Fermented Foods and Drinks

Mason Jar Organic Curried Sauerkraut

The amount yielded depends on the size of cabbage purchased. 

I use four pint sized, wide mouth jars.

Prep Time: 20 mins

Fermentation Time: 3 - 4 weeks

• 1 head of organic cabbage
• 3 organic carrots, diced
• 1 organic onion, diced
• 1 TBSP curry powder (organic if possible)
• 1 TBSP Non-iodized salt - VERY important to use this specific type of salt!
• Distilled water (optional)
• Sterilized, wide mouth mason jars and lids 

1. Wash your hands thoroughly and properly sterilize the jars and lid components. You don't want to introduce and bad bacteria by accident!
2. Wash the vegetables, then finely shred or chop the cabbage. Place in a large mixing bowl. Dice the carrots and onion and add them to the shredded cabbage. Mix together with your clean hands, or a clean wooden spoon.
3. Add the curry powder in small amounts and mix together. Depending on how much curry you like, you will add either 1 TBSP or more. 
4. Add the salt and mix together again. 
5. Let it rest for about 10 minutes at room temperature. Mix again and let it rest for another 10 minutes at room temperature. If there still isn't much liquid, you may want to let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour.
6. Divide into equal portions among mason jars leaving about 1-2 inches from the rim of the jar. Wide mouth jars work the best because you'll be pushing the cabbage down later and these types of jars make that task simpler than the standard mouth jars.
7. If necessary, add DISTILLED water to each jar to top it off to about an inch below the rim of the jar. Do NOT add water if there are enough juices from salting and resting the cabbage mixture. This is only if there isn't enough natural liquid. NEVER use tap water!
8. Loosely screw the lids onto the jars. They really don't need to do anything but act as a cover to keep out debris and dust, so do not screw them tight or you won't end up with sauerkraut.
9. Pace the jars on a cookie sheet or pizza tray with a cloth underneath. Place them in a cool, dry place and check them every few days. Skim off any (harmless) white foam and discard any pieces of cabbage, carrot, or onion that is not submerged. These pieces can have been exposed to things you don't want to ingest. Use a clean wooden spoon to push the remaining cabbage mixture under the liquid.  If there isn't enough liquid to submerge the cabbage mixture, you can add the necessary amount of distilled water with a small amount of dissolved salt. Then replace the jar lids. The cabbage mixture should have little bubbles in it. This is proof that your mixture is fermenting! Yay!
10. Allow this mixture to naturally ferment for at least 2 weeks. We let ours go for 3 as it had the taste we were looking for at that point. You may allow it to work for 4 weeks, if you like, but I've found 3 weeks to be the perfect working time frame. 
11. Once the sauerkraut has come to the point you would like, check the jars for the white foam and skim as per usual. This time, replace the jar lid securely and store in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy! 

Kombucha aka Fermented Tea

*Makes 1 gallon of Kombucha Tea 

Prep Time: 1 - 2 hours (includes cooling time)

Fermentation Time: 1 - 2 weeks

• Kombucha Scoby with starter culture (kombucha from a previous, non-flavored batch OR GT's brand of Original, Organic, Raw Kombucha Tea) OR 1/4 cup pasturized Apple Cider Vinegar 
• 1 cup organic sugar
• Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
• 12-14 tea bags (organic white, green or black - best if organic)
• 1 litre of boiling tap OR boiling filtered water + 3 litres of either previously boiled OR filtered water
• 1 gallon jug or larger (GLASS only with a non-metal lid)

1. Sanitize the jar, lid, your hands, and any utensils you want to use with apple cider vinegar. DO NOT use antibacterial soap as it can kill the scoby! 
2. Using the 1 litre of boiling water: Remove from the hot burner and add the tea bags. Allow to steep until the liquid cools to room temperature. While steeping, add the sugar to the tea and dissolve. 
3. Add cooled tea mixture to the fermenting gallon jar. To that, add enough previously boiled or filtered water to reach about halfway up the jar. Stir.
4. Add the Kombucha starter and scoby to the jar. Fill with the remaining water to approximately 1/2" to 1" away from the top or the jar. 
5.  Cover the jar with a tightly woven clean cloth or paper towel and add a tightly fitting rubber band. 
6. Allow to ferment for one to two weeks in a warm, draft-free location out of direct sunlight. The Kombucha needs consistent temperature of around 76F. If not, it may take a little longer to ferment.* 

NOTE: While fermenting, you should watch it for mold which will look fuzzy in appearance and be growing on top of the scoby. Do not confuse this with yeast collection which is completely normal. It should also have a vinegary smell with lots of bubbles floating to the top. This is natural carbonation. As long as there is some carbonation you're Kombucha brew is fermenting. After about a week try tasting some of the brew to check for doneness. You'll want to make sure anything that touches the brew is sanitized with apple cider vinegar FIRST. If it's not quite vinegar-like it needs a longer fermenting time. The amount of time it takes depends on your personal tastes as well as the size/age of the scoby and location. For some reason, more arid climates tend to have faster brewing times. If you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to post on here. For information on where you may obtain a scoby if you don't have a Kombucha brewing friend, please post on here and I will be happy to point you in the right direction. Cheers and happy fermenting!  

*STORAGE: Once the brew is done, you have Kombucha Tea, or KT as it's commonly called. You will want to invest in some mason jars as they're what we've found works best for storage. Pour the finished KT into your jars leaving approx 1 to 2 inches from the top. Seal with the lid and store in the refrigerator. It lasts a long time as it's a fermented product. Never, ever, EVER shake the jar because it is carbonated and will react like soda if shaken and opened immediately.