CrimeaPRESS reports:
Salt cabbage. Every real housewife has her own recipe for sacred rites, going through generations. However, there are a number of conventions and rules that are unconditionally supported by all participants in the ritual. Everything is important here!
And the right choice of cabbage on the market, and the day of the week adjusted to the lunar calendar.. And even the choice of salt, not to mention spices. Of course, the responsibility is huge, because a properly prepared product will help us survive the winter without vitamin starvation and boredom. And the festive table will delight you on occasion. This dish on the table is the special pride of the owners, the subject of thoughtful tastings, discussions and often comparative criticism. So, today we salt and ferment. Meet the main character of the event — white cabbage!
Researchers believe that the Chinese were the first to salt cabbage in the 3rd century BC. e. However, they used local varieties — Beijing or Chinese (pak choi). Their taste is extremely far from the usual white cabbage. In the 9th century, the Slavs received cabbage from Greek settlers in the Black Sea region. But the main secret of origin, who was the first qualifier by nationality, has not been revealed— educational program for Emilia.
Cabbage for pickling — choose the right one
When going to the market to buy cabbage for pickling, you need to take into account several basic rules. And yes, everything is just beginning).
First and foremost. We do not take young or early ripe cabbage. Only late! Young cabbage, as they say, “does not hold the leaf.” It is soft, thin and in the finished product it will look like a mess, without elasticity and crunch. Late, rich in sugars, on the contrary, will fully live up to expectations. Therefore, we take a large head of cabbage and lightly squeeze it in our palms. A suitable vegetable produces a characteristic crunch and does not lose its shape. Early cabbage is loose and easily deformed. Therefore, we will opt for large, dense and white forks. Focus on weight. 1.5 — 2.0 kg is our choice.
Second and important. The cabbage purchased must be without the top green leaves. Do not consider it difficult and slightly bend the top white sheet, make sure that there are no suspicious spots or traces of the activity of microorganisms and parasites under it. Pay attention to the stalk. It should be even, white, without circles or spots. The latter indicates the beginning of rotting processes in the product and is completely unsuitable for our undertaking.
Salt or ferment?
Decide “on the shore” what product you ultimately want to present to an enthusiastic crowd of home fans. Sauerkraut or pickled cabbage not only has a different taste, but also different storage times and methods. Sauerkraut has a short shelf life due to rapidly developing mold fungi in it. That is why it is stored exclusively in the cold. Salted, on the contrary, prevents the proliferation of pathogenic microbes due to the high concentration of salt and is not so demanding on storage. The champion here is pickled cabbage, which uses vinegar as a natural preservative. Tasty, but much less healthy than salted or pickled. Have you decided? Then…
Salt cabbage correctly — general recommendations
Moon calendar — an important adviser in our responsible business. There are favorable and undesirable days that are taken into account before you start salting cabbage. Let me make a reservation right away: the most important rule, which is recommended to be followed strictly, is to make any preparations on the “male” days of the week — Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. On other days, find something else to do, and remove Sunday from the calculation altogether.
Lunar calendar for pickling cabbage for November 2023
Favorable days for pickling are 02, 04, 07, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30 November.
Let’s abandon this idea — November 05, 12, 13, 22.
Lunar calendar for pickling cabbage for December 2023
Salt cabbage on favorable days — December 06, 07, 10, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29.
Not worth it — December 03, 12, 19, 27, 30.
Lunar calendar when to salt cabbage for January 2024
Favorable days for pickling and sauerkraut are January 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
Unfavorable dates — January 7, 21.
You need to salt cabbage on the waning moon, but ferment it, on the contrary, on the waxing moon. Use suitable utensils. Exclude iron, aluminum, dishes with chipped enamel and technical plastic. Ideal, of course, is a wooden tub, but you can do without it by using ordinary three-liter jars or other containers with a fairly wide neck and an airtight lid.
Salt cabbage for the winter — recipes
The coming autumn frosts are the ideal time to harvest cabbage. Low temperatures drive out the bitterness in the leaves, saturate the leaves with sugars, and a characteristic smell and crunch appear. Folk omens advise fermenting or salting cabbage, counting ten days from the first night frost.
In general, in Rus’, from ancient times, white and gray cabbage were distinguished. The first was prepared from cabbage, according to recipes that have remained virtually unchanged to this day. The second — gray — was obtained from the same raw materials, but a layer of cabbage was sprinkled with rye flour along with salt. In this case, if there was not enough juice under pressure, rye kvass was added to the barrel to improve fermentation. Perhaps this was the oldest, original method that gave cabbage the name “sauerkraut,” i.e. “seasoned with kvass”, — educational program for Emilia.
Salted cabbage — basic recipe
We chose cabbage — strong, beautiful, worth a couple of kilograms. We use coarse crystalline salt, not iodized. We will salt in a three-liter jar. Prepare the brine. Pour boiled, cooled water into the jar one-third full, add three tablespoons of salt, two teaspoons of sugar, mix and leave until time.
Shred the cabbage with a special grater or a sharp thin knife. In the old days, for these purposes they used a special trough intended only for cabbage and a so-called “cut” — a crescent-shaped knife with a central fastening to a wooden handle. Comfortable.
Place the resulting mass of chopped cabbage in a deep container and add carrots, grated on a coarse grater. Mix effortlessly. In this case, it is important that the cabbage does not release juice, and that the carrots are evenly distributed throughout the volume.
Ready? We take our cleanly washed jar and put the first layer in it by one quarter. Place four peppercorns on top, press down a little and add the next and subsequent layers in the same sequence. Fill the jar almost to the top and fill it with brine.
Then we put the jar in a soup plate, cover it (not tightly) with a lid, and place it in a warm, ventilated place. A window sill will do just fine. From time to time, pierce the cabbage with a long wooden skewer to release the air produced during fermentation. As a rule, four to five days are enough for primary fermentation to stop. Fill the jar with brine to the top, close the lid tightly and store in a cool place. If the lid is made of nylon, make several holes in it with a needle just in case.
Classic sauerkraut
Finely chop the correctly selected cabbage. The thinner the better. Three carrots on a medium grater, we know that the better the root vegetable is chopped, the richer the color of the final product. Place the ingredients in a deep container, sprinkle with salt (2 tablespoons) and rub with your hands until juice appears and the salt is completely dissolved. Place the resulting mixture in pre-sterilized jars, pressing each layer tightly with a spoon, placing the next one to the top, leaving a space of a couple of centimeters under the lid. The juice should completely cover the contents. We put the jar in a soup plate, cover it loosely with a lid or gauze, and put it out of reach of curious tasters. The process has begun! Periodically pierce the product with a wooden skewer and after three days, close it tightly and put it in a cool place.
The advantages of sauerkraut in addition to its benefits and low salt content:
- A HUGE amount of vitamins, even more than in fresh cabbage, since during the fermentation process vitamin B is produced and the content of vitamin C increases.
- low calorie content — 100 g of cabbage contains only 19 kcal;
- easy absorption by the body due to the effect of lactic acid bacteria on fiber;
AND SAUERCABBAGE BRINE IS VERY HEALTHY — for those who understand what I mean.
Salt cabbage — spices and additives
The most suitable seasonings for pickling are considered cumin, juniper berries, fennel or coriander seeds. Black peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves or dill seeds are also added. The list of classic additives also includes cranberries and lingonberries. Radishes and turnips grated on a coarse grater will also go well with it. Spicy additions, such as ginger, jalapeno pepper or garlic, are also suitable for fermentation. If you like sweet notes, add grapes, beets or pumpkin. Salt cabbage using the specified additives and seasonings, there is unlimited scope for experimentation. Try it! And bon appetit!More useful tips — HERE.
Do you have your own proven recipes? Share with us in the comments.
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EMILIA KRIMSKAYA
reviewer
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