They call it Hacklebernie homesteading.

Dave Gasker, from the Hacklebernie section of Jim Thorpe, likes to do stuff from scratch. This year he and his cousin, Dave Remmel, tried their hands at wine making from grapes grown on Gasker’s property. In a few weeks they will be digging up horseradish from the property for processing. Recently they got together on a Sunday afternoon with another friend, Dave Marouchoc, to make homemade sauerkraut.

Gasker has been making the sauerkraut at his home for 20 years. He learned the process from his father, who learned it from his father, Frank Gasker, who brought his knowledge from Germany when he came to the States.

“I used to help my father make it when I was younger, and I would watch my grandfather make it,” Gasker said.

Gasker had everything ready, and even got a jump start with a wooden shredder with three metal blades handed down from his father.

After a short time, Remmel entered the kitchen carrying a gallon jug with a handwritten label: “Hacklebernie Rocket Red Sangria,” a fruit-filled drink made with a red wine they made earlier this year, and jumped right in to help.

While Gasker continued shredding, Remmel started packing a large crock with the cabbage, adding salt as needed.

Gasker explained that the process they use is not scientific.

“If you search the internet they’ll tell you that there is a certain amount of salt per pound of cabbage, but my father taught me to taste it as I go along,” Gasker said. “If you taste salt, the next layer of shredded cabbage, don’t add any salt. Although, you have to be careful not to add too much or it will almost pickle the cabbage instead of allowing it to ferment.”

After getting a few inches of cabbage in the crock and adding pickling and canning salt, they then mashed the cabbage down with their fists, then repeated the process. Eventually the combination of salt and mashing caused a layer of liquid to form.

Both Gasker and Remmel cautioned that it’s important to not use iodized salt.

Marouchoc showed up with his own crock and a bag of large cabbage heads to learn the process and make his first batch of homemade sauerkraut. It took a while to get the hang of the shredder, holding it in between his legs and shredding into a large washtub, but he got the job done.

When Marouchoc started packing his crock, Gasker took back over on the shredder and did the slicing while Remmel and Marouchoc packed their crocks.

New this year Gasker is making a spicy sauerkraut by adding Korean-style crushed red pepper with each layer of shredded cabbage.

After getting the cabbage to the level they wanted, Gasker placed some of the outer leaves trimmed from the heads on top of the shreds and put a weight on top of that. Gasker explained that many things can be used as weights: rocks, plates, wood and even a freezer bag filled with water.

The fermentation time depends on different factors, the most significant being temperature. Gasker’s crocks will be placed in his basement covered with a plastic bag, just to protect it from the environment.

They figure they will have sauerkraut in about six weeks, but explained that the kraut will get more sour the longer it sits. Once at the perfect stage, they will can or freeze it to be used by themselves, or to be given as gifts.