Shami-Amourae
17th May 2012, 01:44 PM
I've been making raw sauerkraut as outlined from Sally Fallon's book, Nourishing Traditions (http://www.amazon.com/Nourishing-Traditions-Challenges-Politically-Dictocrats/dp/0967089735). Raw, lacto-fermented sauerkraut is unique because (in my opinion):
Provides high levels of Vitamin C.
Provides high levels of living probiotic bacteria. You will never need to buy probiotic capsules again. I don't even need to drink apple cider vinegar anymore it seems.
It's cheap.
It tastes good.
It will give you tons of energy. Try eating it every morning over drinking coffee.
It lasts 12 months at room temperature, uncanned. It lasts many years canned. This was used by sailors when traveling great distances. (Perfect SHTF food)
_______________________________________
SAUERKRAUT
Makes 1 quart
1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (Whey and Cream Cheese -see below recipe) (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)
In a bowl, mix cabbage with caraway seeds, sea salt and whey. Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately, but it improves with age.
Of all the organic acids, lactic acid is the one that best inhibits the proliferation of bacteria that cause putrefaction, but it does not bring about in the body the over-acidifying action of certain other acids. . .. While other products of the fermentation process, like alcohol and acetic acid, must be decomposed and eliminated, lactic acid can in large part be used by the body.
Organic acids present in fermented milk and vegetable products play an important role in the health of old people as they aid a digestive system that is growing more and more feeble.
After two or three days of lacto-fermentation, vegetables begin to soften and certain substances in them begin to decompose. If the vegetables contain nitrates—often the case after a summer with little sun—they are broken down. . .. If all goes well, the lactic-acid producing bacteria take over and the process of acidification begins. New substances are formed, notably. . .choline and, above all, lactic acid. This acidification ensures the conservation of the vegetables. . .but the fermentation of the aromas doesn't come about until a later stage, during storage. Lacto-fermentation is not only a means of conserving foods but also a procedure for ennobling them, as proved by their taste and aroma.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I0Udo3zg5Ic/T1PGGvkxVfI/AAAAAAAABEg/8HOD5mkgYIw/s1600/March+2012+100.JPG
Note: If you want to use mason jars, don't tighten the lids completely since a lot of gas will be created from the fermentation process.
_______________________________________
Recipe to make whey from raw milk:
WHEY AND CREAM CHEESE
Makes 5 cups whey and 2 cups cream cheese
2 quarts piima milk, whole-milk buttermilk, yoghurt or raw milk
We call for the use of whey in many recipes throughout this book—as a starter culture for lacto-fermented vegetables and fruits, for soaking grains and as a starter for many beverages. The cream cheese, which is a by-product, is far superior to the commercial variety, which is produced by putting milk under high pressure and not by the beneficial action of lactic-acid-producing bacteria.
If you are using piima milk or whole-milk buttermilk, let stand at room temperature 1-2 days until the milk visibly separates into white curds and yellowish whey. If you are using yoghurt, no advance preparation is required. You may use homemade yoghurt or good quality commercial plain yoghurt. If you are using raw milk, place the milk in a clean glass container and allow it to stand at room temperature 1-4 days until it separates.
Line a large strainer set over a bowl with a clean dish towel (I recommend using a cotton towel.) Pour in the yoghurt or separated milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for several hours (longer for yoghurt). The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. Tie up the towel with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a wooden spoon placed across the top of a container so that more whey can drip out. When the bag stops dripping, the cheese is ready. Store whey in a mason jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months.
Whey is such a good helper in your kitchen. It has a lot of minerals. One tablespoon of whey in a little water will help digestion. It is a remedy that will keep your muscles young. It will keep your joints movable and ligaments elastic. When age wants to bend your back, take whey. . .. With stomach ailments, take one tablespoon whey three times daily, this will feed the stomach glands and they will work well again. Hanna Kroeger Ageless Remedies from Mother's Kitchen.
Old Par, [an English peasant] who lived to the age of 152 years and 9 months, existed and even thrived on a diet of "subrancid cheese and milk in every form, coarse and hard bread and small drink, generally sour whey," as William Harvey wrote. . .. "On this sorry fare, but living in his home, free from care, did this poor man attain to such length of days." Terence McLaughlin A Diet of Tripe.
In Iceland. . .. whey accumulated as a by-product of curd-making and was kept in barrels, where a fermentation process began. It was then called syra. Syra was either diluted with water and drunk, or used for the preservation of food. Many kinds of food were preserved in this manner, such as blood sausage, liver sausage, sheep's heads, lamb's testicles, fatty meat, whale meat and blubber and seal flippers. Syra was the most common beverage of Icelanders for many centuries and can in effect be said to have replaced ale, as lack of grain prevented us from brewing much ale. The whey was poured into huge barrels in the larder. . .and the blanket that developed on the surface of a syra barrel was called jastur, which is the same word as yeast in English. Syra was also used to marinate food.
http://www.forgottendomesticarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSCN3571.jpg
Note: The yellowish liquid is the whey. Whey from raw milk is the perfect cultivation starter for lacto-fermentation of foods.
Provides high levels of Vitamin C.
Provides high levels of living probiotic bacteria. You will never need to buy probiotic capsules again. I don't even need to drink apple cider vinegar anymore it seems.
It's cheap.
It tastes good.
It will give you tons of energy. Try eating it every morning over drinking coffee.
It lasts 12 months at room temperature, uncanned. It lasts many years canned. This was used by sailors when traveling great distances. (Perfect SHTF food)
_______________________________________
SAUERKRAUT
Makes 1 quart
1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey (Whey and Cream Cheese -see below recipe) (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)
In a bowl, mix cabbage with caraway seeds, sea salt and whey. Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately, but it improves with age.
Of all the organic acids, lactic acid is the one that best inhibits the proliferation of bacteria that cause putrefaction, but it does not bring about in the body the over-acidifying action of certain other acids. . .. While other products of the fermentation process, like alcohol and acetic acid, must be decomposed and eliminated, lactic acid can in large part be used by the body.
Organic acids present in fermented milk and vegetable products play an important role in the health of old people as they aid a digestive system that is growing more and more feeble.
After two or three days of lacto-fermentation, vegetables begin to soften and certain substances in them begin to decompose. If the vegetables contain nitrates—often the case after a summer with little sun—they are broken down. . .. If all goes well, the lactic-acid producing bacteria take over and the process of acidification begins. New substances are formed, notably. . .choline and, above all, lactic acid. This acidification ensures the conservation of the vegetables. . .but the fermentation of the aromas doesn't come about until a later stage, during storage. Lacto-fermentation is not only a means of conserving foods but also a procedure for ennobling them, as proved by their taste and aroma.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I0Udo3zg5Ic/T1PGGvkxVfI/AAAAAAAABEg/8HOD5mkgYIw/s1600/March+2012+100.JPG
Note: If you want to use mason jars, don't tighten the lids completely since a lot of gas will be created from the fermentation process.
_______________________________________
Recipe to make whey from raw milk:
WHEY AND CREAM CHEESE
Makes 5 cups whey and 2 cups cream cheese
2 quarts piima milk, whole-milk buttermilk, yoghurt or raw milk
We call for the use of whey in many recipes throughout this book—as a starter culture for lacto-fermented vegetables and fruits, for soaking grains and as a starter for many beverages. The cream cheese, which is a by-product, is far superior to the commercial variety, which is produced by putting milk under high pressure and not by the beneficial action of lactic-acid-producing bacteria.
If you are using piima milk or whole-milk buttermilk, let stand at room temperature 1-2 days until the milk visibly separates into white curds and yellowish whey. If you are using yoghurt, no advance preparation is required. You may use homemade yoghurt or good quality commercial plain yoghurt. If you are using raw milk, place the milk in a clean glass container and allow it to stand at room temperature 1-4 days until it separates.
Line a large strainer set over a bowl with a clean dish towel (I recommend using a cotton towel.) Pour in the yoghurt or separated milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for several hours (longer for yoghurt). The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. Tie up the towel with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a wooden spoon placed across the top of a container so that more whey can drip out. When the bag stops dripping, the cheese is ready. Store whey in a mason jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months.
Whey is such a good helper in your kitchen. It has a lot of minerals. One tablespoon of whey in a little water will help digestion. It is a remedy that will keep your muscles young. It will keep your joints movable and ligaments elastic. When age wants to bend your back, take whey. . .. With stomach ailments, take one tablespoon whey three times daily, this will feed the stomach glands and they will work well again. Hanna Kroeger Ageless Remedies from Mother's Kitchen.
Old Par, [an English peasant] who lived to the age of 152 years and 9 months, existed and even thrived on a diet of "subrancid cheese and milk in every form, coarse and hard bread and small drink, generally sour whey," as William Harvey wrote. . .. "On this sorry fare, but living in his home, free from care, did this poor man attain to such length of days." Terence McLaughlin A Diet of Tripe.
In Iceland. . .. whey accumulated as a by-product of curd-making and was kept in barrels, where a fermentation process began. It was then called syra. Syra was either diluted with water and drunk, or used for the preservation of food. Many kinds of food were preserved in this manner, such as blood sausage, liver sausage, sheep's heads, lamb's testicles, fatty meat, whale meat and blubber and seal flippers. Syra was the most common beverage of Icelanders for many centuries and can in effect be said to have replaced ale, as lack of grain prevented us from brewing much ale. The whey was poured into huge barrels in the larder. . .and the blanket that developed on the surface of a syra barrel was called jastur, which is the same word as yeast in English. Syra was also used to marinate food.
http://www.forgottendomesticarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DSCN3571.jpg
Note: The yellowish liquid is the whey. Whey from raw milk is the perfect cultivation starter for lacto-fermentation of foods.