2.20.2009

Lacto-Fermentation, Take Two

My first attempt at making sauerkraut? A dismal failure. Probably wouldn't have ended up with a big, moldy mess of non-brining nastiness if I had actually read the recipe all the way through. Spouse figured out what I did wrong...

"Hey, I looked on-line, did you know you needed to...?"
"Shh!"
"But really, all you had to do was..."
"SSSHHH!"

Hmph.

Now that I'm mostly caught up on sleep, the urge to be creative has come crawling back to life. I'm giving home-made sauerkraut another shot. Purchased three lovely, fresh heads of organic cabbage, chopped them up, mixed with coarse kosher salt, and pressed into the 5-gallon crock that Joy so generously picked up for me on one of her travels.

On the left is the filled crock with the fancy flat wooden press. On the right, what looks like a babushka of some sort is actually a full vinegar bottle weighting down the wooden press, which helps the salt further draw juice out of the cabbage.

But can I leave well enough alone? Aww, heck no! The Texas Ruby Red grapefruit season is in full swing, and I picked up those five beauties below for a dollar - a dollar! Went on-line, and found a recipe for marmalade that uses ruby red grapefruit, blood oranges, and candied ginger.

[Ahem. Excuse me while I wipe the drool away.]

I think I'm gonna try making it on Sunday. Or maybe just think real hard about trying it. Not sure which would be the wisest course of action. Regardless, I WILL read the recipe all the way through this time, that I promise you.

3 comments:

  1. Ohmygod, marmalade?!?!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I tried my first time last summer also...I think I used the same resume you did!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yummm sauerkraut. I love my first batch, and I've got a big cabbage patch planned for this year. I thought I might try lactofermented carrots and beets and turnips too, great way to store food and improve the nutrition.

    ReplyDelete

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