At least I think that it has been a success. I tried the batch of sauerkraut today and it was quite tasty. I was a bit nervous about trying it because the brining water turned cloudy and mold did grow on top of the brine; but everything that I have read said this was normal, so I bit the bullet and have lived to tell about it.
I felt like such a wimp being so nervous about trying something that people have been eating for centuries. It amazes me how ingrained it is in our culture only to eat things that look as perfect as possible. Even though I am aware of our society’s collective perfectionist bent, it doesn’t really help me overcome my own inner voice. The last time I tried fermenting vegetables, I ended up throwing them out, even though many people told me that they would be fine. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell that little voice in my head to shut up.
No matter how well I can rationalize with that voice, there is part of me that believes that the industrial food industry can keep me safe, and if I try to do it myself, I may make a fatal mistake. It is amazing that I can more easily put my trust in faceless corporations that are creating so much havoc in our food culture.
My German great-grandmother probably made sauerkraut and all sorts of other things with the confidence that her mother and grand-mothers all did it as well. But that link to me has been broken. My mother certainly didn’t make pickles or preserves of any type, and so I never learned what could be safely made and eaten. This loss of traditional foods saddens me, because what the corporations have substituted it with is so markedly inferior.
More on my thoughts and experiments with food preservation:
Good job!
Ever since I bought the book wild fermentations, I have been itching to make something but my boyfriend is terrified of the result. So much so that I feel like I can tell him “you better be good or else I’m gonna ferment something and make you eat it!”, lol!
I am currently working on red wine vinegar. I didn’t start out with a vinegar mother so I’m not sure it will work but something positive is definately happening. I’ll let you know the results.
You are so right in your assessment of the food companies. Through a steady diet of advertising, they have us all convinced that their products are the only way we can be, as you say, safe. Way to go in bucking the system!! You have shown that not everyone can be brainwashed.
By the way, did you catch my pun? “Steady DIET of advertising…” I crack myself up.
Mimi – I still haven’t bought the book. I think that I might soon though. I can’t wait to hear about your red wine vinegar.
Peregrin Joe – You crack me up too!
It’s hard to go about bucking the system because they are just so good at brainwashing.
Yay! I got a cool crock at a yard sale last winter, but I haven’t had the guts to try it yet. I think you just might have given me the courage.
Anyway, it’s great to find sisters who are trying to learn this stuff too. I’m adding you to the blogroll at lifelovefood.com
Congratulations on your sauerkraut! I have the same voice in my thinking that makes me extra cautious, and I wonder how much of it is the result of modern brainwashing about “germs” and which part of it makes me not want to poison my entire family…arggg, it’s hard to get around that!
I’ve relaxed a little since we’ve gotten going on the Kefir and Caspian Sea Yogurt, so far with no ill effects (and feeling better than we were before, actually). So three cheers for your kraut! That’s on my to do list for the near future
We love your blog and are really sorry it’s taken us so long to add you to our blogroll…we did in a recent post at our site; hope that’s ok!
Angela – I can’t wait to read about your attempts at sauerkraut. I hope that you try it soon. Thanks for the link, I too love reading other people’s adventures.
Robbyn – Thanks!
I’ve never heard of Caspian Sea Yogurt, and will have to check it out. I’ve been making regular yogurt for a while now, and it is wonderful.