Homemade sauerkraut, in all its funky humility, is a favorite food in our home – particularly in wintertime when fresh, local produce is a rare treat and we rely on what we’ve put by over the summer and autumn months. For us, this means lots of fermented foods and sauerkraut in particular.
We grow cabbage in our tiny plot in the community garden, and I’ve a preference for the more whimsical heirloom varieties – Wakefield cabbages with their conical heads and Shoshudori cabbages with their wide and flat ones. I love the crinkled Savoys and the brilliant hue of Mammoth Red Rocks. Cabbages are lovely things, indeed. While these varieties aren’t found in most garden supply centers, you can typically can find them online (see sources) or from seed saving enthusiasts. They grow well at high altitude where frost lingers until mid-June and begins to threaten gardens again in late August.
So, when the time comes, we harvest ours and peel back the rough outer leaves that blanket the tender heads, core them, shred them fine, salt them and let them sour on the countertop for weeks and sometimes months until they acquire the requisite funk that only true fermented foods enthusiasts love, and that – cabbage, salt and time – is all you need for a truly wonderful homemade sauerkraut. We serve our sauerkraut throughout winter, with sausages and preserved meats in choucroute garnie, on its own or dropped by the spoonful into bowls of steaming lentil stew - welcome nourishment for cold and dark days. Of course, planning for homemade sauerkraut takes time – it’s something you start now in late summer and in autumn that will nourish your family until spring.
Homemade Sauerkraut: Optimal Nourishment for Dark Days
Homemade sauerkraut takes time – a week for the impatient and months for those who love their sauerkraut with the same fervor that an oenophile devotes to wine. Originally, the production of sauerkraut served the primary purpose of preserving the harvest into the winter when food was scarce and hunger a true threat. Sauerkraut is a peasant food, humble, disparaged, but truly lovely when produced with tenderness and the passion only a true real food lover can provide.
So while European peasants preserved their cabbage with salt in an effort to keep hunger away during the dark months, their method of preservation fulfilled another need: that of optimal nourishment. The process of lactic acid fermentation used to transform salt and cabbage into sauerkraut increases vitamins, particularly vitamin C and B vitamins, and food enzymes. Moreover, homemade sauerkraut is also extraordinarily rich in beneficial bacteria – friendly microorganisms which help to colonize the gut, train the immune system and manufacture vitamins in the digestive tract. In winter, when colds and flus make their rounds, homemade fermented foods which provide plenty of vitamins, food enzymes and beneficial bacteria coupled with fermented cod liver oil (see sources).
Finding the Right Crock for Your Homemade Sauerkraut
If you’re like me, you began fermenting foods like homemade sauerkraut in mason jars for want of something better – and while mason jars work fine for small quantities of fermented foods, they’re not optimally suited to fermentation. Fermentation is an anaerobic process and when fermented foods are exposed to air, as they often are when fermented in open crocks and mason jars, they run a very real risk of being contaminated by stray microbes, yeasts and molds. Creating a true anaerobic environment by using the right crock or fermentation device results in better sauerkraut, less contamination and fewer failed batches. So if you’re committed to preparing fermented foods for your family: either as a method of old-world food preservation or for their health benefits, investing in a good crock is essential.
You can typically find fermentation crocks online (see sources) – some are glass jars fitted with airlocks which helps to maintain that anaerobic environment essential to proper fermentation; others are traditional ceramic or stoneware crocks equipped with a heavy weight (to keep fermenting foods completely submerged in brine, thus creating an anaerobic environment) and a lid. Both function well though the traditional ceramic and stoneware crocks typically have a larger capacity than glass fermenting jars equipped with airlocks.
Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe
cabbage, salt, time
Ingredients:
- 2 medium heads cabbage (about 4 to 5 total pounds), cored and finely shredded
- 2 tablespoons unrefined sea salt (see sources)
Equipment:
- large mixing bowl
- sauerkraut crock or vegetable fermenter (see sources)
- wooden spoon or dowel
Method:
- Toss cabbage and salt together in a large mixing bowl and begin to squeeze the cabbage and salt together with your hands, kneading it thoroughly to break up the cellular structure of the shredded cabbage.
- When the cabbage has become limp and released its juice, transfer it to a sauerkraut crock or vegetable fermenter (see sources). Pack the salted cabbage into the crock or fermenter as tightly as you can, eliminating air bubbles. Continue packing the cabbage into the container until it is completely submerged by liquid. Cover loosely and allow it to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for at least seven days and up to three or four weeks, testing the sauerkraut every few days until it is done to your liking. Transfer to the refrigerator or other cold storage where it should keep for at least six months.
hey thanks for this but I wanted to check, is the fermentation device you recommend in the last line GLASS? It doesnt seem to say it in the link….
Sarena Kopciels last blog post..Thursday Thanksgiving….
I LOVE that fermentation device. It is a glass jar but the lids are plastic. We rely on ours fairly heavily.
I have a question–I made sauerkraut per these directions, however when I tasted it after a couple days, the brine tasted VERY salty. Would it be OK to add a little water to make it less salty?
I find once it goes sour, the salty taste diminishes. I always worry thinking I’ve over done it with the salt but it usually turns out fine in the end.
You could dilute the brine if it is too salty. Or you could just let it ferment and see what happens. I think the sour taste will counteract the salty taste.
Do you have to sterilize the equipment before use? Nothing is said about this. Many years ago I attempted to make sauerkraut from a recipe in a microbiology lab manual with my high school biology students. Unfortunately it all got contaminated and was a failure. Our cottage chees however was a success.
Rosie – That’s a good question. No, I never sterilize my equipment. I do keep everything clean of course, but I never sterilize. I’ve also never had a problem either.
FYI, the photo link on this recipe appears to be broken. It doesn’t show on the web page I pulled up, and when I tried to open it separately, I got an error page.
Thanks for the heads up on the broken link! I’ll try to fix that tonight. I used to have Nourished Kitchen set up differently and when I combined both the recipes and the posts, I lost some images.
Take Care and Thanks -
Jenny
My husband and I just made 2 10 gallon crocks of sauerkraut. It has been fermenting for about 4 weeks. I checked it the other day and find it too salty. Is there anyway we can correct this? When we process it we just put it in freezer bags.
Thanks for your help.
Judy -
If your sauerkraut is too salty, you can desalinate it to some degree by soaking it in filtered water for an hour or so before serving it. That will help to leach the salt from the cabbage. I have done this with pickles to no ill effects but have not tried it with sauerkraut. You might want to use a salad spinner to remove the excess water from the kraut.
Hope that helps!
- Jenny
I remember my mother always rinsed the sauerkraut before heating/serving it. Though I never asked, I’m going to guess it was to reduce the saltiness. The flavor was always fine after the rinse.
My homemade sauerkraut is turning grey on the top layer. I am puzzled since it has been in the refrigerator only short. I took off the top layer, but it continues to turn grey. What’s going on?
This has happened to some of mine too. I don’t know what this means -is it still safe to eat?
I didn’t know that you could make sauerkraut without using whey? Anyone know if there are any benefits to using whey?
Beth -
You can prepare most fermented foods without a starter culture. Whey helps to speed up the fermentation process by inocculating the vegetables with lactic acid producing bacteria instead of relying on wild bacteria naturally present in the air, on our skin and on the vegetables themselves. Personally, I prefer the flavor of a slow, wild ferment.
- Jenny
Hi
I am from Norway and we have a traditional dish very similar to sauerkraut ( it´s called the same in Norwegian), but it is cooked not fermented. We also use caraway seeds in it.
I have never made fermented sauerkraut before, but would like to try. Can I add the caraway seeds, you think? Our sauerkraut has a sweet/sour taste to it+ the caraway seed flavor..:) It´s very good, but healthier with the fermentation.
Sauerkraut is delicous with caraway seeds.
Of course you can add caraway seeds. I do the same and also include mustard seeds and garlic cloves. I recently started adding garlic gloves after a friend told me he always drops in between 6 to 8 garlic cloves in to each ferment of sauerkraut. It adds a wonderful garlic flavour to the kraut which is balanced out by the caraway and mustard seeds.
I started some kraut last night, but now I’m a little worried that I added too much water. I did use my food processor(wish I’d seen this post yesterday!!!) so the liquid/solid ratio wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I knew that the cabbage needed to be covered with the liquid so added maybe a cup and a half of water to the mix. I think I have a total of 5 T of whey and 1 T of salt, plus a couple other spices. Will all that water dilute the salt and whey too much? Anything I should watch out for?
I did this several weeks ago and it came out tasting like store bought sauerkraut but better, it has a great crispy texture! I was somewhat surprised because I didn’t weigh the cabbage down with anything and added about a cup of water after layering it with salt and pounding it with a wooden spoon in a large dill pickle jar. I placed the lid on top without screwing it on and left it on my kitchen counter for about 2 weeks. I did have to scrape about a tablespoon of mold off the top a couple of times. I have been eating it on my bean burgers and it definitely makes a great replacement for store-bought pickles! One head of cabbage made about a quart and a half of kraut.
would adding vinegar to the sauerkraut brine stop or otherwise ruin the fermentation process?
I am fermenting in a crock and adding the water to fill the rim. After a week and a half, I awoke this morning to find almost all the water in the rim gone after filling it the evening before. What happened? What should I do? I have refilled it this morning.
You can just use a mason jar for fermentation correct?
Jenny (or anyone) I have a question. How is botulism not a concern in fermenting (in an anaerobic environment)? I have been puzzled by this for a long time. I LOVE sauerkraut and buy it unpasteurized from WF all the time. But, making it at home has me worried about creating botulism poison in the process. I have a beautiful crock from Poland I bought last fall but am too concerned to try it out. Any thoughts on this would be most welcome!!!
The fermentation bacteria produce lactic acid. This lowers the pH and botulism bacteria do not thrive in an acid environment.
Forgot to add; salt also inhibits the botulism bacteria severely. That is why you must add quite a lot of salt and generally be very careful with reducing the amount of salt a recipe calls for.
Inge…thank you for your reply.
Question: How do you shred your cabbage so finely? I seem to remember reading somewhere not to use a food processor and when I try to slice it finely I cannot seem to get it as fine as I would like. Your pictures look perfect.
Look for a slaw/kraut cutter at flea markets or antique stores. They were a a pretty common kitchen ‘appliance’ for german families, so they are all over the place here in the mid-atlantic. They are a flat board, usually maybe 8 in. by 18 in., with three or so diagonal blades. Some have a square sl,iding box that you put the cabbage in. I’m sure Lehmans or someone has to have a new version as well?
I have to say I did a little experiment. I had made sauerkraut and some ginger carrots in mason jars with whey and salt and water. We tried them once after the week or so NT said to let it ferment. It was awful. I didn’t want to throw it out right away though and have the smell in the trash. Nearly 2 years on the counter and 6 months in the fridge later, we decided to give it a try. Tasted great! Gotta love fermentation.
How much does the cabbage variety matter? I’ve never cared for cabbage, much less sauercraut, but I want to give it a try. Would napa cabbage work? What would be the simplest way for those who don’t care for sauercraut to add it to their (our!) diet?
There are some very good recipes that have sauercraut in them, my favorite however is a “German Spaghetti.” Here I make a simple white sauce, add chunks of summer sausage, and sauercraut. I love the taste of sauercraut, so I put in about an even ratio to my pasta, but that may be too strong for some people. But almost any kind of German cooking has sauercraut in the recipes.
I hope this helps!
yum…can’t wait to give the recipe to my husband
The sauerkraut I made this summer turned totally yeasty! I followed a recipe almost identical to this one. Did I do something wrong, or was it just contaminated somehow?
If you didn’t follow this exact recipe, it’d be difficult for me to trouble shoot it. Yeasty ferments are usually caused by cross-contamination or, sometimes, by using kefir whey or kombucha as a starter. Also, if you’re storing your kombucha, water kefir, milk kefir, bread, bread dough, sourdough anywhere near the sauerkraut, there’s the potential for cross-contamination.
If it was identical to this one then it was totally boring. Basic sauerkraut almost always has caraway seeds, at the least. Bavarian kraut has juniper berries, caraway seeds, mustard seeds, etc. I’ve even made kraut with seaweed. However, just fermenting cabbage with no herbs or spices makes for a dull, bland sauerkraut. That’s probably why your kraut turned out bad.
I don’t see link to crock? Which co. on your sources page is the source for such a thing?
I got mine from Cultures for Health. I love it.
I had no idea that you can leave it out for THIS long… Makes a bit more sense after what I tried a couple of weeks ago. I left it out for almost a full week and it didn’t have quite the right consistency.
Thanks Jenny – it was SOO great to meet you at WAPF
It was good to meet you, too, Meagan! The longer the kraut sits, the better it usually becomes.
Can I use my well-washed food-grade plastic beer fermenter for fermenting saurkraut?
I wouldn’t ferment anything in plastic. It’s not a traditional medium for fermentation and there’s some evidence that non-traditional plastic crocks may compromise good fermentation and lead to unwanted contamination by botulism – as happened in Alaska a few years back when natives abandoned their traditional method of fermenting salmon heads and used plastic crocks. While this is terribly unlikely with sauerkraut, I think it’s best to avoid plastic in fermentation.
Thanks Jenny
great looking recipe and I just got mine started. Have clients ready to try this as well. Thanks.
I have two crocks of kraut going on about three weeks.The one crock i used a wood disc of oak wood the other
I used a clean plate to cover the kraut. the one with the wood became dark and off smelling I got as much liquid off as I could and replaced the wood with a plate that seemed to do the trick both crocks were working well and smelling perfect. then today when I checked on it both crocks were dry on the top the kraut smelled rotten and there was a powder blue mold on the plate and the rock we used as a weight. Is the kraut ok. I scraped off about
1/2″ of kruat added some water and covered back up. should I start over or is it ok. I do alot of canning and this proccess is new to me. Help!!!!!!!