S.D. and I have been playing with the idea of making sauerkraut at home. While this could conceivably be the stinkiest idea we've ever come up with, it could also be very rewarding.
One of the things I kept hearing about on homemade sauerkraut was the possibility of botulism in your handmade product. I had to find out, as how can you survive the ZA only to fall to botulism poisoning from your own preparedness? Not a good idea! So I looked. And looked. And searched.
And came up with nothing. No scientific proof of botulism from properly made sauerkraut. na-da. Oh, there were second hand accounts and "heard once upon a time" storied aplenty, but no actual scientific research, mention or proof. This also jives with my chemistry background, (and micro and food science) as the pH of sauerkraut is at least one point more acid than botulism can survive and thrive.
The warning I did run into is to never make pickles with homemade and untested vinegar of unknown pH lever. This is a far cry from "botulism from sauerkraut ate my baby" scare tactics that were going around all over the internet. There is, by the way, a litmus test for pH of vinegar using, well, litmus paper that is easily acquired off the internet of from a science supply store. And then you know. Funny how things can get carried to an extreme simply by word of mouth and not by critical thinking.
In any case, I will be buying cabbage to do this experiment, as my cabbage did less than nothing this year, unless you count a dramatic death-scene that would've been good for a freshman in high school drama class.
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