Canning Homemade Sauerkraut

After the sauerkraut has had time to sit and brine we canned it in a boiling water bath

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• homemade sauerkraut
• how to make sauerkraut
• cabbage
• preserving your harvest

[Masfaith3]

thanks! That's pretty cool about your mom creating the vacuum seal by heating and then covering it! We'll do that sometimes to and everything seems to last just as long as if you process it.

[1NX9]

What you need is a funnel thing with a large opening and a wood plunger thingy. ^_^

[Masfaith3]

@1NX9 We actually have both, thanks! :)

[Masfaith3]

If you have more kraut then you can eat within a reasonable amount of time, canning is a good way, according to food safety measures, you should process canned kraut in a boiling water bath. When you heat your kraut just simmer, don't boil. You can keep this in your fridge or keep it in the crock in a cool place and just keep getting some out, you might have some spoilage on top, but just throw it out.

[Masfaith3]

Thanks for the comment perther! I see that there are lots of people who really enjoy the full on flavor and goodness of fresh sauerkraut! That's awesome! However, like I said to dogdutyascetic, if you want to keep your kraut for a longer period of time, canning is a good way. You can also pack this raw without heating it first and still process 20 mins. Happy Canning everyone! :)

[Masfaith3]

Yeah, that's understandable, but it's the only way to seal it in a jar, and as you probably noticed this is called "canning" homemade sauerkraut. We ate what we could before canning, however, if you want it to keep for some time, beyond the refrigerator, then canning is the best option. We grew an incredible amount of cabbage in our garden, so we had to come up with a good way to use and store this amount. Freezing in a vacuum bag would change the texture. :) thanks for the comment though.

[joeredd11]

You just wasted all your time when you put the sauerkraut in the boiling water you killed all of its goodness .You should have just gone to the store and bought some of the stuff on there shelves

[rayunseitig]

good job on that. Canning everything was something my Mom would do when you had a harvest that won't last for several winter months till the next harvest. They tried to get a vacumn in the bottle by heating then covering, then when it cooled and the hot contents contracted there was a vacumm (no air-oxygen) to spoil the food. Some of her stuff lasted for years. With out refrigeration, that was the way to go.

[Johnchapterthree]

Looks like you're pasteurizing the sauerkraut (by heating it up in hot water) which basically kills most of the good bacteria and thus loses it's effectiveness as a healthy probiotic food!!!

[dogdutyascetic]

You totally killed all of the goodness there. The whole point of real sauerkraut is that it is a fermented food and the microorganisms are vital to its goodness just like yogurt or miso. Never boil it like this. This is why you should also never buy commercially made kraut in a jar or can. It is dead compared to the real stuff.