Guest guest Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 > The ingredients are " cabbage, salt, water. " It was kept in the refrigerated section, so I'm assuming it hasn't been heat processed. Any commercial kraut probably was heat-treated, regardless of being refrigerated in the store. If you make your own using the basic recipe in Nourishing Traditions, you need not heat it up at any point unless you want to. I've had great success making it using that basic recipe. Once I open a jar of home-made, I always refrigerate it. > Would those with more experience than myself consider this a >fermented food? Yes, but probably not as many lactobacteria as home-made, unheated versions. > Also, assuming that it is a fermented food, does heating it up to serve warm damage the good bacteria or does it have to be eaten cold. Sometimes I add kraut to breakfast sausage/eggs/potato mixtures for a German touch, and it tastes great. Common sense tells me the more sensitive bacteria might be killed by warming it up but then I have some cold kraut on the side so it works out. The best part of making your own kraut is you can make endless variations using seasonal ingredients, and it's *never* the same from batch to batch. ~Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 I would make a call to the company to see if the product was heat treated or not. (I call or email companies often with questions about their product; some call me back and some don't. I called Bubbie's once to find out if they used organic cabbage. Their silence was my answer). Goldmine is an excellent brand that does not heat their product. You do not want to heat up the fermented food. You will kill or damage the good bacteria that is in it, not to mention the vitamin C and other goodies. I have tried Sally's recipe and then bought a Harsch crock. There is a big difference in taste, so I did some research about the chemistry of fermentation. Sally's method does not let gas escape, which changes the alchemy. The end result isn't bad, but not as good as when the air is allowed to escape. Also, a complete fermentation takes 3 weeks at 75 degrees, or up to 6 weeks at 60 degrees. Fermenting at over 75 degrees will cause too quick a fermentation and the end result may be soggy or slimy. The Harsch crock is well worth the investment. It has a well around the top and the lid sits in water so the gases escape and make happy little bubbling sounds. (I own five of the crocks now, but I run a small sauerkraut business and have a certified kitchen in my house.) You can find them on Ebay. www.little-red-hen.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 hi mary, apart from ebay and the stores in wisconsin, is there a way for minneapple folk to get in on your goods? mail order?? thanks for making good food! justin > I would make a call to the company to see if the product was heat > treated or not. (I call or email companies often with questions > about their product; some call me back and some don't. I called > Bubbie's once to find out if they used organic cabbage. Their > silence was my answer). Goldmine is an excellent brand that does > not heat their product. > > You do not want to heat up the fermented food. You will kill or > damage the good bacteria that is in it, not to mention the vitamin C > and other goodies. > > I have tried Sally's recipe and then bought a Harsch crock. There > is a big difference in taste, so I did some research about the > chemistry of fermentation. Sally's method does not let gas escape, > which changes the alchemy. The end result isn't bad, but not as > good as when the air is allowed to escape. Also, a complete > fermentation takes 3 weeks at 75 degrees, or up to 6 weeks at 60 > degrees. Fermenting at over 75 degrees will cause too quick a > fermentation and the end result may be soggy or slimy. > > The Harsch crock is well worth the investment. It has a well around > the top and the lid sits in water so the gases escape and make happy > little bubbling sounds. (I own five of the crocks now, but I run a > small sauerkraut business and have a certified kitchen in my > house.) You can find them on Ebay. > > > www.little-red-hen.com > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Terri, Another option for sauerkraut and increasing fermented foods in your diet is Body Ecology style cultured vegetables. These are delicious fermented sauerkraut-style veggies (the varieties you can make are limited only by your imagination). This style of cultured veggies is made using a culture starter that comes from and was developed in Germany to be able to make " sauerkraut " with NO salt. The purpose of using salt traditionally has been to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria until the good lactic acid bacteria in the vegs could grow sufficiently to take over, turning the veggies into a nutritious probiotic food. It has been shown that using salt inhibits ALL bacteria, even the good ones, so a fermented food made without salt actually has higher amounts of the beneficial organisms. See this article: " Why You Should Consider Not Using Salt to Ferment Your Foods " found at the following link: http://www.bodyecology.com/06/12/21/using_salt_to_ferment_foods.php . Some people are more salt sensitive than others as I am, and found I needed to pursue another option to the salted variety. Personally, I now prefer the unsalted version as the flavors of the different vegetables and seasonings are sharper and clearer to the taste. By the way, Body Ecology is a major sponsor of the Weston A. Price Foundation and Donna Gates is on the honorary board of directors. She is a friend of Sally Fallon and highly recommends the Weston A. Price Foundation. I have taken her training to be a Certified Body Ecologist and consider myself pretty well versed in the benefits of fermented foods and how to make them. There is always more to learn, of course, and I love being a life-time learner. I love incorporating many different kinds of raw fermented foods into my family's diet, including kefir made from raw goat milk, beet kvass, cultured veggies, kombucha, coconut kefir, raw vinegars, and occasionally unpasteurized miso and soy sauce. There are so many kinds of great fermented foods that originate from a myriad of cultures around the world! I make and privately sell 10 different varieties of cultured vegetables through my business " Golden Age Cultures. " (They are also available at MidvalleyVu Farm in Wisconsin in their farm store). I've taught a number of classes in the past on how you can make them yourself at home. I live near , MN, 45-50 minutes north of the Twin Cities. If I can be of any assistance, let me know. Carr Natural Health Unlimited*Golden Age Cultures 651-462-0960 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question about sauerkraut I'm very interested in incorporating fermented foods into my diet, but I recognize that I'm very uneducated about it. I've been doing some research about sauerkraut, and I know this next summer, I will try making my own. In the meantime, I treated myself to a jar of sauerkraut at a local health-food store. The label says that it is made with a " traditional Old World recipe " , and that it contains " no sugar, vinegar or preservatives " . The ingredients are " cabbage, salt, water. " It was kept in the refrigerated section, so I'm assuming it hasn't been heat processed. Would those with more experience than myself consider this a fermented food? I'm assuming that it is, but I really have no idea. Also, assuming that it is a fermented food, does heating it up to serve warm damage the good bacteria or does it have to be eaten cold. Thanks in advance. As a side note, I haven't eaten sauerkraut for years. The stuff in the store just didn't taste like the sauerkraut I ate as a child. NOW I know why. My mom made real sauerkraut. There was one corner of our basement that always stank. That was where mom kept the sauerkraut. One bite of this stuff I bought yesterday took me right back to the sauerkraut I ate then. I could practically taste the homemade sausage that she served with it. Terri -- ___________________________________________________ Search for products and services at: http://search.mail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 The book " Wild Fermentation " by Sandor Katz has GREAT recipes for kraut with or without salt. It's a great book all around for home fermentation!! Therese Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Hi, I found a farm that made sauerkraut, I asked them if it was unpasturized and if they heat it and this is what they said: " The sauerkraut never really gets above 75 Degrees fahrenheit, it is fermented in the high 60's aged in the 50s and then refrigerated. The jars are not heat sealed, we just put a lid on. " Is this sauerkraut acceptable for me to eat? Thanks, Donna G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Hi Donna..:0) I am very interested in where you get this sauerkraut. It sounds good. Regards, correy > > RECENT ACTIVITY > 51 > New Members > Visit Your Group > Sell Online > Start selling with > our award-winning > e-commerce tools. > Search Ads > Get new customers. > List your web site > in Search. > > Mom Power > Just for moms > Join the discussion > . > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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