There are a variety of different ways of making sauerkraut, but these are the basic steps:
- Select your veges, wash and, if necessary, peel them
- Chop them - with a knife, grater or in a food processor
- Add sea salt and give them a good squeeze with your hands, or pound with a heavy object, such as a bottle filled with water. You need to get lots of juice out.
- Pack into the container you're going to ferment in, either a large bowl, with a plate on top, or directly in a jar. Make sure the veges are covered with the juice.
- Ferment at room temperature till the sauerkraut is slightly sour
- Store in the fridge - it will keep for ages
Following are three different recipes you can try (remembering at each step there are different ways of doing it, that all work fine). My next post will be a recipe for fermented cabbage juice.
Recipe One:
Recipe Two: Libby's sauerkraut
- Take a large "white cabbage". Cut off the outside green leaves until you have clean leaves. Wash the leaves you cut off and save them.
- Using a knife, or food processor, cut the cabbage into quarters and slice the cabbage quarters fairly finely [3-2mm slices] into four heaps.
- Optional extra: For each quarter, take about three good sized carrots, about the bulk size of one third of each quarter. Peel the carrots, and shred them into four piles, slightly finer pieces than the cabbage.
- Take a large enamel or plastic bucket or stew pot or similar. DO NOT USE METAL CONTAINERS.
- Place half of the washed cabbage leaves on the bottom of the container.
- Mix in another bowl one quarter of the cut cabbage with its share of shredded carrot. Add some salt, mix in about one level tablespoon per large quarter of cabbage to start with [then use more or less next time to taste]. Use more if you want to use sea salt.
- Place the mix of cabbage, carrot and salt into the container and repeat until all is mixed. As you place the mix in the container, squeeze it as strongly as you reasonably can to draw out any liquid.
- Place the rest of the cabbage leaves on top of the mix to finish.
- Place an ice cream container or similar on top of the leaves, filled with water [NO WATER IN THE CABBAGE MIX, THE WATER GOES IN THE CONTAINER TO MAKE A WEIGHT]. We use an old plate upside down on top of the cabbage leaves to ensure good cover and spread of pressure, and then put the weight on the plate.
- Leave for three or four days, then take off the weight and top leaves, turn over the mix and re-lay the leaves and weight. Sometimes under the weight liquid will rise over the leaves, simply stir it back in when you stir the mix. The product should be finished to eat in about six-eight days. (Note: in colder weather this can take up to 3 weeks)
- When tasting tells you the sauerkraut is ready, take it out of the container and store it in the fridge in any sealed container you want to use.
Recipe Three: Kimchi
Our friend Evan makes his own kimchi, which is a Korean fermented cabbage and is more spicy than sauerkraut. He tells us the best recipe is Ultimate Kimchi.
