This homemade and fermented sauerkraut recipe tastes yummy, it’s really healthy and is supper easy to make. It's a great way to preserve an abundant cabbage harvest and eat tasty nutritional food on the homestead.
Sauerkraut may sound a little daunting to make at first glance, but it's really very easy. Let's jump right in!
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Sauerkraut Recipe:
What You Need:
Shredding The Cabbage...
Shred the cabbage. You can do that either with a cheese grater or use a food processor with the shredding attachment (my preferred method :) ).
Put the shredded cabbage into a large bowl. Sprinkle salt on the top. Mix it together a little with your hands.
You can let the cabbage sit on the counter for a while (about 30 minutes) or you can start right in with the kneading. Letting it sit makes it easier to squeeze the juices out of the cabbage and brings the cabbage to room temperature. It can be pretty painful to squeeze the juice out of cold cabbage if you are making a lot of kraut.
I have made it both ways. Which ever I have the time for, or feel like doing at the time.
Kneading The Cabbage...
Next you’er going to knead the cabbage. Squeeze out as much of the juice as possible. When you think you’ve squeezed out all the juice (there should be a few inches in the bottom of the bowl), it’s time to pack it into jars.
Note: After making it a few times you’ll get the hang of how much juice you need to squeeze out. Don’t worry about working it too much the more juice squeezed out the better.
Packing The Jars...
Pack the sauerkraut into the jars (a funnel is helpful) and press it down so that the juices are covering the cabbage completely. Once it starts fermenting It will rise and that’s ok. Just start with the juices covering the cabbage.
It needs to be able to have some room to ferment. Leave about an inch or two of “headspace” (usually a canning term--it is the unfilled empty space in the top of the jar).
Clean Off The Jars...
Clean off the rim of the jars with a clean wet washcloth. You don’t want any cabbage in the seal where the lid is going to be. Screw on the lids with a firm hand but don’t make them too tight.
I like to rinse of the jar with cool water if there is a lot of cabbage on the outside of the jar. Let the sauerkraut sit in a cool dry place in the kitchen for about two weeks.
Ferment & Enjoy!
While it is fermenting the jars may overflow a little. I sometimes like to have a towel under the jars to catch any spilling.
Place the jars of sauerkraut somewhere out of direct light but in a place that is easy to clean.
In about two weeks your sauerkraut should be done. You may eat it any time before that though, whenever you’d like.
You can refrigerate the sauerkraut jars then or you can leave them out. They should last about a year sitting on the counter. Just know that the sauerkraut will continue to ferment when it is out and might get pretty sour. :) We've had some batches go bad (moldy) when we leave them to sit out so we like to refrigerate them now.
Every batch of sauerkraut we have made seems to turn out a little (to a quite a bit) different than each other! It is quite amazing the differences between batches sometimes.
I hope you enjoy your healthy and yummy sauerkraut!
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FAQs
Store the container at 70°–75°F (21°–23°C) while fermenting. At these temperatures, sauerkraut will be fully fermented in about three to four weeks; at 60°–65°F (15°–18°C), fermentation may take six weeks. Below 60°F (15°C), sauerkraut may not ferment.
How to make sauerkraut step by step? ›
Procedure:
- Prepare cabbage: Discard outer leaves, then rinse heads under cold water and drain. ...
- Salt cabbage: Layer cabbage with salt in large mixing container. ...
- Pack container: Using clean hands or optional tamper, pack a handful of the cabbage into the fermenting container(s). ...
- Ferment: ...
- Store: ...
- Enjoy!
Ten Delicious Kraut Additions
- Juniper Berries. Small and dark, these little raisin-sized berries pack a flavor punch. ...
- Beets. Peeled and grated or thinly sliced, even a tiny bit of beet stains the whole ferment fuchsia. ...
- Ginger. ...
- Lemon Peel. ...
- Dill. ...
- Caraway Seed. ...
- Fennel. ...
- Celery Root (celeriac)
Weigh the cabbage, then calculate the amount of salt you'll need based on that. You want 2% salt by weight, so 20 grams of salt for every kilogram of cabbage, or roughly one tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pound of cabbage.
What is the minimum time for sauerkraut? ›
Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days.
You can also allow the sauerkraut to continue fermenting for 10 days or even longer. There's no hard-and-fast rule for when the sauerkraut is "done" — go by how it tastes. While it's fermenting, you may see bubbles coming through the cabbage, foam on the top, or white scum.
Does sauerkraut need to ferment in the dark? ›
Fermenting Time, Storage and Safety
While the cabbage is fermenting it is best to keep it on the counter away from direct sunlight. You can also keep it in a dark place like a cabinet if you wish. The ideal fermenting temperature is 60°F to 75°F (15°C to 24°C). In other words, room temperature.
What is the easiest fermented food to make? ›
Sauerkraut is one of the simplest fermented foods to make. It only contains two ingredients – cabbage and salt – although sometimes caraway seeds are added too. To make sauerkraut, all you have to do is shred your cabbage, cover it with salt, and mix around.
Does sauerkraut need brine? ›
Two things preserve the sauerkraut - the salt and the fermentation. If the sauerkraut gets dry I can't imagine that it would taste as good… and it may well spoil. If you're just keeping it a week or two it shouldn't matter, but sauerkraut preserved in its brine will easily keep 6 months, probably longer.
Do you use vinegar when making sauerkraut? ›
These are the simple ingredients you'll need to make this homemade sauerkraut recipe:
- Water and vinegar: This sauerkraut recipe starts with water and distilled white vinegar.
- Vegetables: You'll need a half of an onion and a head of cabbage.
Danish Ballhead, Late Flat Head and Premium Late Dutch are good cabbage varieties for sauerkraut. Krautman is one of the most popular varieties for making sauerkraut, and growers are encouraged to try new varieties as well.
If your cabbage isn't submerged in about 1cm depth of liquid after 24 hours, add some extra brine. Dissolve 1 tsp salt, (always use pure sea salt), into 250ml water and add, or multiply and add enough to cover the cabbage.
Why does my sauerkraut taste bitter? ›
If your sauerkraut is bitter, it's spoiled. Throw it out. How can I cook cabbage so it's not bitter? That depends on the specie of cabbage you have in your local environment.
What happens if you use too much salt when making sauerkraut? ›
Too much salt delays the natural fermentation process.
What happens if you don't put enough salt in sauerkraut? ›
The proper amount of salt is critical for success. Salt is what inhibits bad bacteria but still allows the good fermentation bacteria to flourish. Never try to make a low-salt sauerkraut, all you'll end up with is a crock of inedible rotten cabbage and you sure don't want that stinky mess anywhere near your kitchen.
What kind of salt is best for sauerkraut? ›
Try fine sea salt, or Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. The Spices - spices are used for flavour, and they can also help to slow mould growth. Caraway seeds are popular in traditional Polish sauerkraut making.
Can sauerkraut be done in 2 weeks? ›
The time you let your sauerkraut ferment is really up to you. I like to let mine go for 2 weeks, but you might prefer the taste at 1 week or even 4 weeks! Keep an eye on your sauerkraut throughout the fermenting process. If the liquid gets too low, top it off with a 2% solution of salt water.
How do you speed up the fermentation of sauerkraut? ›
The warmer temperature, the faster it will ferment. However, above 75 degrees and you are likely to be promoting the growth of other undesirable bacteria, which will influence the flavor and texture of the sauerkraut.
How long to ferment sauerkraut for the most probiotics? ›
Cruciferous vegetables reach a safe acidity during the second stage of fermentation at about 7-14 days, so it is safe to start taste testing. For full health benefits and flavor, continue to ferment for 21 to 28 days.
Can I open sauerkraut while fermenting? ›
Opening the Jar During Fermentation
Undesirable organisms could then develop on the surface of the vegetables. The best thing to do is to leave the lid on and leave your jars alone.
