Last October, Scott and I filmed an episode of Fork You with Scott Gryzbek of Zukay Live Foods. Zukay makes a line of probiotic condiments and Scott (Gryzbek) came on the show to teach us some basic fermentation techniques. We made pickled daikon, an apple-pear chutney and sauerkraut. The episode was really fun to film and it piqued my interest for fermentation as a means of preservation.
Unfortunately, I let the chutney ferment a little too long and the sugars turned to alcohol, so we never got to taste that one. However, both the pickled daikon and the sauerkraut were huge successes. We polished off the daikon some time ago, but the sauerkraut has been hanging out in the fridge, waiting for a good application.
Sunday night, we planned a simple dinner. We had a coil of supermarket kielbasa in the fridge and two pounds of brussels sprouts that I was going to halve and roast with onions and garlic. Scott said, “Too bad we don’t have some sauerkraut.” In a flash, I remembered the jar that was tucked in the back of the refrigerator. He sliced up the sausage and tossed it in a frying pan with about half the jar of sauerkraut. Ten minutes later, the sausage was browned and the sauerkraut was translucent and pungently aromatic.
I am now totally sold on homemade sauerkraut, because it was dead easy to make and so much more delicious that anything than came from the store (and there’s something magical about cutting up a cabbage in October and not eating it until February). We simply thinly sliced the cabbage (a nice big one from the Headhouse Square Farmers Market), put it in the bowl with a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of fennel seeds (we didn’t have any carraway, which is the traditional flavoring) and banged it up with a potato masher to break down the cell structure of the cabbage a bit. Then we packed it into a jar (packed being the operative word) and topped it with a bit of distilled water (just enough to cover the cabbage). Then it just hung out in a corner of the kitchen for about a month. I put it in the fridge after that time, but I do believe that you can also let it spend a bit more time doing its thing.
To make a quart (approximately) of sauerkraut
1 head of cabbage, cored and finely shredded
1 tablespoon good salt (kosher is okay, sea salt is better)
1 teaspoon carraway or fennel seeds
1-3 tablespoons of distilled water
Put the sliced cabbage into a non-reactive bowl, add salt and seeds and bang it around with a potato masher or meat tenderizer, until it starts to soften a bit. Pack it into a quart jar, using the end of a wooden spoon to really force it down. Top it off with just enough water to cover. Let it mellow for a month or more, occasionally releasing any gasses that collect in the jar. Just be warned, it will be stinky. If any bloom starts to develop on top, scrape it off.
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I’ve always wanted to make homemade kraut but have been way too intimidated. I will absolutely try this now, as I’m looking at ways to get more probiotic in our diets. It’s a shame I can’t feed it to the babies though.
It really is very easy, you should do it.
Marissa, how big was that big head of cabbage? I ask because you mention packing a quart jar. Did you have more than a quart jar (and did you use 1 T of salt total or for each) or just one? it’ll give me an idea for how tight to pack the jar. And although sauerkraut is traditionally a fall & winter fare, there is no reason one could not do it with spring cabbage, is there?
Sylvie, the head of cabbage we used for the sauerkraut was approximately 2 pounds (it felt huge, but I think it was actually a fairly average-sized cabbage). Once cored and chopped, it filled a large mixing bowl. But we bruised it with a potato masher for about ten minutes and then really packed it into a quart jar, so the whole cabbage fit in a single jar with about 1/2 an inch of headspace. We only used one tablespoon of salt for the whole thing. The secret is that you really pack it firmly into the jar.
One thing to remember is that you shouldn’t use tap water as your liquid. Make sure to get spring or distilled water, because the chlorine in tap water will kill the good bacteria that you need in order to get the fermentation to work.
And I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t make it with spring cabbage. I’ve been thinking about making another batch, just because it was so delicious and I hate the idea of waiting several months to have it again.
Marisa, many thanks for the additional explanations. And a good reminder about what water to use. We are on our own well water, so we should be fine. Thanks again.
What a wonderful thing to have your own well water. Living in the city, I forget that such things are even possible!
I love your site. I can’t wait to try your kraut recipe, as I have a row of cabbage in our garden and will want to preserve it. I have one question…Do you cover the quart jar?
Dianne, yes, you do cover the pint jar with a standard lid. You may need to open it briefly on occasion as the sauerkraut ferments, to let out of some of the gas. You can test to see whether it’s time by pushing down on the top of the lid. If it doesn’t give at all, it’s time to gas the jars.
Sugars turning into alcohol should not prevent a person from enjoying fermented chutney. Indeed, they may add the the fun!
Marisa, I want to try to make the quart jar sauerkraut. Would you please help with the sea salt. I have redmond realsalt it says on the package “ancient all natural sea salt” can I use this?
CAN YOU USE A STAINLESS STEEL BOWL,CAUSE THE CROCK BOWLS I HAVE IS VERY OLD AND WILL BREAK AND CRACK.??????
[...] But for those who really want to go the extra mile, try making your own corned beef or sauerkraut. [...]
Hey, Marisa,
This is an old post–I know. But of course I came to Food in Jars with my canning questions and searched. I want to make sauerkraut because, eventually, I want to make choucroute. Anyway, I’ve been researching recipes and I have a couple questions.
1) Some recipes specify an “earthenware crock” as the vessel the kruat should ferment in. I don’t even know what that means. Does the magic have to happen in any specific type of container?
2)Numerous recipes specify pickling salts. I see here you used sea salt. What’s the difference?
3)The question of water–would filtered water from a Pur filter be fine or do I need to seek out distilled?
I know you are the expert so I thought I’d ask!
[...] food and in learning new (to me) ways of preserving food (and prompted by a post of Food in Jar on Home-Made Sauerkraut), I decided to give homemade sauerkraut a try and turned some of my spring cabbages into sauerkraut [...]
I read to add the salt to the cabbage and leave it to wilt for an hour. I did that and didn’t need any water at all. I used 2 huge heads of cabbage, shredded, and 1/2 cup sea salt. It was about 10# cabbage. Initially it filled my 3 gal. crock, but within an hour, was only about 3/4 full. It filled a half-gallon, and 3 qt. jars, packed solidly, and had juice over the top of the cabbage in each jar.
As for crocks, BTW, I found a great store in Nicholasville, KY just south of Lexington, that had “seconds” for a fraction of the regular price. I bought my 3gal. crock last month for $20! Their “first”‘s were at least twice that, but the inside was perfectly “food safe”.
i can’t find a way to email you directly, so i hope you find this comment on a old post! i want to make this sauerkraut- do you keep the jars to ferment in the fridge, or no? do you need to water-bath them to can? you mention opening the jars every so often to release the gas- how often in a month? thank you.
Wow, is this the first post ever in this blog?
I have been on a expedition clicking the previous button until I found the begining
Nate, you found the very beginning. Well done!
I have the same question as Heather: do you put the jar in the fridge or no?
You keep it out of the fridge while it’s fermenting (for at least a month) and then, once it’s sour enough for your tastes, you either put it in the fridge or process it in a boiling water bath canner.
[...] we’re planning to pickle and can the cucumbers and try out the Food In Jars recipe for sauerkraut. Stayed tuned for posts on those canning adventures later this [...]
[...] take you through the process for 1 head of cabbage. My instructions are adapted from Food in Jars and the Ball Blue [...]
Why is my sauerkaut turning a brownist color on the top? I have lids on but loose; should they be tight? The jars have bubbles on the top but they are not all turning color (yet). Please help!
It sounds like it isn’t submerged beneath the water. You gotta pack it down and make sure it is covered with liquid.
I made sauerkraut yesterday after reading this sight and I added a bit more sea salt than you recommend. I hope that’s ok! I had 3 heads of cabbage and after going threw the proess of beating it and letting it wilt I packed 5 quarts of sauerkraut. I packed it as tight as I could and it seems that even after adding water to top off the jar that it still does not cover the cabbage. I left a half inch head space. So I hope it works. I also used plastic lids instead of the canning lids. Is this ok to do? I thought if you have to open it why waste the canning lids. Thank you! I can’t wait to see if it works and how it taste!
I’m going to do this tomorrow…is it ok to just leave the jars on the kitchen counter while the cabbage is fermenting or must it be fermenting in the frig?
It needs to be out of the fridge to ferment properly.
Hello, I used to make sauerkraut all the time, when cabbage was on sale. Recently we lost our home and pets to a fire and all my recipes. But I do want to tell you the most awesome cookbook I had, was for things from the garden, can’t remember the name. It had the most awesome recipe. I have racked my brain trying to remember it. I know I packed it in jars after it set and wilted for about an hour. I put mine in an old cake pan and put it in one of the bedrooms we didn’t use. every week or two we would check the jars to add brine water.
Mine was not real salty, it was really good. It is better to put it in a room that does not get a lot of light.
I’ve done much pickling when lived in New Jersey, but now live in Panama, and finding sauerkraut here is like finding Henry Morgan’s Treasure, (English pirate that burned and looted, Panama Viejo 1600′s), I’m going to try this, love it on dogs and with smoked pork chops, have great cabbage here as same for all vegs, but they do not know about preserving food other than salted and dried.
I just made sauerkraut for the first time. The recipe I found said to put a plastic bag full of water on top to weigh it down. My bag leaked some water, which is chlorinated, onto my cabbage. I tried to scoop it off, but there was some left in the cabbage. I just read where the chlorine will stop fermentation. I started it about four weeks ago. Is it going to be ok?
Carie, I have no idea whether your sauerkraut will be okay or not. You’ll just have to take a look at it and see if it looks like it is continuing to ferment. In the future, you should fill your weight bag with a salt water brine. That way, it if leaks, it won’t damage your sauerkraut.
[...] Sauerkraut. I found the recipe at FoodInJars.com. It’s so super easy—just shred the cabbage, salt it, and massage it to break it down, [...]
Will store bought cabbage work?
It works just fine. I’m on about my eighth batch of sauerkraut made from grocery store cabbage.
I have made two 15-liter batches of sourkraut. Both fermented for 6 weeks. The first came out great, good taste, mildly sour. The second came out REALLY, REALLY sour, almost too sour to eat. Can anyone suggest why?