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

You can feel free to 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 it with onions and butter.

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

INGREDIENTS

1 kg of fresh white cabbage (you can also use other cabbages or combine them)

1 tablespoon of non–iodized salt, I take unrefined sea salt for a 2% brine (salt carefully, start with a little—it is always easier to add more salt later than to remove it)

1l water

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 (and season). Sprinkle the cabbage with salt and add other seasonings if you like. Stir thoroughly to coat everything evenly. Now you can taste the cabbage to see if it’s salty enough.

4. Mash the cabbage with your hands first and continue with a kitchen tool (a fermentation temper, potatoe masher or a wooden spoon will do, too) 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. You should have some brine left that you can now put all over the cabbage to cover it fully.

6. Now you can put the cabbage leaf 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 leaf. 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 on a daily basis. After about 2–3 weeks (or longer, depending on the flavour you want) your cabbage will be ready to be served.

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 simple ingredients: cabbage and salt. It’s refreshing, cheap and very nutritious.

You can feel free to 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 it with onions and butter.

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

INGREDIENTS

1 kg of fresh white cabbage (you can also use other cabbages or combine them)

1 tablespoon of non–iodized salt, I take unrefined sea salt for a 2% brine (salt carefully, start with a little—it is always easier to add more salt later than to remove it)

1l water

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 (and season). Sprinkle the cabbage with salt and add other seasonings if you like. Stir thoroughly to coat everything evenly. Now you can taste the cabbage to see if it’s salty enough.

4. Mash the cabbage with your hands first and continue with a kitchen tool (a fermentation temper, potatoe masher or a wooden spoon will do, too) 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. You should have some brine left that you can now put all over the cabbage to cover it fully.

6. Now you can put the cabbage leaf 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 leaf. 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 on a daily basis. After about 2–3 weeks (or longer, depending on the flavour you want) your cabbage will be ready to be served.

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.