Sauerkraut can be salted in a large vat or in a glazed pot. Vats must be brushed cleanly with hot water and dried in the air. Pots should be cleaned hot and dried as well.

You should choose soft, white and solid cabbages. Remove the outer leaves, cut them into four pieces, remove the stalks. Chop the cabbage finely, put cabbage and salt in layers into the vat (pot) and stamp well each layer. (In former times, we used our bare feet for stamping, Hn).

Between the layers, you should insert a small portion of some small apples, vine leaves, unripe grapes and juniper berries. At last cover the kraut with whole cabbage leaves, then with a clean cloth and a wooden board, burdened with a stone.

Attention: Don't use too much salt, the maximum is 20 g salt for 1 kg chopped cabbage.

The kraut must constantly be covered with liquid to protect it from any air contact.

Put the vat (pot) in a warm room for the first 3 weeks, then put it into the cellar (or any cool room, 6-10 degrees Celsius) .After about 6 weeks remove stone, board and cloth, clean them well before covering the kraut as before. Now the kraut is ready for consume.

Take care for removing rising foam or slime, and replace missing liquid with saltened water. Close the vat (pot) with cellophane or vellum paper to keep away any dust or other particles.

(from Mary Hahn's Grosses Einmachbuch)

Recipes sent to me from Bill, wight@odc. Net