Learning to make your own homemade sauerkraut from scratch is a simple process and a great way to add gut-healthy foods into your diet.
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When I was a kid, my grandfather would buy giant jars of sauerkraut to keep in the fridge. He would eat it fork-full after fork-full. Straight from the jar! When I was younger, it was always that funny smelling food that I would not go near.
No one would have guessed that a few decades later I would be making my own gut-healthy sauerkraut in my own kitchen!
What is sauerkraut?
Sauerkraut is German dish that is made from fermenting finely shredded raw cabbage. It has a very unique sour flavor as a result of the fermentation process. Sauerkraut can be added into soups and stews, served with a variety of meats and if you are my grandfather, you can eat it straight from the jar with a fork!
Why should you try making sauerkraut?
Making your own sauerkraut is way less expensive than any sauerkraut you will find at the store. Making it at home also ensures that you are using the freshest ingredients possible.
When you make foods and ferments at home, you can also tweak the recipes and ratios to suit your own personal tastes. A traditional sauerkraut is not meant to be an overly salty dish but I personally love to add some extra salt to mine for flavor!
You should make your own sauerkraut for the beneficial probiotics. During the fermentation process, the bacteria Lactobacillus grows. Lactobacillus is a healthy bacteria that helps your body absorb nutrients, break down foods and can help your body to fight off any harmful bacteria.
Finally, it is just easy to make sauerkraut at home. All you need is a jar with a lid, cabbage and some salt.
What you need to make homemade sauerkraut
Cabbage
Mason Jar
Glass jar weights
Canning funnel
A tool to pack the sauerkraut into the jar like the end of a spatula or pestle
How to make sauerkraut
The process of making sauerkraut is very simple. Using a knife, shred your cabbage into thin strips. You can make them as thin or thick as you’d like depending on your personal preferences. Remove the thicker stem pieces as you go.
Alternatively, you can use a food processor to shred the cabbage for you if your food processor can handle the job.
Place all the shredded cabbage into a large bowl.
Add the salt into the bowl and begin working it into cabbage with your hands. Massage the salt into the cabbage by squeezing and kneading the cabbage.
The cabbage will become limp and liquid will begin to from in the bowl. You will use this liquid for the brine. This process will take about 5 to 10 minutes for the cabbage to become fully soft and ready to pack into your jar.
I like to taste a small amount of cabbage to decide if more salt needs to be added before packing it into the jars.
Place the canning funnel over the mouth of your quart sized mason jar. Begin placing handfuls of cabbage into the mason jar. Use a blunt end of a spatula or pestle to pack the sauerkraut down as tightly as possible. Continue this until the jar is full or you have run out of cabbage.
When the jar is filled up to the neck with cabbage, pour in the brine that has accumulated in the bottom of the bowl. Add in the fermentation weight, pushing it down so all the cabbage is covered with the brine.
Screw down the fermentation lids and set on your counter tops to ferment.
How long does it take to ferment sauerkraut
Sauerkraut takes up to 3 days to ferment before you should consume it.
The longer you allow your kraut to ferment, the stronger the flavor will be.
Can you add seasonings to sauerkraut while fermenting
Adding different spices and herbs to homemade sauerkraut is a great way to personalize the flavor and ensure that you are getting the tastiest end product possible.
I personally love adding dill seeds into my sauerkraut for a more pickle flavor. Other popular additives are fennel, celery seeds, caraway seeds, ginger, lemon and peppercorns.
Homemade Sauerkraut
Learning to make your own homemade sauerkraut from scratch is a simple process and a great way to add gut-healthy foods into your diet.
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 tbsp salt
Instructions
Using a knife or food processor, shred the cabbage into thin pieces.
Place all the shredded cabbage into a large bowl.
Add the salt into the bowl and begin working it into cabbage with your hands. Massage the salt into the cabbage by squeezing and kneading the cabbage.
The cabbage will become limp and liquid will begin to from in the bowl.
Place the canning funnel over the mouth of a quart sized mason jar. Begin placing handfuls of cabbage into the mason jar.
Use a blunt end of a spatula or pestle to pack the sauerkraut down as tightly as possible. Continue this until the jar is full, leaving enough space for the fermentation weight.
When the jar is filled up to the neck with cabbage, pour in the brine that has accumulated in the bottom of the bowl. Add in the fermentation weight, pushing it down so all the cabbage is covered with the brine.
Screw down the fermentation lids and set on your counter tops to ferment.
Allow the sauerkraut to ferment on the counter top for 3 days before opening and eating. Refrigerate after opening.
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