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Cabbage heads were brought in from the garden and cleaned. Kraut
cutters were of various designs but always-about 12 inches wide
and long enough to slide the cabbage head up and down to cut the
slaw. A large stone crock was brought up from the basement and thoroughly
cleaned. Some years the cabbage crop was large and nice. Plenty
of rain made the heads of cabbage large enough to fill the crock
full to the brim with the sliced slaw. After the cutting was completed
salt was worked in the slaw by hand until the slaw was bleeding
juice. A clean cloth was placed over this and the crock was placed
in a cool room of the upstairs to work. In later years we used a
plastic garbage bag with some water in it, which would seal the
entire top of the crock. This kept the spoiling under control. Prior
to that the spoilage had to be lifted from the kraut daily. A large
plate kept in place with a rock covered with the clean cloth work
for years.
I think the mixing in of the salt was an art passed down from one
generation to the next. Mother always said it took just the proper
amount to make the cabbage bleed a bit and that made the kraut work
in its own brine. Some neighbors would watch the moon sign for a
correct date to harvest the cabbage and process it. They claimed
they had less spoilage during the working stage. After a few weeks
of letting it work and ferment it was taken out and placed in quart
jars. Then sealed and cooked in a pressure cooker to seal the lids
tight. Then the jars were placed in a pressure cooker where they
were steamed and cooked a while.
The jars were placed in a dark cool place in the basement for storage
for the next winter usage. One of our favorite meals was a jar of
canned kraut cooked with a big chunk of salty pork. Mom usually
made dumplings on top of this mixture, which made an especially
filling meal for a hungry crew. The kraut you buy in the store now
days do not taste the same.
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