It’s surprisingly easy to make sauerkraut. Plus, it’s super cheap. All you need is a green cabbage, some salt, and sometimes water.
Well, and a bit of patience.
Slice the cabbage. Add the salt, then “knead” until the cabbage has gotten soft.
Put into cleaned mason jars, leaving space at the top. Pack down. Cover with bits of the outer cabbage leaf to keep cabbage from floating (it will make its own fermentation water. If there’s not enough to cover all the cabbage in about 48 hours, add a bit more water so it does). Cover the top with cheesecloth. Put in a cool place, and wait for it to ferment…
For about a month (!) or until you are happy with the smell and taste of it. Technically, you can eat it at any time, from right after you made it, to a few days or weeks in, or even longer than a month. But we found that it really tasted like sauerkraut for us at 1 month.
After you’re happy with the sauerkraut, move it into the cellar or the fridge to keep it (and keep it from continuing to ferment).
- 1 large green cabbage
- 1½ tbsp salt
- some water, if necessary
- clean mason jars (wash right before using) + cheesecloth
- slice your cabbage thinly. Put in a bowl with the salt and "knead" until soft. Pack into clean mason jars, leaving some space at the top. Cover the cabbage with a piece of the outer cabbage leaf, to keep all the cabbage underneath packed down. Cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth.
- After 48 hours, check to make sure if the fermentation water the cabbage has made by itself is enough to cover all the cabbage in the jar. If not, cover with more water till the water level is above all the cabbage.
- Leave in a cool place for about a month, until you are happy with how it smells and tastes.
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