Sauerkraut!

I have always known it as a form of "kapusta" due to my Polish/European and Russian roots. It has been something some of my family has enjoyed from time-to-time. I don't recall much of my family making their own, I know my mom made her form of sauerkraut with caraway seeds for her pierogi filling. As a child, I never was fond of that tangy taste, but oh has it grown on me since! Cabbage is so inexpensive and diverse, you can literally do SO much with it! Me, being on a super tight budget, cabbage is a wonderful versatile green vegetable I've used in so many dishes. While I was in Russia for over half-a-year, I began to appreciate sauerkraut much more...not only could it be a side dish, but it went well in my rice and bean dinner bowl, and even was used for breakfast [certianly not with oatmeal though]!

For those of you who do not know what Sauerkraut is, Wikipedia defines it as:

(/ˈsaʊərkraʊt/; German pronunciation: [ˈzaʊ.ɐˌkʁaʊt]...is finely cut cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.[1][2] It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid that forms when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage.[3][4]

Nothing screams "PROBIOTICS" like lactic acid and cabbage! The lactic acid bacteria is attributed to helping someone obtain a "healthy gut" environment.

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Wikipedia's list of benefits include:

• It is a source of vitamins B, C, and K;[20] the fermentation process increases the bioavailability of nutrients rendering sauerkraut even more nutritious than the original cabbage.[21] It is also low in calories and high in calcium and magnesium, and it is a very good source of dietary fiber, folate, iron, potassium, copper and manganese.[20]
• If unpasteurized and uncooked, sauerkraut also contains live lactobacilli and beneficial microbes and is rich in enzymes. The fiber and supply of probiotics improve digestion and promote the growth of healthy bowel flora, protecting against many diseases of the digestive tract.[21][22]
• During the American Civil War, the physician John Jay Terrell (1829–1922)[23][24] was able to successfully reduce the death rate from disease among prisoners of war: He attributed this to feeding his patients raw sauerkraut.[25]
• Sauerkraut is a time-honored folk remedy for canker sores. It is used by rinsing the mouth with sauerkraut juice for about 30 seconds several times a day, or by placing a wad of sauerkraut against the affected area for a minute or so before chewing and swallowing the kraut.[26]
• The October 23, 2002 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reported that Finnish researchers found the isothiocyanates produced in sauerkraut fermentation inhibit the growth of cancer cells in test tube and animal studies.[27] A Polish study in 2010 concluded that "... induction of the key detoxifying enzymes by cabbage juices, particularly sauerkraut, may be responsible for their chemopreventive activity demonstrated by epidemiological studies and in animal models".[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]
• Sauerkraut is high in the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, both associated with preserving ocular health.[36]

Naturally, raw foods and healthy bacteria are wonderful, although the one listed side effect of eating too much can be gas and bloating. Moderation is key, and it is important to listen to your body because each person is different. Even though this process takes time, it is inexpensive and not difficult to make. Or is it? It has been 1.5 weeks since I started my small batch and I could not resist and had to try it!

The photo above is today's sampling, and yes for your viewing pleasure I added a garnish of a fresh sprig of parsley. [I'm incredibly fancy, I know...] It had a nice tangy flavor, but because our place is not insulated and it stays cool inside, it still needs a bit more time to ferment. The flavor is also based on personal taste.

After reading many recipes, trial and error troubleshooting guides I devised my own method for what I had at home. A medium or rather small head of cabbage was what we could find at the time. We have not had jumbo cabbages sold here. I also only have small glass mason jars, and cannot find anything bigger. Here is what I used:

Ingredients:

• Small/Medium Head of Cabbage
• 1.5 Tbs Sea Salt (It must be sea salt, table salt will not work.)
• One small carrot, shredded

Apparatus:

• Cutting board and a decent knife to chop cabbage
• A way to boil water to sanitize apparatus
• A large bowl
• Tongs or a utensil that can be sanitized with hot water
• 2-3 small/Medium glass sealing jars

This is what worked so far for me. Discard the outer exposed leaves of the cabbage, and save one or two for the bottling process. Chop up the cabbage (the thinner the slices, the less time it will take to ferment), and shred the carrot (if you so choose to add carrot, if not skip adding the carrot), add to a bowl. Add the salt in your cabbage mixture and with clean hands (or a sterilized utensil) "massage" the cabbage a little to start the process of letting the salt draws out the water in the cabbage. That liquid will be your brine that your cabbage will sit in and ferment in. Massage it only a bit, and let it sit for about 20 minutes. More liquid should be present and the cabbage should start to wilt. Begin to massage the cabbage mixture more until you have quite a bit of liquid. Be sure your jars are sterilized with hot water, as well as your utensils. The reason for this is because we are attempting to grow "good" bacteria to ferment the cabbage, and introducing "bad" bacteria will not help your cabbage and you will have to potentially discard your hard work. (I've read if mold grows on top to throw it all out!). Once you have the jars prepared, I used tongs to press the cabbage down in my jars. You want to compact the cabbage mixture down to allow all the cabbage to be submerged in the brine...

I had a lot of liquid come out of my cabbage.

As you can see, the shredded cabbage can float even though you may attempt to pack it tightly down. A trick to keeping your shredded cabbage down is to save a piece of the outer leaves and press a piece down in the jar to help keep it down. There are other methods online that may suit your needs. I used the cabbage leaf option since my jars were small.

Even though I used the leaf method, I still had a few floaters which needed to be pushed back down or discarded. Over the next few days, due to the fermentation process, I did not want my jars to explode due to the buildup of bubbles, so I had to burp the jar to let out some of the gas. I have read that you do not want oxygen getting into your mixture, from others using a cheesecloth over the top for a few days. Whatever you find in research and decide you want to try, I say go for it. This seemed to work for me, although I had A LOT of action within the first few days as you can see when I opened to pack down my cabbage more:

Ohhh baby, was it bubbly!! I thought I had too much liquid, so I removed some of the brine. I think that was a mistake...After a few days of burping the jars and compacting the cabbage with a sterilized spoon I noticed I did not have the pressure I did from the first few days...fast forward to 1.5 weeks and I tried my mixture because it looked delicious. I still should wait a bit longer..........

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For my next batch, I am going to add some fresh ginger to the batch, so I'll be sure to give you all an update and let you know how that goes when the time comes.

The generalization is for every 1.75lbs of cabbage, use 1 TBS of salt. I guestimated because I do not have many luxury kitchen items such a scale. The timeframe depends on the temperature at which you keep the cabbage. According to this article the ideal temperature is from "65-72 Degrees Fahrenheit (18–22 Degrees Celsius)". For a temperature of 60 Degrees Fahrenheit, it is said to take roughly 6-8 weeks where between 70-75 Degrees Farenheight could take only a week or two. This also depends on the size of your contents. Since I had 2 smaller containers, at roughly an average of 70, it took a shorter period of time. You can tell by the looks and the taste. This good article is a great reference and states:

...The minimum length, that I recommend, to ferment sauerkraut in your jar on top of the counter is one week. This gives it time to establish some beneficial bacteria, create lots of brine (which peaks around day four) and also prevents disturbing the nice anaerobic environment you’ve established.
The purists out there will tell you the minimum time to ferment is three weeks and that is what I aim for. This three-week time period gives an opportunity for a wider spectrum of beneficial bacteria to establish themselves. Some strains of bacteria populate that jar of yours at one week and others peak at the three week mark.

For the next batch, I learned you can also take some of the last batch's liquid to help your new batch ferment quicker. With all of this said, I apologize for this not being a great recipe, but it was my first time and technically an experiment. They say its hard to mess it up, but on a microorganism level, I have a hard time believing that. Follow what works best for you and you're sure to succeed! I hope this was helpful for those looking to learn or try making fermented foods. There are many other things you can ferment, but kapusta is always a great classic! Happy Cabbaging!

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Let me know what you all think in the comments below. Have you ever made homemade sauerkraut and have advice for me? Any questions for me? Let me know!

Be well!

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