I used to think I had a great e-rapport with my daughter. I would frequently write her lengthy emails, and she would respond almost immediately. How nice, I thought, that she’d always send back this little abbreviation, just to let me know that she’d gotten my email.
Then I found out what TLDR meant.
With that as background, let me keep this one brief.
Cabbage
In particular, red cabbage.
For years now, cabbage has consistently been the best deal at our local farmers’ markets. No idea why.
Somewhere, somebody ordained that cabbages shall sell for $3 a head. Any cabbage, any time. Regular price.
Today, I think we hit a new record. My wife just picked up 14 pounds of red cabbage, two heads, for $6, at the McLean VA farmers’ market. At my local Safeway, that would be $24 worth of cabbage, at the current price of $1.69 a pound. Thus, the farmers’ market price is about a 75% discount, relative to the grocery. And it’s far fresher, to boot.
Normally, you pay a premium price for a premium product at our local farmers’ markets. Cabbage seems to be the only consistent exception.
Lacto-fermented sauerkraut
Sure, that’s great. But what does any normal human being do with 14 pounds of cabbage?
Make sauerkraut. In particular, red cabbage sauerkraut is much crisper than typical green cabbage sauerkraut. It’s easy, and it’s tasty.
I TLDR’d sauerkraut making in Post G29. Three tablespoons salt for every five pounds of cabbage. Shred it, salt it, pack it in half-gallon mason jars. Leave the lids loose. Wait a week or two for it to ferment.
Pictured above is about half the cabbage. I’ll make another batch once this starts fermenting. ’nuff said.
Edit: My wife requires me to note that the glass jars of red/white cabbage shreds are pretty.
