Sauerkraut Recipe

How to make it

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• 1. Bring the water to a boil & add about 4 Tbs of the salt.
• 2. Stir and remove from the heat to let cool.
• 3. In the meantime, We’ll work with about 4lbs (2kg) of the cabbage at a time so take a couple heads and remove & discard the outer leaves then quarter them & remove the core.
• 4. Rinse under cold running water and slice about as thick as a quarter.
• 5. Thoroughly wash & dry your container.
• 6. Place the sliced cabbage and 3Tbs of the salt in it and mix thoroughly with your hands.
• 7. Now press it down firmly, using your fists or a pestle; to bring the liquid out of the cabbage See Photo. Let sit for 15 minutes.
• 8. While this is going on, proof a packet of yeast and slice the next 4lb batch of cabbage.
• 9. Repeat steps 6 & 7 for the rest of the cabbage.
• 10. If your yeast proofed okay add it to the three quarts of water, which should be cool by now. Stir. The yeast is optional and fermentation will occur without it but adding the yeast speeds this up a fair bit. Do not use too much yeast you you’ll have yeasty tasting kraut.
• 11. When you have all the cabbage in your container, mixed & pressed down firmly; add enough of the cooled brine to cover by at least 1 inch (2.5cm). See Photo
• 12. Press down a bit on the cabbage to agitate.
• 13. Find a plate or platter that just fits in your container and use this and a weight to hold the cabbage completely under the brine. I use a river stone that I have scrubbed good and then rinsed in boiling water but a good size re-sealable bag, filled with brine solution, works See Photo. It is very important that the cabbage is completely submerged at all times.
• 14. Cover the container with a clean cloth of some sort and store in the cellar, or other cool place; 65 to 75 degrees F (18-24 degrees C).
• 15. Fermentation will take from three to five weeks; depending on the temperature where it’s stored; the colder the longer.
• 16. Check the kraut at least twice a week & skim off the froth that accumulates on top. Wash the plate and replace it and the weight & re-cover. When bubbles quit rising to the surface fermentation id finished & the kraut is ready.
• 17. If the brine solution is right and fermentation has gone well the kraut should not spoil just as is, unless you introduce some bad stuff. Always us very clean utensils with the kraut. If it spoils you’ll know it. It will turn soft and gooey and smell really bad.
• 18. If you want to refrigerate it I recommend using re-sealable bags but jars work. Make sure the kraut is always submerged in the fermented brine.
• 19. Properly stored the kraut will last months. After all, that’s what sauerkraut is all about.
• Reward yourself. Take out a bit of the finished kraut, rinse and drain it and have a munch.