[Sca-cooks] Curing foods, was: salmon and gravlax

[kingstaste at mindspring.com]

<snip, snip, snip>
As for curing foods with acid, another biggie is lactic acid, which
is part of the process for corned beef, many cured sausages, and
probably gravlax once it reaches a certain stage. It's a natural
product of lactobacilli, which are also the beasties responsible for
things like sauerkraut, kim chee, and Kosher dill pickles.
Adamantius

	I have a bowl of natural lactobacillus going right now, with my first
go-round of home-made saurkraut (I've done this years ago, but I'm starting
afresh).  Now that its covered with brine (had to help it along a bit and
add some water to the natural juices after 24 hours), that pungent smell
doesn't hit me in the nose when I walk in the door anymore.  It is tasty,
and I'm looking forward to actually eating some after tomorow, which will be
72 hours into the process, and then more as it goes on through the aging
process.
	What's in my bowl:
	1 head of organic white cabbage, shredded
	4 cloves of garlic, fine diced
	1/4 -ish cup sea salt
	1 generous tablespoon caraway seed
	water to cover
	plate, 2-liter bottle full of water to weight the plate down.
	The brine now covers the surface of the cabage and the plate.

I'll keep you posted...
Christianna