[Sca-cooks] sour cabbage - german recipe

[Elaine Koogler]

Adele de Maisieres wrote:

> Sandra Jakl wrote:
>
>> Greetings all!
>>
>> I am looking for a period German recipe for sourcraut.
>> I've found a couple of recipes that reference
>> saurkraut (saures Kraut) in Ein New Kochbuch and the
>> Preserved Cabbage (Eynngemacht Crautt), from Ein
>> Kochbuch aus dem Archiv des Deutschen Ordens, but not
>> actually anything that describes the appropriate
>> method to make specifically "sour cabbage".
>> Any help would be appreciated. I feel like I'm
>> overlooking it or something silly like that. *sigh*
>>  
>>
>
> OK, there's absolutely nothing mystical about making salted, preserved 
> vegetables like sauerkraut.  It's just shredded vegetables and salt.
> You will need to use only non-reactive containers and utensils for this.
> Shred 5lbs of cabbage finely. (this is about one medium-sized white 
> cabbage)  Make the slices about 2mm thick.
> Layer it in a large crock or stone jar with 1/4c salt.  (preferably 
> something tallish and narrowish-- a large preserving jar, tupperware 
> container, ceramic cookie jar, whatever).
> IMPORTANT:  If you do not have exactly the right amount of cabbage, 
> you must increase or decrease the salt so that the proportions are the 
> same.
> Cover it lightly and leave it for a few hours-- the cabbage will 
> produce quite a bit of liquid.
> Cover and weight the cabbage in such a way that it's all immersed in 
> the brine and protected from the outside air.  I've done this by 
> putting a plastic bag of cold water on top of the cabbage, but also by 
> the simpler method of putting a well-fitted weight on top of the 
> cabbage and covering the crock not-too-tightly.  Now, leave the whole 
> thing to ferment at room temperature for 2-6 weeks, depending on how 
> sour you like it.  Then keep refrigerated until it's all eaten.
>
> I served this at a feast a while ago, with roast beef and 
> freshly-baked rye bread. It was very well received and nearly all of 
> it got eaten.
>
Yes, that's the way it's made...I remember my mother making it that way 
and boy was it great!

However...do you have any documentation for this...or a period recipe?  
It's kind of like my shortbread recipe.  I am as sure as I'm sitting 
here that the recipe I use is period..1 part sugar to 2 parts butter to 
4 parts flour...how could it not be?  And there are period recipes out 
there that are very similar (Shropshire cakes, for one).  And my recipe 
came from a cookbook containing a number of traditional Scottish 
recipes...published by the Rural Women's group in Scotland.  But...I 
don't have an actual period recipe for it.  So, while I do periodically 
make it for feasts, I have to say that it is in the style of period 
cakes,but undocumented.

Kiri (feeling a little like a food Nazi at this point)