Post from: My Health HQ

Why eat Nourishing Traditions ways? 101

Phase one: Shopping
1. Find good quality, organic green or purple head cabbage. One 8 inch diameter head will be more than enough, but it’s not a bad idea to pick up more than you think you’ll need. Your family can always use more calciferous veggies in their life, right? Weigh your cabbage.. remember this number.
2. Buy good quality sea salt, but don’t worry about fleur de sel or some imported stuff. I use Real Salt and highly recommend it.

Phase two: Cleaning and Chopping
1. Get a quart size mason jar with a lid. You can either buy 6 or 12 of them new with lids, or find one at a thrift store and buy new lids and rings at the grocery store. You might even have some at home already. Wash it well with soap and hot water.
2. Core and chop your cabbage. Commercial kraut is often made with really finely shredded cabbage. I prefer a little bigger shreds.. more or less as small as I can get them with a knife.
3. As you chop your cabbage stuff it into the jar.. with no salt.. this is just for measuring. Don’t pound it in, just stuff it as stuffed as you can get it. When the jar is full pull the cabbage out into the biggest mixing bowl (or a big cooking pot) you have. Add another handful of shredded cabbage.

Phase three: Salting and packing
1. Remember how much your head of cabbage weighed at the grocery store? Do a little mental math estimating how much of the cabbage you used, and multiply that by 2 tsp per pound. For example, your cabbage weighed 2 pounds and you used 3/4 of the head. You used 1 1/2 pounds of cabbage so you need 3 tsp of salt. Figure out how much salt you need and sprinkle that over the cabbage. No need for a calculator here, just guesstimate.
2. Toss the cabbage and the salt with your hands, squeezing and crunching the cabbage. You should start to see some liquid coming out of the cabbage. Keep kneading and squeezing, thinking about how yummy and healthy this kraut is going to be and how much you love your family for a couple minutes.
3. Taste the cabbage.. it should be distinctly salty. If it is pleasantly salty, add some more salt. If it makes you want to gag add some more shredded cabbage
3. Rinse your hands off and start packing the jar. Use a wooden spoon or wooden meat pounder or small ladle to help you really pack the cabbage into the jar. You want to push any air bubbles out. Pack it in a small amount at a time until the cabbage is within 1/2 an inch of the bottom of the threads of
the jar.
4. Push on the kraut one last time. If liquid isn’t rising above the level of the cabbage then make a brine of about 1 tsp of salt per cup of water. Slowly pour a little of this over the cabbage, giving it time to sink in, until it is at or above the level of the cabbage.
5. Screw the lid on tight and put in a warmish place in your kitchen. On top of the fridge, the cupboard above the microwave, etc. Do the dishes and leave the cabbage for the day

Phase Four: Fermenting and Ageing
1. The next day, open the lid of the jar. I recommend doing this over the sink. Did the jar “pop” or fizz when you opened it? If not, that’s OK. Taste the kraut. Put the lid back on and put it back in the warm spot.
2. Repeat the last step every day until it truly is popping of fizzing. Taste it again, and then put the lid back on and put that jar in the fridge.
3. Let it sit for at least one more week and then test again. Sour yet? No, let it go anothe week. In the fridge this stuff will last for weeks and months and just get sourer and sourer. Most likely after 2 weeks in the fridge it will be quite sour, but since you’ve been tasting it the whole time you know what it’s like and when you are going to enjoy eating it.

Phase Five: Making the next batch…
Repeat from the beginning, adding some of your sauerkraut juice to the cabbage as your are packing it or instead of the brine.

Post from: My Health HQ

Making Kraut 101 recipe