My First Cultured Vegetables

The inspiration

This year I've been gradually switching my family's diet to real & traditional foods. In addition to grass-fed meats, pastured eggs & raw milk, cultured vegetables play an important role in maintaining a healthy gut & immune system. I've been looking at the Cultures For Health website for the past few months, not knowing where to begin. Even though we consume kim chi on a regular basis, it is not favored by all members of my family. Three-year-old Sophia & 1-year-old Jacob happened to love its spice & flavor, but it's almost impossible to incorporate kim chi into my 5-year-old's diet. Gerritt has always been my pickiest eater, & the only cultures he gets come from drinkable yogurt, regular yogurt & a few teaspoons of kim chi juice I sneak into his soup.

I was able to buy 2 organic cabbages for only $6.50

I was shopping at PCC Natural Market & noticed the attractive jars of fermented vegetables by the local company Firefly Kitchens. I bought 2 jars to try - Classic Kraut & Ruby Red Kraut. Although the kraut turned out to be delicious, I found the price to be prohibitive. Cabbage & carrots are some the cheapest vegetables you can buy, so the price range of $8.79 - 11.29 for a 15-oz jar was definitely too high. When I sent an email to the Firefly Kitchens via Facebook, I got a reply that the price was reflective of organic vegetables. Luckily, I just happened to run across a blog post & video about making your own sauerkraut from the Healthy Home Economist. It sounded so easy, I tried the recipe the same evening.

The start of fermentation

I didn't want to delay the recipe by making my own liquid whey from raw milk so I've obtained it from naturally separated Grace Harbor Farms' plain yogurt I already happened to have in the fridge. Three days later the kraut was ready & it tasted even better than the one from the Firefly Kitchens (I prefer less salt). I am definitely feeling inspired.
Although I don't know the amounts, the Firefly Kitchens use the following ingredients in their recipes:

Classic Kraut - green cabbage, celtic sea salt
Caraway Kraut - green cabbage, celtic sea salt, caraway seed
Yin Yang Carrots - carrots, ginger, celtic sea salt
Firefly Kimchi - green cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, celtic sea salt, Korean red peppers

Finished product 3 days later

Additional Resources:

1) How to Make Sauerkraut by Homemade Mommy

2) Ack! My Sauerkraut Has Mold On It! by Northwest Edible Life