Raw Sauerkraut

   Today I want to share with you, just how quick and easy it is to make homemade sauerkraut! I use the fermentation preserving method, so it doesn't require any special canning equipment or experience! The fermentation process not only preserves your food for storage, but also increases the vitamin C content from that of fresh cabbage! Plus a great benefit of fermenting is the wonderful probiotics that are created! To take full advantage of these nutritional qualities, you must eat the sauerkraut raw. 

   I normally make my kraut from store-bought cabbage. As I don't have very good luck growing it. Though using garden fresh cabbage would surely make the "best for you" sauerkraut. One nice benefit of using store-bought cabbage, is that you can make kraut anytime of the year! A great time of year to make kraut is in March, as most grocery stores, at least in my area, have cabbage on sale for St. Patrick's Day! Our supply of sauerkraut that I had made last March was getting low, so I made a few jars up on Monday. With plans to make a bigger batch in March.

Base Recipe: 

• 1 cabbage, 

• 2 Tablespoons of salt 

Multiply recipe as desired.  I normally expect to get 2 jars (1.5 pints each?) out of one cabbage.

Equipment: 

• Jars and lids (Old pickle jars or jam jars work great! No need for official canning jars and lids since you won't be sealing the jars.) 
• Knife.
• Cutting board
• Measuring spoon 
• Big bowl.
• Funnel.  
• Food Processor (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) or other shredding device. I use to use a kitchen hand grater/shredder and it took me a half hour to do one cabbage. 😕 Very tedious! The food processor does it in less then 5 minutes! 😊

 Step-by-step instructions:

Step 1. Prepare Jars and lids. (I normally do this by pouring boiling water in the jars setting the lids on top and letting it sit for a minute. That should sufficiently sterilize them!)

Step 2. Wash the cabbage and remove any leaves that aren't fresh looking.

Step 3. Chop into appropriate size chunks, to feed into the food processor. Process.

Step 4. Add Salt.

 Step 5. With clean hands "knead" the cabbage & salt together for 5-10 minutes. As you knead it, the cabbage's natural juice will be released. It is surprising how much liquid comes out! (Picture on right shows juice in bottom of bowl.)

 

Step 6. Press into sterilized jars, (A funnel helps make this step less messy!) Leave an inch or so of head space in jars, as the cabbage will "expand" as the lactic acid goes to work! Screw lids on and leave jars out on your counter for 3 days. During this time if you notice any of the lids bulging, simple unscrew them momentarily to let out lactic acid gas, Then re-screw lid on. If you don't keep an eye out for this... you might have a jar explode all over your kitchen! That caution comes from experience! 😉  

   After 3 days, move jars to a cool dark place, for storage. I put  mine in our unheated (60? degree) basement. A refrigerator may also work... The temperature at which you store it will determine how fast the fermentation process goes. (Warmer = faster, cooler = slower.) Kraut will be ready to eat in as little as 2+ weeks, but it does get "better" with age, I think it tastes best after 3 months! (We are currently eating 10 month old kraut and I think it is some of the best we've had yet!) 

   And that is it, it really is that simple! Why not give it a try for yourself and let me know how it goes! 😊 If you have any questions about making it, leave a comment and I will be glad to answer any and all of your questions!

     Do you like Sauerkraut? Have you ever made it? If so, what method did you use?  What is your favorite thing to eat sauerkraut with? 

 *This week I joined in on the fun Homestead Blog Hop held over at Homesteading on Grace!