There are many ways to prepare dishes made from cabbage, one of which is sour salt. Today we will send you the detailed recipe and instructions for how to make sauerkraut. Let's get started with us!
What is Sauerkraut?
If you love cabbage dishes, we are sure that you cannot miss pickled sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is a fermented food made from cabbage as the main ingredient. This rustic dish has been consumed for thousands of years for its probiotic benefits and is rich in vitamins C, B, A, and K along with a wide variety of minerals.
Sauerkraut is often one of the first proposed fermentation projects for curious DIY enthusiasts, and with good reason: It's not only easy to do, it requires very little special equipment and finishes. The fruit is delicious. All you need to do is combine the chopped cabbage with a little salt and pack it into the box - a box if you have and want to make lots of sauerkraut, but the mason jar will do just fine for small batches. Cabbage secretes liquid, creating its own brine solution. Immersed in this liquid over a period of days or weeks, cabbage slowly ferments into a crisp, sour spice that we all know and love is sauerkraut.
What sauerkraut gives diners is that it has a fragrant flavor and a crunchy texture. Along with that is a very simple and cost-effective way to make it at home!
Origin of Sauerkraut
You may have heard that sauerkraut was a German invention, but that's not necessarily true! It is also thought that sauerkraut is believed to have originated in northern China. It arrived in Europe about 1000 years later and was eaten by Dutch seafarers as a way to prevent scurvy, due to the vitamin C content of sauerkraut.
How to Make Sauerkraut
- Fermentation 5 days-5 weeks
Ingredients:
Directions:
Sauerkraut can be made with any type of cabbage, but in our hands-on experience,saltier, it tastes better when you use a hard, crunchy cabbage. We do not recommend choosing things like savoy and kale that are a bit lame with this dish. White is traditional, but if you add green or red carrots will work here as well. If you think the sweeter red version is especially good in a juniper flavored kraut add some chili and carrot.
Cut off one outer leaf and set aside, then cut the cabbage into quarters and cut the base into segments. Let each quarter lie on a flat surface, shred the cabbage into thin strips, rinse the outer leaves, cores, and all. Then you can use a knife to sharpen and slice the cabbage. Do the same with other ingredients if available.
Place the chopped cabbage and other ingredients in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Swirl to distribute the salt evenly, then start rubbing it vigorously with your fingertips so that the salt is absorbed into the leaves, almost like you are rubbing grease into the dough to make a cake. Then use your hands to gently rub the ingredients.
After a few minutes of rubbing with salt, the cabbage will start to come out with water. Don't stop, just continue until a considerable amount of liquid is released when you push it down, which will take about 10-15 minutes in total.
If you have been rubbing the cabbage for a long time but have not seen the cabbage release water, you can add a pinch of salt at this point. Adding salt can also make the sauerkraut more salty, so we recommend you be more patient when taking this step.
After the cabbage has released a certain amount of water, now add minced fresh garlic, crushed fresh ginger and turmeric to flavor (depending on your taste). The result is perfect fresh sauerkraut with garlic, ginger, and turmeric. For us, this dish is better when it comes to seasoning. Then you mix again to combine and you are done with all the important steps in making the cabbage!
In addition to guava, ginger, and turmeric you can use other ingredients like lightly bruised juniper. Caraway seeds or yellow mustard are classic options, but you can also choose thin-sliced, chopped lime peels. Or you can combine other vegetables or fruits like grated carrots, celeriac, apples, beets. Whatever you decide to use, cabbage should make up at least 3/4 of the final mixture.
Transfer the cabbage and the liquid it secreted into a large, clean fermentation vessel - cabbage varieties available in kitchen stores and online, but you can use a large, glass jar If that's all you have. Just avoid anything metal, unless it's specifically designed for this purpose. Pack the cabbage right down as you push it into the jar; it needs to be submerged in the liquid.
The key to this dish is to press it down so it is completely covered with the liquid. Most ferments come with weight for this purpose. This is also the time when you need to use the outer cabbage leaf that has been retained with a large, clean stone. Or a sterilized jar filled with water and of a suitable size to fit in a large jar containing cabbage.
Cover, if using a dedicated plant or a clean tea towel (kraut needs breathing) and keep in a cool, well-ventilated place for between five days and five weeks, depending on the acidity you want it to be. Pay attention to it, to check if the cabbage is still covered with the liquid and taste it occasionally to check its progress.
After the pickles are sour enough to your liking, remove the ice or glass jar, cover the jar tightly, put it in the refrigerator, or store it in a cool place. (If you find it suddenly too sour, rinse it off with cold water before serving, to reduce the flavor.) Serve cold as a pickle dish, or reheat and serve as a side dish: particularly delicious with meat or fish simmered, or with creamy sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Notes on how to make sauerkraut?
At its most basic, all you need is cabbage, salt, and some sort of container for storage while fermentation. The cabbage must be submerged in its liquid during fermentation. When making sauerkraut, you usually place a weight plate on top of the cabbage to wrap the cabbage and keep it submerged. When fermentation in a mason jar, stuffing a smaller jar filled with stones or marbles into the mouth of the larger jar serves the same purpose.
Cabbage that is close to the surface tends to float, so when fermenting in a mason jar, you need to press down on the cabbage a few times a day or place a large outer cabbage leaf on the surface of the cabbage. chopped to keep it. Also, remember to always cover the jar with a clean cloth or cheesecloth. This will allow airflow but prevent dust or insects from getting into the sauerkraut.
2. How long does it take to make sauerkraut?
The time it takes to have delicious sauerkraut depends on your quantity and precision when using the ingredients. Usually, it has a minimum duration of about three days, although the kraut will continue to ferment and become more delicious for several days thereafter. As simple as it sounds, the general rule of thumb is to keep tasting the kraut and keep it in the fridge (or the stew temperature) when it tastes good to you. Sauerkraut is safe to eat at every stage of the process, so there is no minimum or maximum fermentation time.
3. Possible mistakes - how to make sauerkraut?
There aren't many mistakes you can make. Because this dish is easy to make. You can see white bubbles, foam, or white scum on the surface of the sauerkraut, but these are all signs of a normal, healthy fermentation. You can remove the white scum when you see it or before you put the sauerkraut in the refrigerator.
If you ferment too hard or if your mason jar is too full, sometimes the brine can foam upon the top of the jar. So to avoid this you should use a larger jar than is really necessary to store the cabbage. If you do foam, there's nothing to worry about - just place a plate under the jar to catch the water and make sure the cabbage continues to soak in the brine.
You will probably see mold growing on the surface of the sauerkraut, but don't panic! Mold usually only forms when cabbage is not completely submerged or if your kitchen is too hot. The sauerkraut is fine (with lactic acid still preserved) - you can remove it from the mold and start the fermentation. This shows it's still important to use your best judgment when it comes to fermentation. If something smells or tastes musty or doesn't taste good, trust your senses and toss the cake.
Final Words
We just shared with you what we have about how to make sauerkraut. Hope you will successfully make this delicious dish and don't forget to share it with us!
Ingredients
Directions
Sauerkraut can be made with any type of cabbage, but in our hands-on experience,saltier, it tastes better when you use a hard, crunchy cabbage. We do not recommend choosing things like savoy and kale that are a bit lame with this dish. White is traditional, but if you add green or red carrots will work here as well. If you think the sweeter red version is especially good in a juniper flavored kraut add some chili and carrot.
Cut off one outer leaf and set aside, then cut the cabbage into quarters and cut the base into segments. Let each quarter lie on a flat surface, shred the cabbage into thin strips, rinse the outer leaves, cores, and all. Then you can use a knife to sharpen and slice the cabbage. Do the same with other ingredients if available.
Place the chopped cabbage and other ingredients in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Swirl to distribute the salt evenly, then start rubbing it vigorously with your fingertips so that the salt is absorbed into the leaves, almost like you are rubbing grease into the dough to make a cake. Then use your hands to gently rub the ingredients.
After a few minutes of rubbing with salt, the cabbage will start to come out with water. Don't stop, just continue until a considerable amount of liquid is released when you push it down, which will take about 10-15 minutes in total.
If you have been rubbing the cabbage for a long time but have not seen the cabbage release water, you can add a pinch of salt at this point. Adding salt can also make the sauerkraut more salty, so we recommend you be more patient when taking this step.
After the cabbage has released a certain amount of water, now add minced fresh garlic, crushed fresh ginger and turmeric to flavor (depending on your taste). The result is perfect fresh sauerkraut with garlic, ginger, and turmeric. For us, this dish is better when it comes to seasoning. Then you mix again to combine and you are done with all the important steps in making the cabbage!
In addition to guava, ginger, and turmeric you can use other ingredients like lightly bruised juniper. Caraway seeds or yellow mustard are classic options, but you can also choose thin-sliced, chopped lime peels. Or you can combine other vegetables or fruits like grated carrots, celeriac, apples, beets. Whatever you decide to use, cabbage should make up at least 3/4 of the final mixture.
Transfer the cabbage and the liquid it secreted into a large, clean fermentation vessel - cabbage varieties available in kitchen stores and online, but you can use a large, glass jar If that's all you have. Just avoid anything metal, unless it's specifically designed for this purpose. Pack the cabbage right down as you push it into the jar; it needs to be submerged in the liquid.
The key to this dish is to press it down so it is completely covered with the liquid. Most ferments come with weight for this purpose. This is also the time when you need to use the outer cabbage leaf that has been retained with a large, clean stone. Or a sterilized jar filled with water and of a suitable size to fit in a large jar containing cabbage.
Cover, if using a dedicated plant or a clean tea towel (kraut needs breathing) and keep in a cool, well-ventilated place for between five days and five weeks, depending on the acidity you want it to be. Pay attention to it, to check if the cabbage is still covered with the liquid and taste it occasionally to check its progress.
After the pickles are sour enough to your liking, remove the ice or glass jar, cover the jar tightly, put it in the refrigerator, or store it in a cool place. (If you find it suddenly too sour, rinse it off with cold water before serving, to reduce the flavor.) Serve cold as a pickle dish, or reheat and serve as a side dish: particularly delicious with meat or fish simmered, or with creamy sauce.