Have been pickling cabbage every couple of weeks since January - think I've actually got it down pat now, so here're the updates.
My big glass jar exploded. Did exactly the same as before, washed and put into the oven for short period to dry and get sterilised and suddenly kaboom.
So tried a big metal bowl next, with a smaller lidded bowl full of water as the push-down weight, and wrapped in clingfilm. But the cabbage turned bitter and in the end we didn't dare eat it for worry that something or another had leached from the cheap metal into the food due to the acidity.
So by now I have completely given up on any sort of weight system and the drill goes:
- Weigh half of a washed, shredded cabbage + one washed, grated carrot into a big plastic bowl.
- Mix in salt (15g per 1kg) and sugar (10g per 1kg) and mash everything with a rolling pin.
- Scoop the mush into a screw-top plastic jar and press down until covered by the cabbage liquid.
- Close the lid loosely and leave onto the countertop for 2-4 days.
- It makes a huge difference what the temperature happens to be - in winter when the indoors temperature swung between 6C (normal) and 19C (heater on), it took about 4 days to get to the same level of fermentation, that now, when it's between 15C and 25C, is achieved in 2 days. I suspect that in the summer with temperatures going between the heavily airconditioned 27C and the natural 40C, I might have to move the entire process into a fridge.)
- Mix and taste the mass every day, press the cabbage down into the liquid again every time.
- After sourness preference has been reached, close lid tightly and store in the fridge.
- Best time to eat is two days later, but it keeps for quite long, I believe... we just run out fast. ;)
Cheers,
Hedi