Monday, April 11, 2011

Finally.

This weekend, I finally canned my sauerkraut. It.is.strong. It is also pink. That's because I used a red cabbage in addition to the 3 or 4 green cabbages. In this image it looks to me like 3 jars of brains.


I ran out of space in the canner after the first 8 pints, and out of time to do a second batch... so I just stuffed it into 3 clean jars and stuck it in the fridge. This has the added benefit of preserving all the good cultures that are present in the fresh sauerkraut.
 

The fact that I do all of my canning perched atop a step stool never ceases to amuse me, so I snapped a shot of my set up. I don't really get it, because it's not like I'm abnormally short, but for some reason that extra foot of height means that I'm less likely to spill stuff or burn myself on the edge of the pot. I have found that it's the only way to make sure I'm getting a reasonable scoop out of the container (in this case, my crock) and into the jar. I still make a mess, but the mess was far worse before I started using the stool.

You'll note that I'm using my pressure canner for sauerkraut - but I would draw your attention to the unlocked lid. Sauerkraut doesn't need the high heats created by pressure canning, but 8 jars wasn't going to fit in my water bath canner, aka my stockpot with insert. I've got to research water bath canning soon - can I stack the jars in the water, if I use a rack in between?

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