Campbell's
book; canning, preserving and pickling, by Clyde H. Campbell ...
Main
Author: Campbell, Clyde H
Language(s):
English
Published:
[Chicago, Vanco publishing corp., publishers of the Food packer] 1937
[i.e. 1945]
Canning
and preserving > Bibliography
Canning
and preserving
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001522728
CHAPTER
XXXI
SAUERKRAUT
SAUERKRAUT
is the product made by the lactic fermentation of shredded cabbage in
a weak salt solution. The United States Department of Agriculture
definition for sauerkraut is as follows:
"Sauerkraut
is the clean, sound product, of characteristic acid flavor, obtained
by the full fermentation, chiefly lactic, of properly prepared and
shredded cabbage in the presence of not less than two per cent (2%)
nor more than three per cent (3%) of salt. It contains, upon
completion of the ferment-ation, not less than one and one-half per
cent (1.6%) of acid, expressed as lactic acid. Sauerkraut which has
been rebrined in the process of canning or repacking contains not
less than one per cent (1%) of acid, expressed as lactic acid."
The
importance of kraut as a food is so great that it is not amiss to
state some of its important values: On account of its sharp, acid
character, it is quite palatable and appetizing. It contains lactic,
which aids in digestion and regulates the removal of waste materials
from the body, stimulates the normal action of the intestines, and
prevents the growth of harmful bacteria which sometimes causes
auto-intoxication. Being rich in vitamins, it is a preventive of
scurvy, and is also a therapeutic in cases of diabetes, excess of
uric acid and other diseases. Some have used it successfully in
reducing high blood pressure.
The
juice from the kraut is especially appetizing and is served in many
hotels as a cocktail.
The
average composition of cabbage is:
Per
cent
Moisture 91.50
Protein 1.60
Fat 0.30
Crude
fiber 1.10
Ash 1.00
Total carbohydrates 5.60
Cabbage,
in addition to containing lime, potash, phosphates, and iron,
contains vitamins A, B, and C. The protein and minerals in the ash
act as food to sustain the fermentation. This fermentation converts
the sugar to lactic acid, and in addition to this, there is formed
alcohol, acetic and butyric acids in small amounts. The amount of
lactic acid produced depends upon the amount of sugar, protein and
minerals present. Weather conditions and heat will, to a certain
extent, control the rapidity of the fermentation.
Cabbage
used in making kraut should be firm, and only sound heads fully
matured with the outer green leaves removed. There is a difference of
opinion as to the best variety to be used in making kraut. Dutchess,
All Season, Succession, Glory, and Copenhagen are varieties that are
often used.
Cabbage
is usually stored in bins or cribs outside the plant where there can
be a free circulation of air. This prevents excess wilting, heating,
and the development of putrefying bacteria. It is necessary that the
cabbage wilt some, otherwise in cutting, the cabbage will be too
brittle and break into small pieces instead of giving the proper
"shred." The heads can be transferred by means of an
endless belt or conveyor to help those who core, and remove the
green, withered, and dirty outside leaves. Washing the cabbage before
cutting is considered beneficial because it removes the undesirable
bacteria (such as the objectionable soil bacteria) on the sur face of
the cabbage, while the bacteria that are desirable are within the
head and not removed by washing.
The
core is not removed, but cut or sliced very fine by rapid revolving
conical blades. The outer leaves that are removed are dropped on an
endless belt that conveys them outside the coring room, where they
are hauled away either to an incinerator, or to farms where they are
ploughed under shortly after being dumped.
The
cored cabbage is conveyed by belts to the shredders where it is cut
into very fine shreds and again conveyed by belts to trucks or carts,
where it is salted before being dumped. The cabbage may be given a
thin or thick cut according to the judgment of the manufacturer. A
fine shred, long cut, makes a better appearance than a coarse, medium
cut. An objection to the fine shred, long cut, is that it packs too
tightly and cooks to pieces. Set the knife blades about the thickness
of a five cent piece (about 1/16 of an inch) to produce a good
thickness. Different plants have different layouts that require
modifications in handling. Instead of salting in carts, salting may
be done as the cabbage is being dumped from conveyors into the tanks.
Salting
at the rate of 3 to 3½ pounds per 100 pounds of cut cabbage will
give very good results, but some prefer salting at the rate of 2½
pounds per 100 of cabbage.
One
of the secrets of well cured uniform kraut is due to proper and
careful scattering of the salt. Lack of uniformity may permit the
development of wild yeast and putrefying bacteria. A medium ground
packers salt gives the best results. Before filling, the tanks should
be clean and sweet. Clean them in the same manner as pickle tanks are
cleaned. If possible, a concrete floor should be placed in the
fermentation room. Tanks should be raised high enough to permit
washing and spraying underneath. Also space should be allowed between
them to permit passage. The ferment-ation room should be kept clean
and sweet, and whenever possible the air should be changed by opening
the doors and windows even if only for a "short time during the
warmest part of the day. Unless the cabbage which falls to the floor
is swept up, it will in time start decomposition. The air be-coming
ladened with bacteria that cause this offensive odor may contaminate
good tanks. Disinfectants should be used, but should be of such a
nature that they will not have an odor that may permeate the air to
such an extent that the kraut will absorb it. Dilute hypochlorite
solution sprayed, or else unslaked lime scattered on the floors
will aid wonderfully in sweetening the air. A clean factory coupled
with sanitary methods of handling will produce a high grade finished
product.
In
filling tanks, the brine should be tested occasionally with a
salometer to check the salting.
As
kraut is cut when the weather is cool, the cabbage is cold when it
goes into the tanks, and the fermentation will be slow in starting,
so that complete fermentation may not result until the following
spring.
Very
few kraut factories are equipped to heat the fermenting room, and
even if they were, the large tanks of cold cabbage would take a very
long time for the heat to penetrate to the center and give the proper
temperature that is conductive to a healthy and rapid fermentation.
Marten claims that from 60 to 65 degrees F. is the most favorable
temperature for quality, as he found that high temperatures produce
soft and pink kraut. Dr. E. F. LeFevre found the proper temperature
for this fermentation is 86 degrees F. and when it falls below this,
the activity of the bacteria is decreased. A temperature of about 88
degrees F. may be applied to the shredded cabbage as it enters the
carts or tanks. The conveyors may be covered with a galvanized or
metal frame for a distance of about 8 to 10 feet from the end, with
live steam pipes running along the sides and top of the cover. This,
live steam, coming in contact with the cabbage, warms it so that
active fermentation will start very quickly, and in some factories
the tank of kraut will be completely fermented within one week or ten
days. In a rush season when the tanks are in demand, this rapid
fermentation is indispensable. Such rapid fermentation will produce
quality kraut because there is no opportunity for foreign organisms
to get a start. Where the temperature is 75 degrees F. kraut will
ferment out in from two to three weeks. Do not turn the steam on full
or the cabbage will become scalded, and the great pressure, instead
of warming the cabbage, will blow it off the conveyor. Better results
are obtained by heating the cabbage than by heating the fermentation
room only. If possible, in addition to heating the cabbage, the room
should also be heated. Pederson has found that the lower the
temperature the slower the rate of fermentation and that when the
temperature of the factory is high, the fermentation rate is more
rapid, because the cabbage is warmed during the shredding.
The
cabbage should be evenly distributed after being salted and packed as
solidly as possible. Fill the tank several inches from the top and
cover with a layer of clean cabbage leaves, put the cover in place
and weight it down with barrels of water or paraffined concrete
blocks. Instead of using the cabbage leaves, a canvas or muslin cover
can be used. Do not use more weights than are necessary as it is not
desirable to have a brine or juice above the cover as it will
encourage yeast growth. Usually the day after filling, the cabbage
has settled so that the head can be keyed down in the same manner as
pickle tanks. While filling with cabbage, it is the practice with
some to have the drain plug open and run off the brine until the tank
is filled, then close and key the cover down. Others will open the
plug at the end of 24 hours in order to settle the cabbage and then
key the cover in place. These methods lose brine that may be valuable
kraut juice, and also a fine media for the bacterial growth. As the
fermentation is lactic, it is advisable to exclude the air as much as
possible, in order that the lactic ferment will predominate. Any scum
forming on the top of the tank should be removed and not allowed to
settle down into the kraut, because yeast will produce an odor and
flavor due to its growth. The odor may penetrate into the kraut and
produce an undesirable odor. If the kraut is held over in tanks
during the summer, it is well to place dry salt around the edge,
along the cracks and over the top of the tank. This strong salt acts
as a germicide to the bacteria, and also keeps out the air somewhat.
When
the tanks are opened, it is necessary to remove the kraut from the
top. Active fermentation will start within a few days after filling,
and it is well to make daily acidity determinations, the same as in
salting pickles, as this is a very good check on the rate of
fermentation. As long as the acidity is increasing, active
fermentation is continuing and when it ceases, fermentation is either
dormant or ended. When the acidity reaches 1.6 per cent it is thought
to have reached the proper acidity.
Pederson
has found three active bacterial fermentations. The first is due to
Leuconistoc mesenteroides which grow best at about 70 degrees F. when
2 to 2% per cent salt has been used. This organism acts on the sugar
and produces lactic and acetic acids, alcohol, mannitol and carbon
dioxide. The acids and alcohol form esters which produce some aroma.
This fermentation ceases when the acidity reaches 0.7 to 1.0 per cent
due to the death of this organism. The second fermentation is due to
two species—Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus cucumeris.
These also produce lactic acid from the remaining sugar and mannitol.
These bacteria are also killed off. The third group which causes
fermentation is due to the Leuconistoc mesenteroides which will
complete the fermentation. It seems to take the successive
fermentation to produce the proper flavored kraut.
Cabbage
containing approximately 4 per cent of sugar should produce about 2
per cent lactic acid. Chemical analysis shows that all of the sugar
is not converted into lactic acid, some being changed into alcohol,
acetic and butyric acids. The results from approximately fifteen
samples showed an average salt content of 15 degrees, an acidity of
1.6 per cent and 0.68 per cent of alcohol. A compilation of this data
will be the only correct way of arriving at standards. Cabbage can be
inoculated with pure cultures of lactic acid of the particular strain
that causes the lactic fermentation in cabbage. On account of the
great care necessary in growing and handling the pure cultures of
lactic acid and the little benefit derived from its use, many prefer
not to inoculate, but aid in the development of the natural ferment
present on the cabbage when cut. To aid in fermentation, brine from
active tanks can be used to inoculate new or inactive ones.
After
complete fermentation is over, the kraut can be packed in barrels
that have vent holes, so they can be easily rebrined or to allow any
gas to pass off should further fermentation set in.
Kraut
with an acidity of 1.4 per cent will carry a salt of 14 degrees (3.5
per cent) while a kraut with an acidity of 1.25 per cent will take a
12-degree (3 per cent) salt very nicely. This ratio of salt to acid
seems to blend quite well, neither too salty nor too sour. Kraut
containing from 2.0 to 2.5 per cent salt seemed to have the best
texture. A low salt content will ordinarily produce a kraut that may
be too soft to can, whereas too high a content may allow the
development of pink yeast.
The
following tentative standards have been adopted by the National Kraut
Association:
TENTATIVE
DEFINITIONS OF POINTS FOR DETERMINING GOOD EDIBLE SAUERKRAUT FOR BOTH
BULK AND CANNED
Flavor
The
kraut should have a normal acid flavor, indicative of a properly
fermented product. It must never be bitter, sweet or rancid. Brine
should show a salometer reading of not more than 20.
Cut
The
shreds should be uniform in length and thickness as possible and the
number of broad pieces of cores must not be excessive.
Color
The
color should be light straw or golden; neither white nor dark yellow,
and free from black or brown spots.
Crispness
The
kraut should be fairly firm in texture, without being tough. It must
never be mushy.
Fill
The
fill must comply with all the government regulations. The canning
kraut and kraut juice will be discussed under the heading of Canning
of Vegetables. Canned kraut and kraut juice is to be found under
Canning.
TROUBLES:—Yellow
kraut may be due to failure to remove sufficient green leaves or as
it becomes older it may take on a yellowish tint.
Black
or dark kraut may be due to an excessive amount of iron, or to over
cooking or again due to contact with the wood of the barrels.
Pink
kraut is due to yeast fermentation and may occur when the salt
content is rather high.
Off-taste
is often prevalent due to contact with kraut that has an offensive
odor or taste, or even due to storage in improperly cleaned and
paraffined barrels. It should be mentioned that a yeasty or even a
butyric fermentation will produce an off-taste.
Due
to secondary fermentation of barreled kraut the brine may be forced
out of the barrel and if neglected and not rebrined, undesirable
organisms may enter and cause soft, mushy, spoiled kraut.
