Refrigerator Sauerkraut

There is something to be said about quick pickling. I make zucchini pickles every summer. A quart jar is always in my fridge and The Nudge puts them on hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches and potato salad.

So, why am I talking about pickles when this post is about a quick sauerkraut? Well, it's the same process as making my pickles, just done with a slightly different marinade.

I wanted to update the typical Rueben sandwich, ya know, elevate it to the next level.

I already have my honey mustard braised corned beef, a really good Swiss cheese (not that rubbery stuff, please), a really good German mustard and a great loaf of Stone Milled Rye bread (Panera's makes the best, but get the large one. There is something better about the large loaf vs. the small one, probably because the small one is all crust and no bread, really, I am serious).

Can't have a Reuben without sauerkraut but I dislike canned and bagged kraut immensely, and buying homemade barrel fermented (like in NYC) is not gonna happen here.

There had to be a way to pickle cabbage as you would a pickle in like 1 hour? There were a few recipes for quick fresh sauerkraut but I wanted more flavor then the ones I found.

I would create my own marinade, can't be too hard, I did it with my zucchini pickles and I have heard they are perfect, right?

When I informed my "will not eat cooked cabbage" husband I was making a fresh cooked sauerkraut he was all for it. I give up. And he wonders why I always ask him after he negs on something "are you sure?"

We all know that anything containing vinegar is good for a diabetic as well as anyone wanting to help out their digestive tract do it's thing more efficiently.
Prior to hypoglycemic agents, diabetics used vinegar teas to control their symptoms. Small amounts of vinegar (approximately 25 g of domestic vinegar) added to food, or taken along with a meal, have been shown by a number of medical trials to reduce the glycemic index of carbohydrate food for people with and without diabetes. This also has been expressed as lower glycemic index ratings in the region of 30%.

Multiple trials indicate that taking vinegar with food increases satiety (the feeling of fullness) and, so, reduces the amount of food consumed. Daily intake of 15 ml of vinegar (750 mg AcOH) might be useful in the prevention of metabolic syndrome by reducing obesity.

Bet you will think differently about that bottle now.

Fresh Sauerkraut
makes 1 cup
Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1/2 medium green cabbage, shredded
* 1/2 cups cider vinegar
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1 bottle hard cider
* 1/3 cup water
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
* 1 tablespoon juniper seeds
* 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
* Pinch celery seeds
* Pinch hot pepper flakes or to taste

Pour cider into a wide skillet and boil to half. Add all the seasonings (except oil and cabbage and water) to cider and boil to 1/4 cup. Strain into a bowl.

Clean out skillet and heat vegetable oil. Saute cabbage until it wilts to half the volume. Add the reduced cider mixture and water and simmer cabbage, covered until it is totally limp, about 1 hour. Add water so that it always has about 1/2" in the bottom. Store in a container in the fridge. Adjust seasonings, adding more honey if you want it sweeter or more salt.

It really smells just like fermented sauerkraut but this is fresher and pregnant woman can eat this safely because it isn't naturally fermented.

This tasted wonderful on our sandwiches, just ask The Nudge, in between bites that is.