Basic Sauerkraut Recipe
Running a fermentation business, means I do fermentation all year around but even for me, this time of the year, I am never far from my kitchen… Just the other day I rescued 6 boxes of tomatoes from an organic grower that needed space in their polytunnel – cue me prepping tomatoes for a week.
If you ever considered making fermented foods yourself, I would say this is the best time to try it. It is an easy enough process and very fun to make too.
This is a standard sauerkraut recipe using cabbage as a base. You can always add to it, using root vegetables like turnip, swede, celeriac or any other odd end of vegetables you have lurking around in the back of your fridge – as long as it not mouldy.
- 800g of the brassica of your choice: any kind of cabbage, Brussel sprouts, Chinese Leaf or a mix of all of them, sliced. Keep one outer leave to be used as weight.
- 1 small apple
- 1 carrot
- Salt
Equipment
- 1 liter clip-top jar
Prepare your ingredients and weight them. You want to use 2% of salt for the total weight of your ingredients. Massage the salt onto the vegetables for about 5 minutes, you will notice the vegetables will go down a lot, and lot of water will come out: this is going the make up your brine.
Pack all your vegetables tightly on a clean jar, pushing out any air pockets. A lot of liquid will rise to the surface, this is how you keep an anaerobic environment to encourage the growth of your good bacteria (Lacto Acid Bacteria – LAB). As you pack it all in, use your outer leave (or another weight, like sterilised rocks or a ziplock bag with baking beans) to keep your vegetables submerged.
Keep you jar in your kitchen counter from 10 to 15 days. If you keep it in a cold room, like a garage or a shed you can leave it for a month or even 2 during winter. The temperature affects the fermentation process, the hotter the quicker.
Once you are happy with flavour – it should be sharp but not unpleasant – remove weight and always use a clean utensil to serve. Keep it in the fridge.
Classic flavour combos:
- Kimchi style: ginger, garlic and chilli flakes
- Anti-inflammatory and immune boosting: Turmeric, black pepper and lemon
- Classic: caraway and juniper
