Blueberry Pie Sauerkraut

Blueberry Pie Sauerkraut
(From a recipe in Taproot Magazine Issue: 7)


2 heads cabbage (green, red or both - I had two small regular green and one large Savoy)
3 tart apples (I don't know that I would add these next time - they didn't add much to the flavoring)
1 qt frozen blueberries
4 tablespoons salt (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional, but I would add them next time)

Core cabbages and shred as thinly as possible. Place in a large vessel (is this related to a vestment?) that can take a beating. (I used my favorite giant ceramic mixing bowl.)  Add about 3 T of salt and mix well. Don’t be afraid to use your hands. Pound the sliced cabbage with a kraut pounder or other pounding tool until it begins to release liquid (a few minutes).

Peel and core your apples and slice them about 1/4 inch thick. add to the mix and test the salt, adding the additional tablespoon if needed. Rule of thumb when making sauerkraut is to taste the mixture and add enough salt so that it is more salty than you would like if you were to eat it straight up, but not so salty that you feel like spitting it out.

Pound the mixture a little bit more to break up the apples somewhat and release more juice. Add the blueberries last, partially thawed so as not to obliterate them, and pound again, lightly. If you are opting for caraway, add seeds now. Stir it all up.

Using a two gallon crock or other container (I used half gallon Mason jars), put a couple handfuls of mixture into fermenting vessel at a time, pressing down to bring the juices up as you go. There should be liquid covering your kraut when you get near to the top of the jar. Leave an inch of room at the top. Weight top to keep kraut submerged. You can use a cabbage leaf with a rock on top.  If using mason jars, lightly screw on the lids and place in a roasting pan to catch any juices that bubble out from the lids.

In three days, test your kraut. It should be ready to eat, but can ferment up to several weeks. Once it reaches the degree of crunchy/soft that you want, store in the refrigerator. It will continue to ferment at a much slower rate in cold storage.  I let mine ferment a little under two weeks, then put it in the fridge.  It is slightly crunchy, which is how I like my sauerkraut.