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.
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I made this two weeks ago but my kraut is still very very salty and not sour at all. I used 1 chinese cabbage head and 1 tablespoon sea salt and packed it into a mason jar since I had nothing else.
What do you use to shred your cabbage? I have been wanting to try this for some time now and have never gotten to it.
I do it the old-fasioned way: sharp knife and a ciutting board.
I made a new batch with 1 head of regular green cabbage and 1 tablespoon salt packed into a large mason jar. The smell is atrocious! The first few days the jar leaked and I had to open it to relieve the pressure, there was a lot of foam. It has calmed down now and smells terrible. The juice tastes very very sour. Am I doing this right!?!?
If it smells like someone let a wicked fart loose in your kitchen, you’re on the right track.
It should taste very sour, but once it achieves the sourness you like, move it to the fridge or it will continue to become more and more sour. Be careful about tightening the lid too much, as the CO2 can build up.
It does sound like the right track then, because that’s exactly what it smells like! I’m soo glad this second batch worked out—I think I used too much salt for that last batch and I read that too much salt will prevent fermentation. Thanks for the feedback!
I love making cultured veggies. Just so great to see you sharing this simple recipe with pictures as well as instructions. Just wondering about the glass jars with the air lock. Can’t seem to find a link to where to purchase them. May you have a great day!
With mine I get lots of air pockets building up throughout. Is this a problem? It pushes up above the brine and I struggle to keep it submerged. Any tips?
Are you using a weight? Make sure to use a weight and also pack your crock *really* tight.
Thanks. I’m struggling to find a weight the right size. I’m not keen on sing a plastic bag. I find that air pockets form inside between the bits of cabbage over the days and push everything up. Are the air pockets ok as long as top of cabbage is still submerged under brine? Thanks for you tips.
I made some cultured saurkraut and could not remove the lid (I used quart glass jars with metal lids). I may have added too much milk whey to the saurkraut. Is it possible it could explode? If so, how should I handle it (call a bomb sqaud or what?).