Purple Sauerkraut.... Made Cheap and Easily at Home

Here are all the things I use to make my own casual batch of homemade purple sauerkraut:

3 large strong glass canning jars, with canning lids with rings.

3 Bowls or plastic trays to catch drips during fermentation

10 days of time is all I needed to reach the ideal taste and level of ferment for my home in Ontario Canada.

Non Iodized Pickling Salt

Pure reverse osmosis water

1 Large Fresh Purple Cabbage Head

Clear Plastic Sandwich bags.

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I chopped approximately half of the head of cabbage into fairly chunky bits about the size of a silver dollar.

I sprinkled the pickling salt on the cabbage after chopping it and massaged it into the cabbage. 

(note that if you are uncomfortable with using your instincts to measure the salt, you can use the 2% salt by weight formula....simply by weighing the chopped cabbage first and then adding 2% of that weight in pickling salt)

Then I packed it tightly  into the 3 large canning jars , packing it down with the end tip of a wooden spoon....trying to push out the air between the cabbage bits.  Then I added some pure water to cover all the cabbage in the jar. 

Now, here is the fun part. I learned this next part from watching youtube videos. I took a clear plastic sandwich bag and filled just one bottom corner of it with water and placed it while still open at the top on the cabbage to weight it down so that all the cabbage is weighed down under the brine water. Then I rolled the edges of the bag down over the lip of the jar and then I tool the metal ring and screwed it on top of the plastic bag just tight enough to keep the bag in place and provide a clean airtight seal on the jar of pickled cabbage.

Then I placed the jar carefully in a drip tray and put it into a dark wooden cabinet to ferment.

Every 2 or 3 days I would check on the jars and replace the drip tray with a clean one and replace the plastic bags with new fresh bags filled with more clean pure water to weight the cabbage down under the brine water.

The beauty of using those canning rings with just the water filled plastic bags to weigh down the cabbage, is that you don´t risk any dangerous gas buildup due to the fermentation .The plastic can stretch with the gas buildup and with  a drip tray the bubbling over will be caught and won´t damage your cabinet.

When I wanted to check it it was ripening well enough, I used my senses of taste and smell to see if I could identify the right level of ferment and saltiness. ( I added extra salt when I felt that the pickling process tasted too watery.

When I did my final taste test on the sauerkraut it had been 10 days since I had begun the ferment. 

I realize that this time frame is ideal for the temperature inside our home and the other factors such as the level of humidity and the ripeness of the cabbage etc.

I feel it is important when I make homemade fermented products like this, that I stay in tune with what  I taste and smell and feel about the product. Fermentation is sometimes unpredictable and you need to be willing to throw foods out if you feel that some kind of harmful bacteria has begun to sprout in your beloved fermented creation. (Moldy or unclean foods should not be used for making any kind of pickles or fermented products.)

This may seem obvious, but when making sauerkraut make sure that all your utensils and jars are spotlessly clean. If some stray bits of the cabbage stick to the edges or neck of your jar during the process, just take some paper towel and wipe them clean off the jar. Keep the neck and lip and lids of the jar as clean as possible. This will protect the ferment from unwanted bacteria.

The final step is to add the metal lid to the canning rings and put the fermented cabbage jar into the refridgerator for storage. Yumm!

Have you ever done any natural fermentation at home?

Do tell!

Peace,

Carla

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Overspending on Basics?

Sometimes when folks are in a bind.... they keep their low budget shopping very confidential. They think, of course, that they are the only ones who count their nickels when buying their basic needs. 

I am writing this post to remind you that the stores you shop in are GREATLY aware of the discounts and grand totals that you can afford. Stores don´t just market to the rich. Some stores yes, may market only to luxury shoppers, but there is a multitude of stores that are seeking the shopping dollars of those who shop frugally. 

A dollar is a dollar is a dollar. Retailers count dollars, not shoppers. They do not get bonus points for catering to rich clients. They get bonus points for being profitable, no matter who their customers are, they are OUT TO PROTECT THEIR PROFITS, nothing more and nothing less.

So, let me get to the point. I was shopping this week for some simple bath bars of soap. I was feeling like I didn´t want to overspend, so I thought, why don´t I check for a multipack of Ivory soap bars. Did you know I could not find any multi-packs online for Ivory soap at a certain large retailer for under 6 dollars Canadian? I could only find one little cream colored bar of soap (not Ivory) for $2.54. Canadian funds. 

The weight on the package was only 100 grams. I find that rather unusual. So, in my understanding, that particular retailer was taking advantage of the basic need for folks need for simple bars of soap, by refusing to offer a lower cost multipack, even if the brand of the soap was considered a low end brand.

So, friends that is where we may need to jot down some notes. When you begin to notice certain items being ¨controlled¨ in the marketplace with ¨higher than normal¨ pricing, take a few notes. Write down the quantity of what you are seeking ( the weight and/or volume) and the brand and the date you were shopping and what store you were in or what online retailer you were browsing.

The reason I pasted a photo of a jar of Canada Red pasta sauce in this post is for an example of what we can choose when we want to keep the cost of basics low and still get exactly what we need. 

A local retailer sells one jar of 640 ml of Canada Red pasta sauce for $2.77 in Canadian funds. 

In my estimation that is a reasonable price currently for a large jar of pasta sauce that is available within a reasonable distance from my residence.

Sometimes, it is helpful to get some concrete lists going of what you can buy and where for reasonable prices. Make your list easily accessible and stay organized. For example, maybe your local dollar store is a good place to buy table salt. Maybe you find that price to be better than at your local grocery store and you trust the brand that is on the label of table salt at that dollar store. Add that item to your list if you are satisfied with the value. 

Value is something that is often in the eye of the beholder...but there is wisdom in honoring your OWN sense of value and not being swayed by all the propaganda and marketing that modern retailers throw at us.

Honor your wallet and your own decision making skills and carve out a fabulous discipline of buying products that meet YOUR demands for quality and price and brand and availability.

Children do not have an innate understanding of value and money. It is a skill to develop as you mature and independently manage your funds. Writing down lists of items that meet YOUR requirements for quality, price and location is a great idea to help you and your family keep quality items in stock in your home.

That´s all for now. Congratulations on your endeavor to develop personal discipline with your money and overcoming the outside influences that may tempt you to spend more than you want to. 

Peace and productivity,

Carla

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Adapt or Die (Full Episode) | Life Below Zero

Life Below Zero---one of my favorite northern reality shows.

I am always delighted when I am able to catch an episode, old or new of this series.

I respect characters who are proud of their survival skills and the traditions that go along with that mastery.

Some of the characters in this series, such as Sue Aikens, explain to the viewers how they crave the extreme isolation. They love the challenge of it, and the ability to manage their own lives and livelihood in their own style.

I don´t think I have ever actually met someone so extreme and independent as Sue Aikens, but perhaps some of my dutch relatives, past or present might disagree. I was raised by strong dutch work ethic and the strength of character that defines someone who refuses to give up and never gives in, when faced with an obstacle.

Do you enjoy these Life Below Zero episodes? What do you learn from watching them beat the odds?

Do tell,

the comment section is always open to you.

Peace,

Carla