Making homemade sauerkraut is easy, economical and delicious!
Note: Takes 1-4 weeks to ferment.
By Erica Kastner of Buttered Side Up.
Preparation:
To cook:
Level: Easy
Serves: 16
Ingredients
- 2-½ pounds head of cabbage
- 3-¾ teaspoons 5 teaspoons of salt, or about 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons per pound of cabbage
Preparation
Weigh your cabbage to see how much salt you need to use.
Remove the outer leaves of your cabbage and any that are damaged. To throw. Cut the core and rinse the cabbage well, letting the water run between the cabbage leaves. Drain well.
Reserve 1 outer leaf. Finely grate the remaining cabbage with a knife or food processor. Place in a large bowl. Sprinkle the calculated amount of salt on the cabbage and mix well. Let stand 15 minutes.
Massage the cabbage with your hands for 5 minutes. The cabbage should release a good amount of liquid during this time.
Pack the cabbage tightly in a very clean glass jar. Pour over the liquid that has emerged during kneading. Cut a circle the same diameter as your jar in the reserved cabbage leaf. Place it over the packed cabbage. Place a weight on the cabbage to make sure it stays under the brine. If the brine does not completely cover the cabbage and weight, top up with a 2% salt water solution (1 teaspoon of salt per cup of water).
Screw a plastic lid onto the jar. Place the jar in a rimmed saucepan (to catch any spillovers) and let ferment at room temperature until the kraut is as tart as you like it. It may take 1 to 4 weeks.
Once fermentation is complete, store the sauerkraut in the refrigerator.
