How to make the best sauerkraut ever

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Have you been wondering how to make sauerkraut? I’ve got you covered! Keep reading for all the juicy details!

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If you are thinking that fermenting cabbage sounds like a job for the expert cooks, you’d be totally wrong! Making sauerkraut is truly so easy! I got it right on my first try! You can too! So what are you waiting for?! Read on to get all my tips for making the best sauerkraut ever!

So why eat fermented foods?

There’s a lot of science happening in the fermentation process. Science isn’t my strong point, but basically bacteria grows from the natural yeast in the air and on the surface of the vegetables. This bacteria is the good probiotic bacteria found in foods such as, sauerkraut, and yogurt (find my plant based recipe here).

Probiotic rich foods have been shown to support your gut health aiding in digestion, increase your immunity, as well as heart health. So adding fermented foods like sauerkraut to your diet may help to improve your overall health! And Lord knows we could all use a little more of that these days!

Making sauerkraut is about the easiest thing ever.

You don’t need fancy equipment, no cooking, or canning required!

Here’s what you’ll need

• 2 heads of cabbage
• Cutting board
• A sharp knife
• Large bowl
• Sea salt
• Mason jars
• fermenting lids (suggested, but not required)
• Fermentation Kit with Fermenting Glass Weights (suggested, but not required)

Now lets jump into it!

Step 1: Chop cabbage

1. Peal off any outer leaves that are bruised or damaged, and add them to your compost pile.
2. Set aside a couple of good leave to use in a later step if you aren’t using fermenting weights. These leaves you will cut down and lay on top of your sauerkraut to keep it submerged.
3. Cut the whole cabbage head in half and cut out the core.
4. Next slice the cabbage into thin pieces.

Step 2: Add salt

Place chopped cabbage into a large bowl along with 1 tablespoon of sea salt (Be sure to use pure sea salt, not iodized salt) per head of cabbage. Yes, that’s a lot of salt, but the salt is very important! It will help all those tiny beautiful bacteria to grow, and keeps the bad bacteria out!

Mix the salt in well, cover with a glass plate and let it sit on the countertop for an hour or so.

Step 3: Massage the cabbage

Now it’s time to really give the cabbage a good work over. I get in there with my hands and massage it for several minutes, or until it becomes wilty, and slightly translucent. When I can squeeze a handful of cabbage and juice drips out I know it’s time for the next step.

step 4: Fill your mason jars

Stuff your mason jars with the cabbage, and distribute the remaining juice between your jars. In this batch I had two small heads of cabbage that fit into 3 wide mouth mason jars.

I have never been able to get enough juice from the cabbage to cover the chopped cabbage once placed in the jars. So I add filtered water to cover it. It’s very important that the water is filtered. The added chemicals in most tap water will interfere with the fermentation process.

With a clean spoon, taste the juice. It should be quite salty like sea water. It’s important to get a good balance of salt. Too much and you wont want to eat your sauerkraut, too little and the kraut will just rot.

I find that I usually have to add more salt after adding the water. Start by adding 1 teaspoon at a time. Mix it in, then taste the juice. If it’s salty sea water, you are good to go. If not, add another teaspoon.

Leave at least 1 inch of head space at the top of your jars and add your fermenting weights if you have them. Or fold up the cabbage leaves you set aside in step 1, and place at the top of your jars. This will keep all the little bits of sliced cabbage under the brine.

Note- If you don’t have fermenting weights, what I have done is to daily press the cabbage leaf at the top down under the brine with a clean spoon. As the cabbage ferments it will become bubbly and rise to the top. If it stays out of the brine too long, it will start to rot.

This is what my weights look like. They fit very nicely into my wide mouth mason jars.

Step 5: Now it’s time to put on the lids

Fermenting lids make this process so much easier, but if you don’t have them, not to worry! As you can see in this picture, I only have two fermenting lids. The last jar I’m using a regular lid. I will open it daily to burp the jar. This releases the gas build up. This step isn’t necessary if you are using the fermenting lids, but I still like to check on all my jars daily just to make sure the cabbage is staying submerged under the brine and nothing has gone wrong.

Step 6: Store in a cool dark place

I have an unused cabinet that I use to store my fermenting jars in. A cool dark space is the perfect environment for fermentation. The optimal temperature is between 65 and 72 F.

Now you wait! I find that 3 weeks is the magical amount of time for me, but it really depends on the temperature of your kitchen. Regularly taste your ferment to check the tartness, and flavor. If it’s sour enough for you, then it’s done!

Smell your ferment when you check on it. If something is wrong, you will know. It should smell like cabbage with a slight vinegary smell. It should not smell like compost!

Step 7: After it’s finished fermenting

Take off the fermenting lids, and top with regular lids. Store your jars in the refrigerator for as long as you can keep them in there! We go through our kraut so fast, so ours don’t last long, but when I make a large batch, I’ve been able store them for 4 months no problem!

Save the leftover brine!

Save the brine! It’s full of probiotic goodness that you can add to new batches to give it a nice little start to growing the good bacteria.

How we eat Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is delicious! There are so many ways to enjoy it! Our favorite way to eat it is on our sandwiches, but it’s good right out of the jar! Or we enjoy it fried up with potatoes, but the heat will reduce the nutritional benefits.

For more on sauerkraut check out Lisa from Farmhouseonboone.com

So give it a try! And let me know in the comments how it goes!