Welcome to the wonderful world of brine and fermentation!
Several years ago, I became a fermentation convert. (Though I admit that I have enjoyed my favorite ferment — WINE — most of my adult life…)
Before I started learning and making my own ferments, I was not a big fan of the fermented foods I had tried — including sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles. Soon I realized that most of those commercially available foods were not the product of true fermentation, which may be why I didn’t really like the taste.
The process of fermentation has a centuries old history across many cultures and has several health benefits. After much reading and learning, I started making my own ferments and fell in love with the process and product.
Open my fridge or cabinet, and you are guaranteed to find at least one ferment. They can definitely be a healthy addition to all nutrition plans.
Fermentation — Sauerkraut
Slice. Salt. Squeeze. Squash.
For those of you interested in an excellent in-depth read about fermentation, I recommend Sandor Katz’s book The Art of Fermentation. For the best “how to” book I’ve come across, I recommend Fermented Vegetables by Kirsten & Christopher Shockey.
Below is a step-by-step guide to make delicious and nourishing basic sauerkraut. Yield = 1/2 gallon mason jar.
PREP
A solid surface and block of time. It usually takes me about 1 to 1.5 hours from start to finish to make my sauerkraut. So line up your favorite playlist or podcast before you start chopping!!
INGREDIENTS
1. Cabbage! 1 to 2 heads of any color.
- You want 5 to 6 pounds total to fill approximately one 1/2 gallon mason jar.
- Remove outer brown layers and discard. Then remove 1-2 of the next layers and keep for later.
- Rinse the cabbage head.
2. Salt. About 1 tablespoon per 3 pounds of cabbage.
- Any basic salt will work, but I like to use the most natural and least processed one that has minerals. Salt draws the liquid out of the cabbage.
EQUIPMENT
1. Mason jar: wide mouth 1/2 gallon jar with lid.
2. Cutting board.
3. Chef’s knife. A sharper knife will make cutting easier.
4. Large mixing bowl.
- Optional: Tamper (also called pounder). This helps tightly pack in the cabbage, but isn’t necessary. For the first year I just used my hand or items found around my kitchen. Now I have been really happy with this bamboo one.
- Optional: Fermenting lids. These also aren’t necessary, but can be helpful. I didn’t use them at the beginning. These special lids have are one way airlock with a central nipple that lets the carbon dioxide escape. I have enjoyed using these colorful ones.
DIRECTIONS
1. Slice the cabbage.
The goal is for thin slices a bit smaller than 1/4 inch.
- Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise through the core.
- Cut out the core on each half with a triangle.
- Place the flat side down and thinly slice the entire half of the cabbage.
- Place shredded cabbage in bowl as you go, while adding salt (see below).
- Here is a good video demonstrating how to slice cabbage.
2. Add the salt.
About 1.5 to 2 tbsp total for 5 to 6 pounds of cabbage.
- After each layer of shredded cabbage is placed in the bowl, add a sprinkle of salt on top.
- Continue layering like this until all the cabbage and salt are used.
- Taste as you go! The cabbage should taste pleasantly salty — not too much or too little. Just enough to make you want to eat it as it is.
- The best part is that you can adjust as you go! If it’s too salty, add less to the next layers. If it’s not salty enough, just add more.
3. Massage the cabbage.
Yes, it’s exactly as it sounds! The key to sauerkraut is to pull the liquid out of the cabbage. Then, the cabbage ferments in that liquid.
- Get your hands in the bowl and start squeezing the cabbage.
- After about 5-10 minutes, the cabbage should be getting limp and start glistening with liquid.
- After massaging, if you don’t notice the cabbage glistening or some liquid collecting at the bottom of the bowl, let the cabbage sit for 45-60 minutes. This gives the salt more time to pull liquid out of the cabbage.
4. Pack the cabbage.
Once you have the cabbage glistening with liquid, it’s time to start packing it into the mason jar.
- Take a handful of cabbage at a time, and press it (hard) into the bottom of the mason jar. You can use your hand, a household item, or a reusable tamper.
- Keep adding handfuls of cabbage to the jar, pushing down hard between each layer, letting the liquid rise to the top.
- The goal is to get rid of all the air, and keep the cabbage underneath its liquid.
5. Cover the cabbage.
Once the cabbage level is right below the jar opening, take the saved outer leaf from the beginning, and cover the cabbage. The cabbage should be completely submerged under liquid.
- Push the leaf down and around the edges of the chopped cabbage, covering it all.
- The liquid should rise above the leaf, ensuring that the loose cabbage below is all submerged in liquid. (*If there is no liquid at this point, see trouble-shooting below)
- The photo below shows how the leaf covers the loose cabbage and has the liquid on top.
- You can leave the cabbage open like this and just cover it with a towel. I like to use the silicone fermenting lids that have a hole to allow the carbon dioxide to escape.
IMPORTANT: Do not cover with an air tight lid! Carbon dioxide is released and needs a way to escape. If the lid is too tight, the bottle may explode…
5. Wait for the deliciousness!
Now you wait. In my experience, the minimum time is at least 3 days, and sometimes up to 6 days. The longer you wait, the more sour tasting the product.
- I store my bottles on a baking sheet in a corner of my kitchen, a relatively cool place. The warmer the temperature, the faster fermentation happens.
- Since liquid and gas will be produced, it may overflow from the jars. For this reason, I keep the mason jars on a baking sheet. Sometimes there is a lot of liquid to clean up!
- After about 3 days, you can start tasting the sauerkraut to see if it’s fermented enough for your liking.
- When it’s ready, I like to keep it in the fridge which essentially halts further fermentation. And then it lasts me for weeks or months!
ENJOY YOUR SAUERKRAUT!!
TROUBLESHOOTING
1. There’s not enough liquid covering the cabbage!
- Make sure you are adding enough salt when you slice the cabbage. It should taste pleasantly salty.
- Let the salted cabbage sit for an additional hour before packing it.
- Make sure to push the cabbage down hard as you pack it into the mason jar.
- When the cabbage is packed, wait a day to see if additional fluid develops. If there is still not enough covering the cabbage, you can add a little bit of non-chlorinated water. (Some fermenting gurus advise not to add any water, but I have had to occasionally and the process still worked).
2. Something gross is growing on the cabbage!
- If anything is growing on your cabbage, it likely means that the cabbage was not under liquid the whole time. When this happens, molds and other unwanted organisms can grow. You’ll have to throw away any cabbage that was affected.
- Make sure that anything you are fermenting is under liquid the whole time!