For this classic you only need 2 ingredients: cabbage and salt. It’s refreshing, cheap, healthy and nutritious.

You can add a variety of other ingredients here, vegetables (like carrots or radish) or seeds (dill, caraway, coriander or mustard). When ready to be served, you can enjoy it plain or roast the Sauerkraut with onions and butter.

All you need is a sharp knife, cutting board, a bowl and a jar, or fermentation crock.

INGREDIENTS

1 kg cabbage (you can use white cabbage, red cabbage, other cabbages)

1 tablespoon of non–iodized salt / unrefined sea salt for a 2% brine (you can weigh the cabbage in grams and multiply the weight by 0.02 (for 2%).

Optional:

Seeds and seasonings (fresh dill, caraway, coriander seeds, chili, turmeric, pepper, bay leaves, garlic)

Additional vegetables (such as carrots, radish, kohlrabi, onions)

PREPARATION

1. Start with removing the outer leaves of your cabbage and put them aside for later use. Cut the rest of the cabbage in fine pieces, either with a sharp knife or a big grater / Mandoline.

2. Put everything into a bowl.

3. Then: salt. Weigh your cabbage in grams and multiply the weight by 0.02 (for 2%) to get the right amount of salt in grams. Sprinkle the cabbage with salt and add other seasonings if you like. Stir thoroughly to coat everything evenly. 

4. Mash the cabbage with your hands first and continue with a kitchen tool (a fermentation temper or potato masher) in order to release water out of the cabbage (when the cell walls break down). The cabbage should be fully covered in its juice, this is crucial.

5. Now it’s time to pack the cabbage into a jar. Press everything down with force. The cabbage should fully be covered in brine.

6. Now you can put the cabbage leaves that you’ve reserved before on top of the cabbage to make sure to keep it under the brine. In the beginning of the fermentation process the vegetables have a tendency to come up to the top. You can add a fermentation weight out of glass or ceramic on top of the leaves. This will keep everything covered during the fermentation process. My grandmother used to go out and search for a suitable stone that she would later put on top of her ferment. I still like this idea but of course you can take anything else you have.

7. You can put the jar in a quiet corner of your kitchen now and wait for it to become a delicious new ferment.

Notes:
Keep an eye on your ferment during the first days. Push down the weight a few times to make sure the cabbage is completely covered with the brine. This will also release the pressure that will build up in the jar. After a week you can already enjoy the Sauerkraut, or wait about 2–3 more weeks for a stronger and more intensive taste (or longer, depending on the flavour you like).

If you want to stop or slow down the fermentation process, you can store your sauerkraut in a covered jar in the refrigerator.

A pot with an airlock should avoid the formation of yeasts or molds on the surface. If you still spot some, scrape it off completely and throw it away, together with the upper leaves, before you eat it.

For this classic you only need 2 ingredients: cabbage and salt. It’s refreshing, cheap, healthy and nutritious.

You can add a variety of other ingredients here, vegetables (like carrots or radish) or seeds (dill, caraway, coriander or mustard). When ready to be served, you can enjoy it plain or roast the Sauerkraut with onions and butter.

All you need is a sharp knife, cutting board, a bowl and a jar, or fermentation crock.

INGREDIENTS

1 kg cabbage (you can use white cabbage, red cabbage, other cabbages)

1 tablespoon of non–iodized salt / unrefined sea salt for a 2% brine (you can weigh the cabbage in grams and multiply the weight by 0.02 (for 2%).

Optional:

Seeds and seasonings (fresh dill, caraway, coriander seeds, chili, turmeric, pepper, bay leaves, garlic)

Additional vegetables (such as carrots, radish, kohlrabi, onions)

PREPARATION

1. Start with removing the outer leaves of your cabbage and put them aside for later use. Cut the rest of the cabbage in fine pieces, either with a sharp knife or a big grater / Mandoline.

2. Put everything into a bowl.

3. Then: salt. Weigh your cabbage in grams and multiply the weight by 0.02 (for 2%) to get the right amount of salt in grams. Sprinkle the cabbage with salt and add other seasonings if you like. Stir thoroughly to coat everything evenly. 

4. Mash the cabbage with your hands first and continue with a kitchen tool (a fermentation temper or potato masher) in order to release water out of the cabbage (when the cell walls break down). The cabbage should be fully covered in its juice, this is crucial.

5. Now it’s time to pack the cabbage into a jar. Press everything down with force. The cabbage should fully be covered in brine.

6. Now you can put the cabbage leaves that you’ve reserved before on top of the cabbage to make sure to keep it under the brine. In the beginning of the fermentation process the vegetables have a tendency to come up to the top. You can add a fermentation weight out of glass or ceramic on top of the leaves. This will keep everything covered during the fermentation process. My grandmother used to go out and search for a suitable stone that she would later put on top of her ferment. I still like this idea but of course you can take anything else you have.

7. You can put the jar in a quiet corner of your kitchen now and wait for it to become a delicious new ferment.

Notes:
Keep an eye on your ferment during the first days. Push down the weight a few times to make sure the cabbage is completely covered with the brine. This will also release the pressure that will build up in the jar. After a week you can already enjoy the Sauerkraut, or wait about 2–3 more weeks for a stronger and more intensive taste (or longer, depending on the flavour you like).

If you want to stop or slow down the fermentation process, you can store your sauerkraut in a covered jar in the refrigerator.

A pot with an airlock should avoid the formation of yeasts or molds on the surface. If you still spot some, scrape it off completely and throw it away, together with the upper leaves, before you eat it.