 quarts of kickin' kraut today.

Bonus points for those of you who noticed my wardrobe change for the last picture.

Lovin' being in the kitchen with my momma,
Caroline
age 2