homemade sauerkraut, lacto-fermentation at home

making dill & garlic sauerkraut on a peaceful spring day

how to make sauerkraut

cabbage - any type, ideally organic
salt - himalayan, celtic or sea salts work well (don't use table or iodized salt)
flavours of your choosing (see some ideas below)

peel away the outer layers of the cabbage and put to the side. Weigh a big empty bowl. Chop your cabbage finely by hand or using a food processor and add this to your bowl. Now weigh the bowl again and subtract the empty bowl weight so you can determine the weight of your cabbage. Mix in 2% salt by weight (e.g. 1000g cabbage x 0.02 = 20g salt) and let sit for about 20 mins.

in the meantime sterilise some glass snap-lock jars. I like to steam them for about 10 mins. You can also heat in the oven or boil.

massage the cabbage thoroughly. You can use a wooden sauerkraut pounder if you have one. When the sauerkraut is feeling soft and plenty of brine has been released, transfer it to the jars. Leave a couple inches space and push the cabbage down so it's fully submerged by the brine. I like to use the spare outer layers as a lid to keep everything submerged.

instead of snap-locking the jars, use a rubber band to seal the lid. This allows the sauerkraut to be 'self-burping' which means it will release air as it needs to throughout the fermentation process.

place the jars in dark place for 3-4 weeks. The ideal fermenting temperature for sauerkraut is 16-21 degrees celsius. Once you're happy with the taste, remove the rubber band and snap-lock your jar properly. Store in the fridge.

don't worry too much about the steps and fun with it!

it's all about remembering what you already know...
your ancestors ate this way for thousands of years

sauerkraut flavour combo ideas

dill and garlic
fennel and apple
beet and ginger
carrot and ginger
carrot chilli and ginger
turmeric and black pepper
turmeric and jalapeño
turmeric ginger and pineapple

music from Epidemic Sound:
Summer Bolero - Vendla

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