How to Make Sauerkraut

Something I often hear from my 3 year old at mealtimes is, “Mama, more sauerkraut please!” No joke, my young kids love this stuff, which is just one of the many reasons why we almost always have multiple jars of sauerkraut in our fridge. Sauerkraut is such a convenient way to add a healthy probiotic rich vegetable to our family’s diet. It tastes great on sandwiches, salads, eggs, hotdogs, beef sausages and of course on it’s own for a quick side dish.

So, have you ever wondered how to make your own sauerkraut at home? Well, I have good news for all you sauerkraut lovers out there. Making your own is insanely simple, cost effective, and you only need 2 ingredients- cabbage and salt! With these easy to follow instructions you will never want to buy it from the store ever again. Before we begin, let’s cover some basic information and answer some questions.

Health Benefits of Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut has been renowned throughout the ages for it’s health benefits. It is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C, K, calcium, potassium and phosphorus. Since it is preserved using lacto-fermentation methods, it is loaded with gut healthy probiotics. Studies have shown it helps overall digestion, boosts immune health, improves brain function, reduces inflammation in the body, and is loaded with antioxidants which help fight cancer causing cells. Pretty amazing sounding stuff huh? To learn more about the health benefits of lacto-fermented sauerkraut click HERE.

Sourcing Bulk Cabbage

If growing your own cabbage plants isn’t an option, you can find some pretty good bulk prices if you know where to look. Check your local farmer’s markets, farm stands or CSA’s (community supported agriculture) in your area.

Azure Standard is another great way to get bulk produce at a good price. The past two years in the fall I have taken advantage of buying 40lbs of organic green cabbage to process into sauerkraut that lasts us well into the next spring. It’s nice to just get it all done in one shot and not have to worry about making more for 6 months or longer.

Storage is one thing to take into consideration when making loads of it at once since it needs to be kept in cold storage. We have a deep underground pump house that is perfect for storing our bulk ferments since it keeps it cold and never freezes. Otherwise, storing it in your refrigerator or a heated garage over winter would be a good option if you don’t have underground storage such as a root cellar.

FAQS

What is Lacto-Fermentation?

Lacto-fermentation is an ancient process that most traditional societies throughout history have used to preserve their food. The salt water brine ensures that no harmful bacteria can survive while the lactobacillus (the good bacteria) is able to thrive. The lactobacillus is able to then feed off of the natural sugars that are present on your vegetables/fruits and in doing so produces lactic acid. This lactic acid is what creates a healthy and safe environment for your vegetables and acts as a preservative.

Why Lacto-Fermentation?

The health benefits of eating lacto-fermented foods have been proven over the ages. Its unfortunate that is seems we have lost this simple old practice in our modern world, but it seems to be making a come back and for good reason!

The lactobacillus found in the ferment is a probiotic that helps us digest our food. It adds good bacteria to our gut that is pivotal to our health and having a healthy immune system. In a way, the bacteria “pre-digests” our food making it easier on our bodies to process and actually makes the vitamins and nutrients more bioavailable.

Another benefit of course, is just how simple, easy and fast it is to preserve your harvest this way! Canning is a food preservation method that definitely has merit, but for all you canners out there you know there is a little bit more prep work involved. Fermentation hands down wins against canning when it comes to ease and speed.

Is Lacto-Fermentation Safe?

Yes! Lacto-fermentation is a very safe way to preserve your food. As long as you have the salt to water ratio correct (in this case salt to cabbage ratio since no extra water is needed for sauerkraut) there is no chance of any harmful bacteria to grow. Also, the amount of salt used actually has more wiggle room than you may think. The great thing with this method is that it takes only common sense to know that something went wrong. If it smells bad or looks bad, it is bad. Toss it out and start over.

Okay, now that we’ve covered some basic information and questions about sauerkraut, let’s get to making it!

How to Make Sauerkraut

Tools You May Need

• glass mason jar with ring
• fermenting lids
• glass fermenting weights
• plastic mason jar lid– or metal mason jar lid with ring
• kraut pounder
• kitchen scale

You can absolutely make this without any special fermentation equipment and I give alternative options in the instructions below. However, I highly recommend this lacto-fermenting kit. It has everything you need to get started and is what I use myself for all of my fermenting projects! Or you can buy the fermenting lids and glass weights separately.

Ingredients

• organic green cabbage
• sea salt- must be non-iodized salt

Instructions

Remove outer leaves of cabbage and wash thoroughly

Cut cabbage in half and remove core. Slice cabbage into thin strips about an 1/8inch thick

This doesn’t need to be precise, but the thinner you slice the cabbage, the faster it will ferment. It will also change the texture of your kraut, so slice according to your preference.

Weigh cabbage in a bowl to calculate the amount of salt needed. Calculate salt weight to be 2% of cabbage weight.

Place a large bowl on your kitchen scale. Remember to press TARE to clear the weight. Then, add sliced cabbage and get your weight in grams. Multiply weight of cabbage by 2% (0.02). This number is the grams of salt you will need to sprinkle over the cabbage. For example: If your cabbage weighs 500grams you will calculate the 2% ratio as follows: 500 grams of cabbage X .02 = 10 grams of salt.

Some recipes will give you an amount of salt to add per cabbage head, which is great if you want to skip the math part. But since cabbage sizes vary so drastically, I prefer to calculate my salt to cabbage ratio this way because it is more exact and will give more consistent results. Personally, I like the result of the final product using a 2% ratio, but keep in mind a range of 1.5%-2.5% is considered acceptable.

Sprinkle salt over cabbage and massage with hands to fully incorporate

The salt allows the cabbage to release it’s juices to make it’s own brine, so no need to add any extra water when making sauerkraut.

Let it rest for 10 minutes to allow juices to release. Then, pound with a kraut pounder for a few minutes to release more juices

This allows more juices to be released and makes packing into the jar much easier. You can use the extra liquid in the bowl to top off your jars once they are filled. This will ensure the cabbage is completely submerged. If you don’t have a kraut pounder, don’t worry! When I first started making sauerkraut and didn’t own one. I used a free weight (weight for exercising) covered in a plastic zip lock bag to pound the cabbage and that worked great. You can also use your fist!

Pack cabbage into glass jars and push down with a kraut pounder to allow juices to fully cover cabbage. Top off with extra brine from bowl if needed.

Add cabbage a little at a time and use kraut pounder (or fist) to push down firmly making sure cabbage is fully submerged under brine. Leave about 1 inch headspace from the top of the jar.

Place fermenting weight in jar and make sure cabbage is fully submerged under brine

If you don’t have a glass fermenting weight, don’t worry! You can use discarded cabbage leaves and the core to keep everything submerged. You can also use a plastic zip lock back filled with rocks or a 4oz mason jar to act as a weight as well. Whatever you choose to use, just make sure everything stays under the brine to avoid molding issues.

Place fermenting lid on jar and secure with mason jar ring

If you don’t have a fermenting lid don’t worry! You can use a regular metal lid with a ring on your mason jar, but you MUST remember to “burp” your jars everyday. “Burping” your jars just means you slightly unscrew the ring to allow the gas to release. Do this very slowly, otherwise the brine will ferociously spray out of your jar from the built up pressure and you will have a big mess on your hands (ask me how I know)!

Allow to sit out of direct sunlight and at room temperature for 3-7 days.

The warmer your house is the quicker it will ferment and vice versa. You will notice fizzy bubbles during this time, which is what you want to see! This means the fermentation process is taking place. It is a good idea to place your jar on a plate or bowl to catch any liquid that leaks from the top. You can give it a taste after 3 days. If it isn’t sour enough to your liking, leave it out for a few more days, and recheck. Remember your sauerkraut will continue to ferment in cold storage, just at a much slower pace.

Cap with a normal lid and move to cold storage

Once you are happy with the taste, remove the fermenting weight and fermenting lid. Place a plastic lid on the jar and move to cold storage (refrigerator, underground pumphouse, cold basement, root cellar, etc.) I only use plastic lids now because I had an issue with the metal lids and rings rusting during long term storage. You can start enjoying your sauerkraut immediately or let it sit in the refrigerator to continue slowly fermenting for up to another year! The longer it sits, the more sour it will taste. Enjoy!

Now that you know just how simple it is to make sauerkraut at home, you can try out some different combinations of vegetables to find your favorite flavor! You can add pretty much any vegetable you would like, just follow the same 2% salt to shredded vegetable ratio and you are good to go! Some great combos to try are:

• Latin American Sauerkraut (Cortido) – green cabbage, onion, carrot, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes…psssst this one is my absolute favorite! Check out the YouTube video below for this recipe!
• Red Cabbage Sauerkraut- you can try plain with just cabbage, or add shredded beets and carrots for a unique flavor.
• Traditional Kimchi– made with Napa Cabbage and is a great accompaniment for Asian inspired dishes.

I would love to know what combinations you love to use when you make sauerkraut! Leave a comment below and let me know if you plan to give this a try. Well, thanks so much for stopping by the homestead and have a blessed day!

You can check out the YouTube video on How to Make Sauerkraut- Latin American Cortido below!