Simple Sauerkraut
Prep Time
15 minutes
Prep Notes
You will need:
1 Very Large Bowl (preferably not plastic)
Kitchen Scales your large bowl will sit on
A good knife
A grater
A few large jars (you can use a fermenting crock or pickling jars but I just use jars with metal lids)
Cooking Time
2-4 weeks (fermenting time)
Ingredients
1 Cabbage (red or white, whatever you prefer)
6 Carrots
5cm of fresh ginger (optional)
3cm of fresh turmeric (optional)
Fresh herbs (I like to use Rosemary)
Himalayan or Sea Salt (the amount will depend on the weight of your other ingredients
***you can add many other ingredients, this is just a basic recipe. You could add onion, apple, beetroot, radish - once you've made it a few times you can start experimenting with other vegetables to see what you like.
Directions
1. Place bowl over kitchen scales and turn it on. You want it to be on zero with the bowl on it.
2. Shred cabbage and add to bowl. Set aside some of the outside leaves and core.
3. Grate carrot or slice, however you prefer it. I like to use the grater but the large grate so you don't have too tiny pieces. Add to bowl.
4. Grate ginger and turmeric and add to bowl.
5. Chop herbs up until very small, add to bowl.
6. Now with the weight of your veg calculate 2% so you know your quantity of salt. So for example, if you have 100g of vegetables you would add 2g of salt. (You will have much more than this).
7. Sprinkle salt over the top of your vegetables and massage through. You will want to do this for about 15 minutes until the water is coming out of the vegetables. I sometimes mix it all though and then leave it to sit while I clean up the kitchen. This gives it time to get some of the water out. You don't want to discard this water. You need it.
8. Squash vegetables into your jars so they're nearly full. When you push the vegetables down you should get liquid coming over the top. Fold one of the cabbage leaves over and squash on top of the veg. With the core you set aside cut a piece big enough that will keep the veg squashed under the liquid once the lid is on. You can also get fermenting weights to do this job or I sometimes use a piece of carrot or a very small glass if it fits.
9. If there is not enough liquid to cover the veg then you can add some juice left from a previous sauerkraut, or mix up a brine with salt and water and top it up.
10. Ensure the lid is on tightly and place in a warm spot for approximately 2-4 weeks (this will vary depending on the temperature).
11. You will know it's ready when it tastes a bit sour and not just salty.
12. Eat a little with every meal. Start with a teaspoon and you can build up to a couple of tablespoons.
Notes
Paleo, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Raw