Classic Sauerkraut

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If you love this recipe, you’ll also love my Lemon Chimichurri condiment!

Ingredients:

2 lbs green cabbage
2 tsp + 1 tsp salt (I used Himalayan salt)
1 cup filtered water

Instructions:

Clean your cabbage well.
Remove the outermost leaves from the head of cabbage, reserving one off to the side.
- The rest can go into your compost pile.
Using your food processor or sharp knife, chop or shred your cabbage into small, bite sized pieces. There is no science to this. It will taste good no matter what!
Add you cabbage to a large bowl.
Sprinkle cabbage with 2 tsp salt.
Using your hands or a large spoon, toss the cabbage with the salt until the cabbage is all coated with the salt.
Let sit for 15-20 minutes on the counter top. This will allow the salt to begin to pull the water from the cabbage leaves.
After the wait time, it’s time to get your hands dirty! Massage and squeeze the cabbage while gently mixing it all around the bowl. Massage continuously for about 5-7 minutes. You should start to see liquid being drawn out and settle at the bottom of the bowl.
Get 2 large, clean, glass jars or containers. (You may need a third if your jars are smaller than mine)
Begin to pack the cabbage into the jars, squeezing to release more liquid into the bowl as you fill the jars.
Once the cabbage is all added to the jars, use your fingers to press down on the cabbage so it is tightly packed.
- THE TOP of the cabbage should be UNDER the neck (curved potion under the thin part where the lid screws on) of the jar.
Take the reserved cabbage, outer cabbage leaf, and tear or cut it into a circle, about the diameter of the jar.
Press it down on top of the shredded cabbage firmly. This will ensure little bits of cabbage do not float to the top and all of the cabbage stays submerged during fermentation.
In the large bowl with the cabbage water, add 1 tsp of salt and 1 cup of water. Whisk to combine and dissolve salt.
Pour the liquid over the cabbage until all of the cabbage is covered with liquid.
Carefully tap the bottom of the jar on the counter to release any bubbles.
If you need additional liquid, mix up another brine (1 tsp salt + 1 cup water) in your bowl and pour over the cabbage to submerge. If this is needed, though, its likely that your cabbage is not packed down tightly enough.
There are glass weights for this process that you may consider using to ensure everything stays under water. I check mine daily and use a sterile glass or wood spoon to push it down as needed. I sterilize the utensil between uses.
Place the lids LOOSELY on top of the jar to allow gases from fermentation to escape. If you tightly close the lid, you will need to ‘burp’ the jar daily – meaning, opening the jar to allow gases to escape, then closing it up again.
Let sit from 1-4 weeks, until you get the desired funkiness!

I order my veggies from Hungry Harvest and get a delivery every other week. Hungry Harvest rescues and saves produce that would otherwise be thrown away and wasted! You can replicate this same recipe with beets, carrots, or greens.

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KRAUT TIP: If you notice the water becomes more cloudy or there is white scum that form on top, this is quite normal. You can skim the white off as you’d like using a glass, wood, or plastic utensil and discard. Black or green mold is not expected and I would discard the entire jar.

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