How To Make Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is incredibly simple to make it absolutely packed with beneficial nutrition, not only does it contain loads of vitamin C it also is packed full of beneficial bacteria which are incredible for your digestive health. Its often the best place to start when in comes to fermenting foods because you need very little ingredients or equipment. All you need is cabbage, salt and jars, plus a large bowl to make it in.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium green cabbage 1 1/2 tablespoons himalayan salt Optional - 1 tablespoons caraway seeds/fennel

SERVES: 2

How is Sauerkraut Fermented?

Sauerkraut is made by a process called lacto-fermentation. On the outside of the cabbage there is beneficial bacteria, all vegetables and fruit have this. Lactobacillus is the main bacteria and when submerged in a brine, an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment is created and the bacteria begin to convert sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid; this is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria, its natures antiseptic.

How Long Does It Take To Make Sauerkraut?

For a basic fermented vegetable the minimum time is about three days, though traditional kraut is left for 14-21 days or even up to 48. It will continue to ferment over this time and the best way to know if your sauerkraut is ready is to taste it and see if it is ready for your taste buds. It is naturally preserving itself so the sauerkraut is safe to eat at every stage of the process.

Instructions

Start by taking off the out wilted leaves of the cabbage. Then put aside a couple of large leaves to use at the end when jarring..
Slice the cabbage into fine pieces and place in a large bowl with salt.
Then using your hands start to massage the cabbage. Keep massaging and crushing it. It will start to become limp and watery over time. Typically 5-10 minutes
If you want to add flavour to it now you can. Fennel seeds or caraway seeds are ideal.
Pack the cabbage into the jar. Be sure to press down really firmly so that you are pushing liquid to the top to cover the cabbage.
Once the jar is full, use the outer leaves of the cabbage onto to push the shredded cabbage down under liquid. Then cover.
Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days in a room temperature space out of sunlight. Be sure to place the jars in a dish to catch any overflowing liquid with the fermentation process.
After fermented store in a cool space ideally the fridge.

Notes

The flip top jars that I used don’t have tight lids, so these are perfect while fermenting to allow any over flow of liquid to come out. If you have jars with screw top lids, don’t do them up to tight, and just release them each day, you can also each day press down the cabbage to ensure it is still under liquid when you release them. Alternatively you can cover with cheese cloth.

Want to know more?

Inside the Online Gym I have complete webinar videos on how to make Sauerkraut, I take you through step by step what to do and how to do it. I also go into much more detail about why fermented foods are so good for you. Not only do I have it on sauerkraut, I also have videos on how to make fermented vegetables, how to make kombucha and how to make kimchee.

Join the online gym today and get access to weekly webinars, workouts, nutrition information and so much more!