Description
Make amazing sauerkraut at home that’s crunchy, perfectly tangy + full of beneficial bacteria. Step by step tutorial. So easy.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds cabbage
- 3 tsp salt
Instructions
- Discard very outer layer of cabbage. Reserve one whole clean leaf of cabbage to cover your sauerkraut with later. Thinly shred or slice cabbage.
- Add the salt and gently mix with a wooden spoon.
- Fill a wide mouth 1/2 gallon jar with the salted cabbage, pressing firmly with your very clean fist as you go to remove any air pockets and to release the water in the cabbage. It may seem like 3 pounds of shredded cabbage won’t fit into the jar. Just keep pressing.
- Once the cabbage is tightly in the jar, place your reserved whole cabbage leaf on top of the shredded cabbage and place a glass fermentation weight on top to keep the cabbage down. Seal jar with fermentation lock, cover jar with clean tea towel, and allow to sit overnight.
- The next day, press down cabbage once again with a wooden spoon so that all of the cabbage is covered in brine (see below if there is not enough brine.) Place the glass weight back on top and reseal jar with fermentation lid or airlock. Cover with clean tea towel and place into a dark spot. Ferment at room temperature until done to your liking, at least 2 weeks.
- Store sauerkraut in fridge in an airtight glass jar. Will stay good for up to 6 months to 1 year.
Notes
This recipe is easy to halve or to double. Simply use 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of cabbage.
I like to use my food processor with the slicing blade to shred cabbage. You can also slice it with a sharp knife or mandolin. I don’t recommend grating the cabbage as it makes it too small and can lead to soggy sauerkraut.
I don’t work or massage the cabbage with my hands because I find it bruises the cabbage and can make for soggy kraut.
If there is not enough brine to cover all of the cabbage, you can add a 2% brine on top. Make a 2% brine by mixing 9.6 grams of salt in 2 cups of water (which is about 1 and 1/2 tsp of salt.)
Cover your fermentation vessels to block out UV light because light destroys lactic acid bacteria. Simple wrap a towel around the vessel, making sure to leave the airlock uncovered.