How to Ferment Homemade Sauerkraut
The larger your jar, the longer the sauerkraut will take to ferment. If you want to shorten the needed time, try using several pint jars rather than quart or half gallon jars.
Making homemade sauerkraut may seem intimidating, but you can learn how to make this pro-biotic rich food in this tutorial.
Ingredients
- green cabbage (the freshest you can find)
- non-iodized salt
Instructions
- To begin, rinse the cabbage heads with cold water.
- Carefully remove a few of the large, outer leaves and set them aside for now. Discard any leaves that look limp or “icky.” Only use good, healthy leaves.
- Thinly slice the cabbage, placing it into a large bowl. The amount of cabbage you will need will depend upon how much sauerkraut you are making.
- Use a kitchen scale to measure exactly how much cabbage you have. I measure the cabbage in grams so that I can get a very precise measurement.
- Take the weight of the cabbage, and calculate 2% of that weight. That is the amount of salt that you will want to use.
- Measure the salt and sprinkle it into the cabbage.
- Begin working the salt into the cabbage with your hands. You will firmly press and massage the salt into the shredded leaves for about 10-15 minutes or until liquid begins to release from the cabbage.
- Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set it aside for a couple of hours.
- Prepare your fermenting supplies, making sure everything is clean and sterile.
- Begin scooping the shredded cabbage into your mason jar, just a couple inches to begin with. I use a canning funnel to get the cabbage into the jar easily.
- Use your pickle packer, press very, very firmly down on the cabbage in the jar. This will cause it to release more of the juices.
- Add a little more cabbage, pack it down again. Each time putting very firm pressure down on the packer.
- As you are packing in the cabbage, more and more liquid will release from the leaves. This will also remove any air pockets in the cabbage.
- Continue until the jar has been filled to 2-3 inches from the top of the jar. You will need to leave plenty of space for the liquid to expand and bubble as the fermentation process takes place.
- Take the reserved outer leaves, and cut them into a circle the size of the jar. I just set the jar or lid on top and trace it with a knife.
- Carefully slide the leaf into the jar. Use the leaf to cover the shredded cabbage. This will help keep any bits from escaping and floating up.
- Insert a fermentation weight into the jar. This will keep everything submerged while it ferments.
- Close the jar with a fermenting lid and place the jar(s) in a tray or shallow pan.
- The tray will catch any liquid that may escape during the fermentation period. It is very common for there to be “bubbling” or seepage out the top of the lid as it ferments.
- Place your jars in a cool dark place. The atmosphere where you ferment should be between 55 and 75 degrees (Fahrenheit). Generally the cooler side is better, as the fermentation will happen more slowly, and develop a richer flavor.
- After a day or two, you will begin to see bubbling and movement inside the jar. That is the sign that the fermentation process has begun.
- Each day inspect your sauerkraut to make sure that all of the cabbage is still submerged, and that no bits have escaped and floated up.
- If you see any signs of mold, scrape it away and discard any exposed cabbage. Everything that is submerged is still good. It is also normal to see a “scum” on the surface. Only mold is what you would need to address.
- The amount of time you will need to ferment your sauerkraut will depend upon the temperature in the room where it is fermenting, and the overall flavor you are going for.
- Depending upon the flavor you want, you may ferment it for only 3 or 4 days. Or you could let it go for a couple weeks. I find that an average of 10 days works well most often.
- But after 3 or 4 days, begin tasting the sauerkraut to see if it has reached your desired level of fermentation.
- With well-washed hands, remove the weight, rinsing any sediment off with hot water. Carefully lift aside the whole leaves and scoop out a little bit of the sauerkraut and give it a taste. Always use a very clean, non-reactive utensils to do this.
- If the sauerkraut isn’t yet there to your taste, resubmerge the leaves, replace the weight and fermenting lid and let it continue to ferment. Make sure that you got all of the bits back under the brine again.
- When the sauerkraut has the level of “sourness” that you think is just right, it is done. Again, the amount of time required will be determined by the ambient temperature in the room, and the taste of the one doing the fermenting.
- When your sauerkraut is ready, remove the weights and discard the whole leaves. Close the jar(s) with a traditional airtight lid. Store it in your refrigerator and enjoy as you like.
Notes
The larger your jar, the longer the sauerkraut will take to ferment. If you want to shorten the needed time, try using several pint jars rather than quart or half gallon jars.
Nutritional information is auto-generated and the accuracy is not guaranteed.
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