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The Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
July 21 - July 27, 2005 Edition
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Garden Notes: Sauerkraut, fragrant and fresh July 21, 2005 By Abigail Higgins The tools used in making traditional sauerkraut are shown above: the wooden kraut cutter, a large stainless steel bowl, unrefined sea salt, and a crock. Photos by Susan Safford At left, the cabbage is sliced into fine filaments using the kraut cutter. Th Vegetable gardens are yielding their bounty and relieving us from the tedium of “store-bought.” The offerings of zucchini are beginning to arrive, unbidden, at the doorsteps and kitchens of friends and neighbors! The recent weather has been spotty, with some parts of the island receiving more rainfall/overcast than others. Humidity plus dry soil equals powdery mildew, which is beginning to show up. While there are numerous proprietary and homemade recipes for dealing with leaf blights, we are using Wilt-Pruf, an anti-desiccant product, as a mildew control. Staking of perennials and annuals continues, as does handpicking of Japanese, oriental, and lilyleaf beetles. Weed and deadhead. Think ahead: this year's Harvest Festival is October 1 and will celebrate the bounty of Martha's Vineyard with daytime activities and an early evening potluck dinner, followed by a dance. The focus of the potluck is to challenge the participants to bring a dish composed of Island-grown ingredients, whether from the garden, local farms, or Island seafood and game. Many more consumers are now starting to get it: that it is desirable to eat and buy locally, (perhaps even more so than being strictly organic) and to “see the face of their farmer in their produce” (as it was phrased in an article I recently read at http://www.salon.com/books/int/2005/07/15/pyle/print.html concerning problems in our system of agriculture). I didn't find Jim Athearn's face in them - mainly because he is a pretty smart fellow, and “cabbage-head” is old-country farm lingo for a dunce - but I did pick up eight beautiful heads of dewy-fresh cabbage at the Morning Glory Farm stand to make the sauerkraut for this column. They were grown on a patch that has been managed organically for the past three seasons, making them, technically, not certifiably organic - though certainly some of the most wholesome, appealing cabbage available for sale anywhere on the Island. A traditional favorite My interest in sauerkraut has been mounting since having been introduced by a friend a couple of years ago to sauerkraut made traditionally through the lacto-fermentation process. Generations of European farm people, peasants, and sailors counted on crocks and barrels of 'kraut to maintain them in health throughout the rigors of long winters and sea voyages. It makes a wonderful accompaniment to rich meat courses, as anyone who has ever savored a platter of pork chops and 'kraut knows! We also like to sprinkle it over green salads. Unlike commercial sauerkraut, which is pickled in a chemically-augmented brine and pasteurized, creating a product that is simultaneously harshly sharp and mushy or soggy, traditional sauerkraut is crunchy, with a complex flavor that is tart and at the same time sweetly fragrant, like baby's-breath. According to my new food bible, “On Food and Cooking” (by Harold McGee, Scribner, New York, 884 pages, 2004, a recent gift from my cool and plucky brother-in-law John), this crunchiness is attributable to the calcium and magnesium “impurities” in the unrefined sea salt that is used in making traditional sauerkraut. They help cross-link and reinforce cell-wall pectins. Traditional sauerkraut is loaded with C and B vitamins and beneficial digestive enzymes. It is a real health food, having a nutritional content that synergistically exceeds that of plain cabbage and salt. Commercial sauerkraut has lost these attributes through processing. The right tools Making lacto-fermented sauerkraut is simple but is greatly helped by the use of some specialized implements that have evolved over years of sauerkraut making. The first is a 'kraut cutter, a large wooden slicing mandoline that cuts the cabbage into very fine filaments. It makes short work of slicing eight heads of cabbage. 'Kraut cutters are available from Lehman's (www.Lehmans.com; 1-877-438-5346). The second is a fermenting crock, which is similar to but better than a regular stoneware crock. It comes with shaped weights for weighing down the 'kraut, a notched lid for escaping fermenting gases, and a water-holding rim that is an effective one way air-lock system, keeping out airborne contaminants. These are available at Healthy Additions in Vineyard Haven. The third is a wooden pounder/pestle similar to the kind that is sometimes used with a china cone or meat grinder. Mine may have been a family heirloom or rummage sale find. Trim out the woodier core part and outer leaves. Wipe off rather than wash the cabbage if there are soil particles, as one doesn't want any dilution of the cabbage juice. Place the 'kraut cutter across a large stainless steel bowl, then slice up a head of cabbage. (Or use a food processor or large chef's knife.) In the bowl, using wooden salad implements, toss the finely sliced cabbage thoroughly with one tablespoon of sea salt. Transfer, in about three parts, to the crock, pounding down each portion with the pounder to pack it in tightly and bruise the sliced cabbage so it releases its juices. Continue like this, slicing one cabbage at a time, tossing with one tablespoon of sea salt, and packing into the crock. When the crock is full, add one to four tablespoons of whey, from a container of plain yogurt or from the top of a quart of buttermilk that has not been shaken. Sprinkle over the top of the cabbage. Cram and jam the two-part weights in on top (this is the hardest part of making sauerkraut!) The cabbage juice should already be over the weights, keeping the cabbage airtight. My 7.5-liter fermenting crock holds a batch of seven or eight heads. After the crock is packed, the lid is put in place and water added to the airlock rim. If using an old-fashioned stoneware crock, you will need to improvise a weight system. A hardwood disc can be cut to a little less than the diameter of the crock. Bore four finger holes in it to facilitate extricating it. Then load clean-washed smooth stones (or bricks in a plastic bag) on top of the disc to weigh down the cabbage. Or a ceramic plate that just fits into the crock can be used instead of a wooden disc and weighted down with the stones. Place a plastic bag over the top to keep out airborne particles, molds and yeasts. In summer, leave the packed crock in a cool place for about two weeks. (In winter, leave in the kitchen for about three days to get the fermentation going; then remove to a cooler pantry, cellar, or mudroom for the remainder of the two weeks.) The 'kraut is then ready to eat, but it continues to develop its flavor. As long as the airlock rim is kept filled with water, the 'kraut will keep without refrigeration. If using a straight crock, decanting and refrigeration is advisable. Avoid contact with metals. There are variations in batches of sauerkraut. Some will be drier and throw less juice, especially when using winter or store cabbage. When one feels confident about sauerkraut making, it is time to experiment, by adding caraway or dill seed, garlic, or other vegetables, as in kimchi. This afternoon at the Far Barn of the Polly Hill Arboretum, Andrew Bunting, a well-known gardener and plantsman, will give a talk on “Cutting Edge Woody Plants.” His talk starts at 4 pm to be followed by a walk in the arboretum. $24 or $20 for members.

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