Have you ever been to or hosted a sauerkraut party? Each autumn, I gather friends and boxes and boxes of cabbages in my kitchen, and we slice, salt and pack our way through heads of cabbage to put up the year’s sauerkraut, sharing the labor among us with laughter, smiles and plenty of wine.
Long-time Nourished Kitchen Reader Beth Hoxie, also celebrates with good friends as she invites them to her kitchen for Kraut Parties. In this little interview, Beth shares how she organizes her kraut parties, teaches fermentation at home and shares a mean Bloody Mary.
How do you go about organizing your kraut party?
Beth: I determine the guest list by looking at my space and my equipment. My harvest table and kitchen can accommodate about 6 to8 people. We share using the bowls, boards and space around the table. Sunday afternoons seem to work well.
How do you choose your recipes?
Beth:I choose about four recipes, all a bit different but all relating to the same activity … making a kraut with sea salt: could be kim chi, could be Jenny’s Hot Pink Jalapeno Garlic Kraut, straight kraut or something else like fermented kale. I email the recipes to my guests, in advance. They choose one and bring all the ingredients except the salt.
What do you supply?
Large bowls
Knives
Cutting boards
Pounding tools…see photo
Celtic sea salt
Bloody Marys! (Beth’s a girl after my own heart – Jenny)
What do your guests bring?
Their Chosen Ingredients
A Container
How does the party work when guests begin to arrive?
Beth: Friends arrive, take their places at the table, chop-chop-chop, put the veggies and other ingredients in their bowls, add the salt, toss (I suggest using their hands) and then pound handfuls at a time into their containers. I walk around watching and am available for questions. I might talk about the benefits of fermented foods for one’s health and the history around kraut.
Photos by Beth Hoxie, used here with permission.
© Jenny for Nourished Kitchen, 2014. |
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