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 Post subject: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:46 pm 
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:38 pm
Posts: 536
I have some Flanagan's fresh sauerkraut from the refrigerated case, and am trying to figure out how long (within reason) it lasts in the fridge once opened.

Found this when googling the subject - apparently some guy ate sauerkraut that had been in his basement after four years.

Complete with photos: http://matronofhusbandry.wordpress.com/ ... curvy-dog/

Does anyone have good advice on this (other than four years if you pick the mold off). :geek:


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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 4:15 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:01 am
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Location: Denver
I have never had sauerkraut going bad....it is preserved and I don't know of anything in the brine that would go rancid. In any case, you're definitely good for months , if not years. I love it, so it just doesn't last very long around here.
ilene

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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:52 pm 
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:03 am
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Location: Portland, OR
EB.

The place in Marin which sells artisan sauerkraut puts a 1-year expiration date on their containers. So 4 years doesn't seem impossible.

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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 2:00 pm 
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My mom used to make sauerkraut every year. If it ferments correctly, it seemingly keeps forever.

And there will be no doubt if the fermentation is wrong....trust me...


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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 2:03 pm 
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I had Sauerkraut yesterday while it was snowing and blowing. Love it!


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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 6:34 pm 
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How do you do your sauerkraut Todd? My mom will take a pork butt and smother it in SK in a heavy pot and simmer for a few hours or put it in the oven. It really calms down.

Good info on the "if it's bad you will know it" advice.

Here is another photo of the process of making it from scratch, this person used purple cabbage.

I am just craving sk lately, eating it every day really just raw out of the fridge, not really cooked down with anything.


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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:24 pm 
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I have sauerkraut on veggie sausages ("snausage"). I figure if you bury that TVP in cabbage and onions, you can't tell that you don't have real sausage.

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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:29 am 
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Hi gang,

So this is where you've all been hiding :)

I make sauerkraut all the time. One of the best sources for all things fermented is the 'Wild Fermentation' website. I have his book but he also posts some of the most used recipes online - including sauerkraut.

As mentioned it will 'technically' keep virtually forever under the right conditions - the science of preserving with salt is explained somewhere on the site - but there is a 'peak' to the quality and taste. It's super easy to make at home (shred 5 lbs. cabbage, add 3 tbsp. salt, pack tightly into a container, weight it down, cover and wait). You start tasting it after a few weeks and when it reaches YOUR preferred flavor (tang, crunch, etc.) you put it somewhere cool to keep it at that stage for as long as possible.

After that point the only 'maintenance' is to keep the cabbage submerged in the brine. The stuff that is exposed to air can dry out and get kind of 'funky' and eventually moldy. If you bought the kraut in anything but a glass jar you should transfer it as soon as possible. Tall and narrowish is best since it's the easiest way to keep the kraut submerged. There are a few ways to do that. Some people fill a zipperlock bag with brine and use that as a weight between the top of the kraut and the lid of jar. I like a jar small enough to fit through the mouth of the storage jar to wedge the kraut under the brine. If you have different sizes of Ball mason jars around this works great since the 1/2 pint jars fit nicely into the wide mouth quart jars.
If not, the teensy jars from the 'Thai Kitchen Curry paste' fit into just about any other jar.

btw - winter is the best time to try making homemade sauerkraut since the flavor is so much better when it ferments longer at a lower temperature. If you decide to try a second batch use a couple of tablespoons of juice from your first batch. The lactobacillus culture kicks starts the second batch in record time.

Michelle.


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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:40 am 
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Michelle,

Howdy! Welcome to The New Board!

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 Post subject: Re: Four year old sauerkraut?
PostPosted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:47 am 
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Thanks Fuzzy and nice chatting with you again. I'm just wandering your cyber hallways trying to find my way around. I expect to make boo-boos until I figure things out. Is there one main all-in-one misc. board or is there a way to see where the latest topic is being bandied about?

Michelle.

p.s. you're being humble - I think you meant to say welcome to THE board :)


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