An easy traditional sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) recipe
How to Make Sauerkraut
An easy traditional sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) recipe
Equipment
- 1 x Large jar fitted with airlock (for lacto fermentation) to allow CO2 to escape without letting oxygen to get in (4 litre Fido jar in this example)
Ingredients
- 1 1 x Large jar fitted with airlock
- 1 or 2 cabbages
- qty fine sea or pickling salt
Instructions
- Cut the cabbage finely – I do this with a large sharp kitchen knife, first by cutting the cabbage in half to remove the hard stem from the base, then slicing as thinly as possible.
- Fill the bottle or jar about 1/4 full of cabbage.
- Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt onto the cabbage then using your fist (or a wooden bruising implement) push it down and work it until the water comes out and over the bruised cabbage – this takes some time, so be patient!
- Keep repeating the above step until the jar is full (or you run out of cabbage). You should end up doing this about 4-6 times and finish with the cabbage submerged in it's own juice/water.
- Weigh the cabbage down with something (such as a small saucer or glass weight, or a cabbage leaf folded over and squished into the top of the vessel so the shredded cabbage stays UNDER the juice.
- Leave it to ferment on a kitchen bench or in a cupboard for about 2-3 days then start tasting – the fermentation process also eats salt so as it ferments it should actually get less salty. Fermentation should take between 3 – 30 days (usually about 2 weeks).
- Keep tasting until it is to your liking and once you are happy place it in the fridge to slow the fermentation process down.
Video
Notes
That’s all there is to it!
If the mix in the bottle starts to dry out or simply needs more liquid to keep the cabbage under, top up the liquid with a brine mix of 1 x tablespoon of fine sea salt per cup of water.
To slow the fermentation process down (once made) store the sauerkraut in the fridge.
Sauerkraut will keep for about a year in the fridge; however, I have kept Sauerkraut for almost 2 years and it was still excellent to eat. If the Sauerkraut goes mouldy or smells horrible then do not consume as it has most likely gone rancid.
You can also re-bottle the sauerkraut into smaller jars to keep or give away- check out the video for how to re-bottle and extra information.
The fermenting process does NOT need to be done in a dark place – that is a myth.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
