Eww!!! Sauerkraut? Gross!!
In this article, I will show you how to make sauerkraut.
“Sauerkraut?” “Gross!” At least that’s what most kids say (yes many adults too), Why would it be gross? Could it be the fact that we live in a country where our society is more favorable to only sweet things? While that is true, we as a society do prefer sweet things, did you know that even newborn babies prefer sweet over bitter? Yes, it’s human nature even at birth to prefer sweet things. Now, what does that have to do with sauerkraut being “gross”? Well, sauerkraut is a taste that many people must train themselves to like. Thankfully some people like it just fine with no problem, and some people actually crave the taste of fermented foods, but most people have to actively train themselves to like it. I’m not saying that I crave it or even overly enjoy it, but I have trained myself to eat it and do find it the secret ingredient in some foods. Before I share how to ferment sauerkraut, if you’re not familiar with what fermentation means and the science behind it, I have an article covering just that.
What is Sauerkraut?
Sauerkraut is simply cabbage that has been fermented. Once fermented, this cabbage will have a tangy or soured, but pleasant, flavor. Cabbage can be green or red/purple. They can grow in the round tight heads that we most commonly see in American grocery stores or they can grow more upright like Nappa cabbage.
Fermenting foods is one of the easiest things to do. It only requires just a bit of hands-on time to get it started and it ferments on its own without your help. Patience is the biggest ingredient that you need.
How to Make Sauerkraut Step 1: Preparing the Supplies
Gather your supplies and get everything clean. Just so you know, I do have a video showing how I make our sauerkraut.
You can use red or green cabbage. You can use organic, homegrown, or conventionally grown cabbage, which is non-organic. However, if you can find it and afford it, organic is always a healthier choice as it will not be genetically modified and was not grown with synthetic fertilizers or any pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides sprayed on the plant. (Unfortunately, some organics do contain traces of chemicals, but it won’t be the quantity that is found on conventionally grown produce.)
- you do not need to sterilize all your equipment, you can, but it’s not necessary; just a simple thorough washing in hot soapy water and rinsed well is enough.
- remove and discard any ill looking outer leaves
- wash your hands and under your nails
- rinse the head of cabbage under cool running water and just use your hands to gently rub the cabbage (do not scrub, heat, or soak the cabbage in vinegar)
- reserve one good outer leaf for later
How to Make Sauerkraut Step 2: Preparing the Cabbage
Get out your clean cutting board, chopping knife, and your clean hands.
Instead of a knife, you could use a food processor, mandolin, or box grater.
- Slice off the stem end of the cabbage
- Stand the cabbage up with the stem end facing up. Split the cabbage lengthwise in half cutting through the core downwards towards the opposite end of the stem
- use the knife to cut out the remaining core by cutting a triangle shape around the core
- Lay each cabbage half cut side down on the cutting board
- Working with one half of the cabbage at a time, split each half lengthwise in half again or in thirds, depending on the size of the cabbage, the size of your knife, and the amount you’re comfortable working with at a time
- rotate the split cabbage 90 degrees and using your knife chop the cabbage into thin shreds
Do not mince or puree your cabbage, you want thin shreds. The thinner and more evenly sized the shreds are, the faster and more evenly they will ferment and produce a better overall texture.
How to Make Sauerkraut Step 3: Working the Cabbage
- Weigh or guessimate the weight of your cabbage.
- Place the cabbage shreds in a large bowl and sprinkle 2 tsp. salt per pound of cabbage (I have found an average head of cabbage weighs around 2-2.5lbs.)
- Let the salt sit on the cabbage for 15 minutes; this gives the salt time to start to break down the cell walls of the cabbage which will make the next step easier on you
- Once the salt has sat for 15 minutes on the cabbage, use your clean hands and begin working the cabbage. You will be grabbing and squeezing the cabbage repeatedly. Working the cabbage this way will help the cabbage release more of its juice and create its own brine. I usually spend 5 minutes working the cabbage.
- While working the cabbage, this is the time to add any herbs or flavorings you like. It’s not necessary, but we like to add 1 tsp. caraway seeds and 1/2 tsp. crushed coriander seeds to each head of cabbage.
How to Make Sauerkraut Step 4: Filling the Vessel
- Once you are finished working the cabbage, pack the cabbage into a clean glass jar. I prefer to use a wide mouth quart, half gallon, or gallon glass mason type jar.
- Press down on the cabbage inside the jar every couple of handfuls. As you go, you’ll see some brine raise up, as seen in the photo.
- Continue adding and packing the cabbage down.
How to Make Sauerkraut Step 5: Topping it Off
- Once you have all the cabbage packed tightly into the jar, pour any brine you have over the top of the cabbage. The cabbage must stay covered in the brine at ALL times.
- Then place a cabbage leaf on top, pressing it down. This leaf needs to be tucked up against the sides of the jar in order to keep all the smaller cabbage shreds down and under the brine. Note that this large cabbage leaf if exposed to air and not covered with brine will mold. You may cover the leaf with brine, but you’re going to toss the leaf when the sauerkraut is finished anyway. Mold on the large leaf doesn’t affect the sauerkraut as the acidity of the kraut kills the mold within the kraut.
- If necessary, add additional brine by creating a 2% salt solution which is mixing 1 tsp. salt with 1 c. slightly warm water, just warm enough to dissolve the salt, then pour it over the top.
- I personally do not like to have too much headspace in the jar. Creating a lactic acid ferment, see article, doesn’t require air or oxygen.
- Place a food grade plastic lid on tightly or use a metal lid with parchment paper separating the lid from the jar in order to keep the acidic sauerkraut from eating the metal lid.
- Place the fermenting jar in a shallow dish to catch any potential overflow that may happen during the fermentation process.
How to Make Sauerkraut Step 6: What's Next
- If you find that you need something to weigh the cabbage leaf down, you have options. One option is to purchase those glass fermenting weights. Another option would be to do what I do and fill a smaller glass jar with water and place a food grade plastic lid on it. The size of your fermenting jar will determine the size used for the weighted smaller jar. For a quart or half gallon jar, I use a quarter pint jar; for a gallon jar, I use a half pint jar. A third option would be to fill a ziploc bag with water or with a sterilized rock and place on the cabbage leaf. I personally do not prefer this method as I’m not a fan of any heat or acidity coming in contact with plastic and then my food as I feel the plastic chemicals can be leached out and end up in my food. You need to decide if and what you will use as a weight as it should be added once you have your jar ready to go. This is because you don’t want to add any new bacteria to the jar later on.
- Keep the ferment on the counter, out of direct sunlight.
- Burp the jar daily. I burp mine twice a day; once when I wake up and once before I go to bed. To burp the jar, you just simply and quickly open the lid and screw it back on. There is a product called Pickle Pipes used for fermenting instead of daily burping. I do have a set of these, but I have actually found better results with burping daily than when using pickle pipes. However, I have a friend that has failed every time when trying to ferment until he bought the pickle pipes, and now he can ferment easily. I believe it has to do with the yeast and bacteria present in the environment. If you get these pickle pipes, be sure to check them daily as they can get clogged.
- About day 2, you may see your ferment start bubbling. Sometimes this can bubble over and out of the jar. Also, the volume of cabbage may raise up higher in the jar; this is normal; push it down to where it’s below the brine.
- If your jar started off with brine on top and later you notice the brine has disappeared, this is normal as well. It just means the cabbage has reabsorbed the brine.
- Around day 3 or day 5, start tasting your sauerkraut. It is done when it has the flavor and texture YOU like. Each kitchen will be different. Warmer environments will ferment faster than cooler environments. I find my sauerkraut is usually ready in 11-13 days, but I have had it ready in 8 days before. Once it is ready, discard the cabbage leaf and weight and keep the sauerkraut stored in the fridge.
IMPORTANT Things to Know When Fermenting
Yes, fermented sauerkraut is a natural, healthy, and safe method of food preservation, but there are some things you should know.
- It is IMPORTANT that ALL your equipment and hands be clean. They don’t have to be sterilized just a good thorough cleaning is enough, as in hot soapy water, a good washing, and thorough rinsing.
- Use water that is not treated with chlorine and preferably no other treatments or additives such as fluoride etc… I use my own private well tap water. Chlorine will kill the good microbes needed to ferment your produce. Other additives in water may interact or cause your ferment to not be the best. If all you have is chlorinated city-water, then leave some water on the counter overnight with no lid on, this is said to help off-gas the chlorine.
- Fresh produce is best. Because the microbes on the produce is our “starter culture” it only makes sense that they be as healthy and in their prime as possible, which means fresh is best and always aim for organic as well, if possible as organic is the least likely to contain chemicals that could affect your final product. Because the fresh produce contains our starter culture, do not scrub or heat the produce before fermenting. Just a quick rinse will be sufficient.
- When fermenting vegetables, there is no need to add anything other than salt or salt and water to the ferments.
- Place fermenting vessel in a shallow dish to collect any brine that bubbles up and out of the vessel. During the fermentation process, the produce must stay submerged below the brine. This can be achieved by using a cabbage leaf, weight, or simply pushing the produce down a few times a day. The point is any prolonged exposer to air the produce gets, will cause that exposed part to mold. Do your best to have as little headspace (air space) in the jar as this can increase your risk of mold.
- Keep your ferments out of direct sunlight. The length of time it takes for a ferment to finish can vary between homes and throughout the year. It will ferment faster at warmer temperatures and slower at cooler temperatures.
- Once the ferment is finished, keep it stored in the fridge or a cooler part of the house with the lid on tight. The cooler it is kept, the longer it will maintain your preferred flavor and texture. A tight lid will help keep out anything that could cause the kraut to develop an off flavor.
- When wishing to consume your ferment, ONLY use a CLEAN utensil. Do not use a dirty utensil or one that was previously used to remove something out of another jar or container; doing so can contaminate your ferment and cause it to mold.
- Similar to #8, make sure your clean utensil is NOT wet. Do not introduce any water into your ferment. Water does contain bacteria and this added bacteria from the water can cause your ferment to mold.
- If you heat your ferment, it will kill the good bacteria that you just cultivated. It will still taste good, but just know the ferment will no longer contain the beneficial gut healthy bacteria we all need.
- Trust your olfactory sense. If it looks good, smells good, and tastes good, it’s good. When in doubt, throw it out. You’ll know definitely by smell if it’s bad. It won’t be a pleasant smell, but it’ll be repulsive.
There You Have It
There you have it; that is how you make sauerkraut. Now it’s your turn, go ahead try it. If you’re not a fan of sauerkraut, but you know you should eat it; try it on BBQ pulled pork sandwiches or Reubens or even mix a bit in with your fried eggs. Start off with 1 Tbsp. a day then work up to 1 Tbsp. with each meal. You don’t need much in order to get the good gut health benefits that your homemade probiotic rich sauerkraut has to offer. Be sure to read my article where I cover All About Fermentation. There are some things you should know.
The video above shows how to make sauerkraut and the video below shows the same sauerkraut as it’s fermenting.
