I just learned a nifty little tip from friends. Did you know that you can "can" RAW sauerkraut and keep it raw?? NO heat needed! Just prepare your raw Kraut ( Shred cabbage, fill a jar, salt it and smash it down until the juices rise enough to just cover the top of the kraut and let sit) put your regular canning jar lid on and put it away on a shelf (NO REFRIGERATION NEEDED!!) It seals itself and stays rawlicious for a year + on the shelf!! No canner needed - still raw. That is how my local homesteading friends do it! I was so excited to learn this little tip! I don't care for cooked kraut, but this will be a wonderful way to have raw kraut stored it in our pantry!
I am wondering, is this common knowledge? Am I "the last one to know" this?? :-) Is this the same also for Kimchee and fermented carrots??
Simply wonderful!!
* UPDATE* July 8, 2012
I just thought I would update this post a little. As you may notice on the blog, I have been experimenting with lacto-fermented foods sine I wrote this post. I thought you might like to know that I have preserved raw lacto-fermented sauerkraut in this way for over nine months now., It is FABULOUS! I have done it with our without whey. I have also done it with and without caraway seeds. It's all keeps well good...it is just a matter of personal preference. I keep mine in a cool place (for us that is the root cellar- for others that could be a basement. I have a friend in AL who has neither a basement or root cellar and she just wrote me and said she is going to try it in the crawl space of her house! (I will have to get back to you next year, as to her results! :-))
I am researching and experimenting with storing other varieties of lacto-fermented foods. I hope to post more of my findings and results from my experiments. If anyone knows of a good resource that has documented lacto-fermentation and food storage..PLEASE TELL ME! I have been looking! :-)
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