Fermentation doesn’t have to be difficult and you really don’t need any special equipment. To make simple sauerkraut all you need is a head of cabbage, some salt, a jar to put it in, and some time. That and a little bit of muscle power and you are ready to go! See below for my basic sauerkraut recipe.
Easy Homemade Sauerkraut
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: many
Description
This is the easiest way to make sauerkraut – no special equipment or starter needed!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 head of cabbage (any color or variety will do)
- Sea salt, kosher salt, or other non-iodized salt
Instructions
- Reserve the outermost layers of the cabbage.
- Core and then thinly slice or shred the cabbage (a food processor or mandoline make this fast, but a regular knife will work too).
- Place cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with a tablespoon or so of salt.
- Begin pounding or kneading the cabbage so that the juices start releasing.
- Continue working the cabbage until your volume has reduced to about half and the cabbage is very wet. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Stuff cabbage into a jar (wide mouth mason jars are easier to work with, but use whatever you have).
- Use a long handled spoon to stuff the cabbage down and allow the juice to rise up over the top.
- Take reserved cabbage leaf and stuff into the jar to hold shredded cabbage down below the level of the liquid.
- Place jar at room temperature somewhere out of sunlight to ferment for approximately 2 weeks. Taste and allow to ferment until it reaches your desired taste.
- Remove top cabbage leaf, cover, and transfer to cold storage.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Category: Side dish
- Cuisine: German
Looking for more great fermentation recipes? Check out this collection from Cheerfully Imperfect!
5 replies on “Adventures in Fermentation: Easy Homemade Sauerkraut”
[…] Homemade Sauerkraut […]
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