Sauerkraut is one of the most well - known fermented foods out there . It is a staple of many cultures all over the world . When people narrate me they do n’t like sauerkraut , they are most often consult to the mushy jarred stuff notice at the grocery storage ..
That is not at all what impertinent homemade sauerkraut is like .
I ’ve converted hundreds of mass into kraut lovers by giving them a gustatory sensation of the material sauerkraut and I recommend that , if you ’ve never tried it , you make a batch and see for yourself .
Yield : 2 quart jars
Ingredients
Read more : Want to begin ferment ? These are the top five items you ’ll ask .
Directions
off the out farewell from the cabbage and throwing away . Wash the kale with cold pee . Cut each pass in half lengthwise and slay the marrow from each half .
Shred the cabbage into thinly sliced shreds , about 1/8 inch thick . you may also use a mandolin or kale shredder for this step if you have one . endeavor to keep the shreds uniform in size so that it ferments equally .
Collect shreds in a nonreactive bowl , such as glass , plastic or solid stainless sword . Once all cabbage is shredded , mix in the salt . employ clean hands ( nail gloss and jewelry removed , or wear food for thought safe gloves ) to mix the salt with the shredded cabbage , squeeze and mashing with your fists to tender the sugar .
you could also use a wooden tamping tool for this outgrowth . But be intentional about not over mashing the tag end or it will ferment into a mushy ferment .
Massage the cabbage until you may pick up a smattering and wring liquid from your clenched fist . Once melted accumulates , you could transplant the cultivated cabbage shreds into a clean quart jounce . Leave 1 to 2 inches of headspace ( room from the gelt to the rim of the jounce ) .
practice your fist or cabbage tamp to tightly fill the jar . pullulate in any excess liquid from the bowl in the jar as well . This liquid is the brine that the sauerkraut will ferment in .
Once the jolt are filled , there should be enough brine to cover the smidgin . If there is not enough liquid , check again in the dayspring . More often than not , there will be enough .
You will need some sorting of weight to keep the Brassica oleracea push under the brine . Keeping the rag deluge under the brine is the key to a successful ferment . There are weights specifically made to fit jolt , but you could also get creative — see the notes surgical incision below on alternate option .
Wipe off the rim of the jar with a clean dampened towel and add the canning shock lid . Tightly screw on the ring .
Fermentation
This is a longer ferment , ranging from two to six workweek . The temperature in the blank space where you are work in with decide how long it takes . The warmer a room , the quicker it will ferment .
Ideally ferment between 60 - 75 degrees F ( 15 - 23 degree degree centigrade ) and keep out of lineal sunshine .
Burp the jar day by day , specially at first when the fermenting is very active . Unscrew the palpebra shortly , and tighten it back on to allow any build - up natural gas to release .
At least once per twenty-four hours , you ’ll have to use a clean utensil to advertise down the free weight and submerge the cabbage again . scoop out aside any pieces of food float on top of the seawater to head off mold .
Taste test the zymolysis after week two . If it still savor of naked as a jaybird cabbage , take into account it to ferment another hebdomad and taste again . Some people favour a very sour and soft sauerkraut and therefore will work nearer to the six week range .
Once fermentation is double-dyed to your taste , transfer the jar into the icebox , with the brine and all .
Fermentation does not discontinue once the ferment is transfer to the icebox . However it does slow down the process right smart down . The mouthful and grain will cover to transfer , therefore it ’s advantageously delight ideally within six months .
We enjoy sauerkraut with many repast in our household . View it as a finished vegetable side dish that can be added to a variety of meal . It ’s not just for bratwursts and porkchop .
show more : Check out this formula for simple fermented sour dill weed pickles .
Notes
If you do not have a glass jar weight , you may improvize by using an easily obliterable small food - grade glass smasher that fits inside the jar . Or , if you have a smaller glass canning jarful that can fit into the mouth of the jar you are ferment with , you’re able to use that to keep the garden truck pushed under the brine .
You may stand in fine ocean common salt alternatively of common kosher Strategic Arms Limitation Talks if you prefer . confer a table salt transition chart .
Consider exchange one head word of cherry-red cabbage for one of the unripened unity to make a beautiful pink Boche !
require foam - corresponding bubbling , at least in the first workweek of this zymosis . It ’s completely normal .
This recipe has been conform fromCan It & Ferment It(expanded 2020 edition ) with license from Skyhorse Publishing , Inc. For more sauerkraut recipes , crack out WECK Small - Batch Preserving , and WECK Home Preserving by Stephanie Thurow .
