Of course you can buy sauerkraut in the store, but commercial offerings of this highly healthy food are so stuffed with chemicals and byproducts they probably cause more cancers and cures. Making sauerkraut at home is incredibly easy and can take as little as 5 days, but depending on your tastes you can ferment up to four weeks. Of course, word of caution, you have to monitor progress by daily burping the fermenting container. Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage filled with probiotics for gut health. The process is called lacto-fermentation and used the cabbage’s natural bacteria to convert sugar to lactic acid. Nutritionists are waking up to the health benefits of fermented foods, such as fermented wheat bread, yogurt, kimchi, and of course wine – not beer because the healthy part of fermented grains get cooked out.
Only two ingredients are required to make sauerkraut; cabbage and salt and rather than give exact amounts, I give you a ratio of salt to cabbage, which is
- 11 grams of salt per 450 grams of cabbage or 2 tsp salt per pound.
The formula for computing how much salt you need for the amount of cabbage you have is:
- Amount of Salt (in grams) = (Cabbage weight in grams * 11) / 450
Note: Use Kosher salt, it doesn’t have added crap like iodine or Himalayan dirt.
You can add optional spices like pepper corns, caraway seeds, juniper berries, shredded carrots, fresh dill, or minced garlic, it’s a personal preference, I like to add caraway seeds and berries from the juniper trees in my yard.
Process
- Remove core from cabbage, unless you want a hot cabbage with some bitterness.
- Peel off one cabbage leaf and set aside.
- Using either a knife, mandolin, or cabbage slicer, cut the cabbage into thin slices
- Mix salt with cabbage in a bowl. Use your hands to toss and massage the cabbage.
- Let cabbage rest ~5 mins then squeeze out the water. Cabbage volume should significantly reduce. Retain the water.
- Put cabbage into a mason jar (or any jar with an air tight seal) and press/pack tightly.
- Add retained water – there should be enough to submerge the cabbage, if not add more.
- Place the retained cabbage leaf on top as a cap to ensure the cut cabbage stays submerged.*
- Place jar in a cool dark place.
- At least once a day, burp the jar: open the lid to allow pressure to escape. You want the cabbage to ferment but not turn into a effervescent mess.**
- Around day five start to sample the sauerkraut, if you like the taste, place jar in fridge and fermentation will stop. If you want more depth or character, keep fermenting until you obtain your desired outcome.
*Note: it is important the cabbage be submerged, otherwise it will mold.
**Note: If you don’t burp the jar, it could explode on opening or even while in the jar and that would be a huge mess. Quickly open a jar store bought kimchi and you will know what I mean.
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