Oh, we got enough frost and a cold snap that tomatoes wouldn't have survived. Typical temperatures this time of year are teens to 30s, but this year we've been mostly 30s to 50s. Typically there's a steady covering of snow several inches deep, this year we get that and it disappears in a couple days.
My "Off Season" Garden veggies
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Sourkraut! Or freeze it but crocks take only a little room. There's recipes for canned cabbage, usually called quick kraut but that's just pickling it.
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Never had much success myself with making Sauerkraut but I do like it.
I like cabbage fresh as in steamed, stir-fried with bacon, cole slaw, etc.
I try to carefully stagger plant my cabbage to avoid excess and have it all fall/winter...several heads out there right now in various stages of growth.
I like cabbage fresh as in steamed, stir-fried with bacon, cole slaw, etc.
I try to carefully stagger plant my cabbage to avoid excess and have it all fall/winter...several heads out there right now in various stages of growth.
Have you tried making saurkraut like these folks. Very good but salty.
I can my cabbage just like I can my green beans. Cold pack, water, and salt, and then pressure can.
I've never made cole slaw with it.
Have you tried fermentation? It's all about percentage of salt and temperature. The salt part is easy, use canning salt and weigh everything. Shoot for 4 percent.
Temperature might be a little tricky in Tejas. I've found ideally 65 to 70 is best. As low as 50 but you run the risk of the process not starting, higher than 75 and bad stuff can grow.
Kimchi is traditionally buried so ground temperature.
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Meadowlark
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The recent artic blast nipped the outside leaves of several cabbages in the "off season" garden.
I've found when those start to decay, the entire head will gradually decay. I've been told that cabbage, when processed just like broccoli, freezes well for up to 9 months.
Gonna give it a try with a baker's dozen heads. Anyone else freeze their garden cabbage?
I've found when those start to decay, the entire head will gradually decay. I've been told that cabbage, when processed just like broccoli, freezes well for up to 9 months.
Gonna give it a try with a baker's dozen heads. Anyone else freeze their garden cabbage?
We do but nothing special. Core them out, remove some outer leaves and into the deep freezer. We then thaw them and make stuffed cabbage.
No boiling, no burnt fingers.
No boiling, no burnt fingers.
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Carrots and beet thinnings coming in regularly, Brussels sprouts planted last fall are finally showing forth "cabbages". Still have broccoli as the "off season" veggies are giving way now to spring onions, garlic, potatoes, and sugar snap peas.
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They go great diced in stews and casseroles too - especially Irish stew they compliment the flavor of the Lamb really well.
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Sauerkraut is easy to make, but once in awhile it seems to go off the rails. Don't use too much salt. It shouldn't need a lot. There are a lot of good recipes on line so you can read up and figure out what really works best. I like to stick to basics (and no caraway seeds). Just shredded hard cabbage and salt. 3 to 6 Tablespoons per 5 lbs of cabbage is all you need depending on how salty you like it. And it must be non-iodized salt. So no table salt! Either Sea, kosher or canning salt. It should keep just fine without canning for up to a year due to the lactic acid from the natural fermentation. If you do choose to can it, be very careful not to overdo it - just enough to sterilize the air n the top of the jar and don't cook the cabbage. Otherwise, it goes soft and mushy very quickly.
I used 3 tablespoons per 5 lbs of cabbage. It is pretty salty tasting at that strength. I put mine into sterilized quart jars and loosely put the lid on them and stuck them in the fridge. About 2.5 months later they were moldy and threw them out so that doesn't work long term.
Have you every used a baggy and froze it or something esle?
Any other suggestions of preserving?
The warning about salt is important. I recommend using ONLY canning salt. Anything else might have ingredients that can throw things off.
Seriously, the label should have only 1 ingredient on it, salt.
As for measurements, tablespoons per pound is not a good way. Different salts have different weights per volume. Compare canning salt to say rock salt.
Doing it by weights is much better. Shoot for 3 to 5 percent salt to water. Yeah it's math.
As for things going sideways, cleanliness, salinity and temperature are the important factors. One thing I've noticed is that larger batches tend to have fewer problems. Probably because a big batch can absorb more errors than small ones.
My typical add ons include caraway and red pepper flakes.
Seriously, the label should have only 1 ingredient on it, salt.
As for measurements, tablespoons per pound is not a good way. Different salts have different weights per volume. Compare canning salt to say rock salt.
Doing it by weights is much better. Shoot for 3 to 5 percent salt to water. Yeah it's math.
As for things going sideways, cleanliness, salinity and temperature are the important factors. One thing I've noticed is that larger batches tend to have fewer problems. Probably because a big batch can absorb more errors than small ones.
My typical add ons include caraway and red pepper flakes.