Flower Kraut

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Sauerkraut – which we boys love for its gut health and wild fermentation properties – has fulfilled far more utilitarian purposes.
Case in point: We learned recently that Evan’s grandfather grew up with big tubs of kraut aging on the back porch. It was the only salad his big fam could keep during long winters in Utah. Grandpa remembers the process of making kraut like this: layer of cabbage, layer of salt, layer of cabbage, more salt. At near freezing temps, the stuff could go for months. It made meat or bread or a potato a meal. And it cost nearly nothing.
Unable to let our recent love for the stuff go, we keep playing with new flavors. Our recent batch won “best yet” by all accounts. A mixture of sliced fennel and green cabbage, we spritzed it with fennel seed, peppercorns, a touch of vinegar and the dill-like flowery tips of fennel stalks.
So how does our new-agey version stand up to the old-school tubs? We had the grave pleasure of driving a batch up for an ailing grandpa to sample. The jar came out, sniffed and passed around the lunch table – a hurried spread of lunch meats. He cleaned his plate, poking at the fennel seeds left behind. “Pretty good,” he said, “though I never cared for the stuff in the first place.” We will take that.

Fennel Sauerkraut

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1 fennel bulb
1 green cabbage
1/2 white onion
4 cloves garlic
4 Tbs. kosher salt
2 Tbs. black peppercorns
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1/4 cup fennel fronds (garnish)
1. Use a mandolin and a large mixing bowl to slice the fennel and cabbage for salting: Start by cutting the fennel bulb in half, remove the stalks. Quarter the cabbage and remove (and discard) the core. Now, slice both on the mandolin in two batches. Do half the fennel and half the cabbage. Slice a quarter of the red onion on the mando, and pulverize half the garlic with a garlic press. Sprinkle half the salt on all of the above. Scrunch mixture until fully mixed and depleted in size. Toss in peppercorns. Transfer the mixture to your aging vessel (ceramic is best.)
2. Repeat with second half.
3. Press the mix down hard, making sure its covered with the brine liquid. Place the kraut vessel somewhere in your kitchen where its out of the way and at constant room temperature. Age for 1-2 weeks. Taste it everyday. Don’t be afraid of any scum that forms on top of the brine; scoop it off and discard. As long as the veggies stay totally submerged, there’s no way they’ll spoil.
4. When the kraut reaches a funk level you like, finish by tossing with splash of vinegar and the fennel seeds. Serve with a nice garnish of chopped fennel fronds.

Beverage:
Lindeman’s Cuvee Rene
Soundtrack: The Cure, “A Strange Day”

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6 Responses to Flower Kraut

  1. Grant says:

    Awesome! My mom told me a similar story about growing up in a house full of kraut. My wife and I have been on a kraut spirit quest ever since reading your post. So far we’ve made five batches, one with green apple and mashed potatoes along with the cabbage. I was making fennel tea this morning and thought about trying it instead of carraway seed for the next batch… And you guys have already beat me to it! I bought some juniper berries today and plan to make a batch using them. Have you gone that route yet?

  2. alex says:

    grant,
    juniper berries are a super traditional route that will bear radical results! thanks for the kind comment!
    Did you cook the potatoes prior to mashing them and adding to the brine?

  3. Grant says:

    We did cook the potatoes first but never added any butter or milk or anything to them. They were just potatoes that were mashed and not “mashed potatoes”… It turned out to be everyones favorite kraut so far. The potatoes gave it a sharp flavor that balanced out the sweet green apples.

  4. yutastic says:

    grandpa never liked the kraut? that’s not what he told me.

  5. You know sauerkraut is very good for our health. It contains more Vitamin C than lemons.

  6. Sauerkraut is very good for our health. It contains more Vitamin C than lemons.

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