November is the month when cabbage starts to be pickled. The most energetic housewives have already prepared the first portions and are starting to exchange recipes.
However, various tricks and wise recipes do not always protect against negative results: the appearance of bitterness, mucus, lack of crunch.
There are several folk wisdoms that are not paid attention to in our time, and in vain.
1. Moon phase. You should start pickling on the waxing moon. During this period, cabbage is ideal. If you start pickling the vegetable on the new moon or on the waning moon, the finished product will most likely be slippery and quickly turn sour.
2. Choose a day of the week that has the letter "r" in its name. The reason is the word "хРуст".
3. Give preference to days of the week that have a feminine gender, namely: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. This is explained simply, cabbage is fermented by women and cabbage itself is feminine.
4. You should not start pickling during your "critical days". This is because during this period the woman's body experiences stress, gets very tired, so there is a high probability of getting confused with the norms of adding products.
The fermentation process itself is simple. You will need:
• Winter cabbage variety;
• Carrots, 1 piece per head is enough;
• Salt, approximately 3 level tablespoons;
• A clean jar or saucepan for pickling, a basin for mixing.
The cabbage needs to be shredded. The thickness of the cut should be approximately 5 mm. A mechanical shredder with adjustable cutting width is easy to buy in the store.
Peeled carrots are grated on a coarse grater and mixed with cabbage in a bowl. Now salt is added, and all ingredients are thoroughly mashed and mixed until juice is released.
You can begin transferring the mixture into a fermentation container.
When the mashed vegetables are laid out, they should be tightly tamped. Add water, not necessarily boiled, just filtered. Water with cabbage juice should occupy 2/3 of the container. Now you need to put oppression, if the fermentation takes place in a saucepan. As an oppression, you can use a stone, another jar or a bottle filled with water.
It would be a good idea to place a plate or tray under the fermentation vessel, as the brine will begin to overflow as a result of lactic acid fermentation.
The vessel itself is left at room temperature for three days. During this period, 2-3 times a day, it is necessary to pierce the product with a stick, preferably wooden, to the very bottom. This will help release the accumulated gases. If this is not done, the final product will have an unpleasant smell and be bitter.
When 3-5 days have passed, the juice will go down, the brine will become transparent, and will stop bubbling. This means that fermentation is complete, and it is time to put the product in the cold.
All that remains is to let the cabbage sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and then it’s ready to eat.
This is a traditional recipe for pickling. There are many recipes with spices, sugar, citric acid and other additives. But in the past, people did not know them, and if they did, they were more expensive than now, and not everyone could afford them.
If you follow all the folk signs, temperature conditions and hygiene rules, the cabbage will be so tasty that people will ask for more.
