How To Make Sauerkraut
Man oh man, was I ever missing out! Since I popped the top of my first jar of homemade kraut several months ago, I’ve been pretty much obsessed with it. I’ve literally started craving it, and found myself sneaking bowlfuls here and there throughout the day. Even four-year old Prairie Girl developed an affinity for it, and she actually had a full melt-down one day at lunch when I announced we were out.
Considering the probiotic prowess of kraut, I have a hunch our bodies are trying to tell us something. And I’m happy to oblige! Keep in mind that in order to reap the health benefits and amazing probiotics of sauerkraut, it needs to be raw. Unfortunately, the canned, cooked, storebought varies will not have the same benefits, since heat destroys most of the beneficial bacteria and enzymes. Wash the cabbage and remove any wilted outer leaves. Quarter the cabbage, remove the core, and slice the cabbage into thin strips (I shoot for around 1/4″ wide).
Try to make the strips as uniform as possible, but don’t feel like they have to be perfect. Place the strips in a large bowl, and sprinkle the sea salt over the top. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so, and then start mashing. There isn’t a right or wrong way to do this- just use your hands, a mallet, or whatever blunt object you can find to mash/knead/twist/press/crush the cabbage.
The goal is to start the juices flowing. I mash/knead for about 8-10 minutes. Hopefully by the end of this process, you’ll have a lovely pool of salty cabbage juice sitting in the bottom of your bowl. Place a couple handfuls of cabbage into the jar, then thoroughly pack down with a wooden spoon. The goal is to eliminate as many air bubbles as possible. Repeat the packing and mashing until the jar is full- just make sure to leave about 2″ at the top.
If there is enough liquid flowing from your cabbage to cover it completely, congrats! If not, make a 2% brine solution to fill up the rest of the jar. Dissolve 1 tablespoon fine sea salt in 4 cups non-chlorinated water. If you don’t use all of the brine for this recipe, it will keep indefinitely in the fridge. The finer the salt, the less stirring you must to do to dissolve. Cover the exposed cabbage with brine, leaving 1″ of headspace at the top.
If you are having troubles with the cabbage floating to the top, you can weigh it down with a glass weight, OR even wedge a piece of the cabbage core on top to hold it down. Any cabbage that is exposed will need to be thrown away, but you were going to toss the core anyway, so it’s no big loss. Affix a lid to the jar (fingertight only), and set aside in a room-temperature location, out of direct sunlight, for at least one week.
You’ll probably want to place a small dish or tray under the jar, as they have the tendency to leak a bit and spill over. Also, removing the lid after a day or so to “burp” the jar and release any pent-up gasses is also a smart idea. Taste and smell your kraut after one week.
If it’s tangy enough, move to the refrigerator for storage. If you like a bit more tang, simply allow to ferment for a bit longer. I’ve had a few commenters say their sauerkraut either was too salty or not salty enough. This is a part of the learning curve of making homemade kraut, and the more batches you make, the better you’ll get at adjusting the salt levels.
If in doubt, start with slightly less salt than called for- you can always add more. A good way to start training your taste buds to the proper salt levels is to make the brine listed above and taste it. That is what the proper salt levels should be of your cabbage strips when you initially start mashing them. Taste-testing is also important as not all salts contain the same level of saltiness.
