Sauerkraut

Nothing goes in but cabbage and salt, because the bacteria are already on the leaves.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 2 kg white cabbage, outer leaves kept back
• 40 g salt, which is 2% of the cabbage's weight
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
• 4 juniper berries, optional

Method

1. NOTHING GOES IN BUT CABBAGE AND SALT, BECAUSE THE BACTERIA ARE ALREADY ON THE LEAVES. Its article's Production section says where they come from: FERMENTATION BY LACTOBACILLI IS INTRODUCED NATURALLY, AS THESE AIR-BORNE BACTERIA CULTURE ON RAW CABBAGE LEAVES WHERE THEY GROW. There is no starter to buy and no whey to add.
2. SO THE SALT IS THE ONLY CONTROL YOU HAVE, and it is weighed rather than spooned. Two per cent of the cabbage's weight: too little and it goes soft, too much and the lactobacilli stall along with everything else.
3. AND THE TEMPERATURE IS THE OTHER ONE. The article warns that YEASTS ALSO ARE PRESENT, AND MAY YIELD SOFT SAUERKRAUT OF POOR FLAVOR WHEN THE FERMENTATION TEMPERATURE IS TOO HIGH. A cool room, not a warm kitchen.
4. SHRED IT FINELY AND WEIGH IT BEFORE SALTING. The article's word is finely, and fine shreds release their water in minutes where a coarse cut takes hours.
5. LAYER CABBAGE AND SALT IN THE CROCK, pressing each layer down hard with a fist or a pestle. The article describes exactly this: THE CABBAGE IS FINELY SHREDDED, LAYERED WITH SALT, AND LEFT TO FERMENT.
6. IT MUST END UP UNDER ITS OWN BRINE, and it will if you press long enough. Twenty minutes of pressing draws enough water to cover two kilos. A reserved outer leaf laid on top holds the shreds under.
7. WEIGHT IT, COVER IT LOOSELY, AND LEAVE IT ALONE. It will bubble within two days and smell sour within four. Skim any scum; mould on the surface means something was above the brine.
8. THREE TO SIX WEEKS IN A COOL ROOM. Taste it weekly from the second. It is ready when the sharpness stops increasing.
9. THEN IT KEEPS FOR MONTHS WITHOUT A FRIDGE, which is the whole point of it. The article puts it plainly: FULLY CURED SAUERKRAUT KEEPS FOR SEVERAL MONTHS IN AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER STORED AT 15 DEGREES OR BELOW, and NEITHER REFRIGERATION NOR PASTEURIZATION IS REQUIRED.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Germany · All recipes