Fermented White and Red Cabbage Old Fashioned Way (Red Sauerkraut)
Karina Kaplun
If you are looking for a simple and straight forward sauerkraut recipe then look no further! This is a very simple recipe of sauerkraut fermented old fashioned way. This sauerkraut will provide you with more types of fiber, more polyphenols, more of all kinds of good stuff! It's a perfect apetizer, snack or a side dish.
Prep Time 1 hr
Cook Time 7 d
Total Time 7 d 1 hr
Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Eastern Europe
Servings 20 people
Calories 27 kcal
- 2.5 lb Green/white cabbage 2 medium heads
- 1.5 lb Red cabbage 1 medium head
- 2 Carrots large
- 2.5 tbsp Table Salt Hymalayan or Celtic; about 40-42 g
- 0.5 tbsp peppercorns optional
- 1 tsp cumin seeds optional
- 1 tsp coriander seeds optional
Finely shred cabbage and grate cabbage with the knife, slicer or Borner Mandoline. Place finely shredded cabbage, carrots, salt and peppercorns, cumin, coriander seeds (optional) in a large glass or stainless steel bowl. Massage the cabbage and mix it at the same time. Massaging and squeezing the shredded cabbage helps to draw the liquid from it. He is a short video clip of how I did it with a different batch. Make sure you have clean hands during this process! If you do not have enough brine your kraut you can leave the cabbage in a bowl and come back in 20-30 min. This may help the cabbage to release more liquid.
Pack the cabbage into the glass or ceramic crock using wooden pickle packer. Press the cabbage with the wooden packer so that all the air comes out and the liquid comes out. We need as much of this liquid to come out as possible to completely cover the cabbage. This is a very important. Place the weight over the cabbage and optionally (if there is room in the crock) you can place another heavy weight on top of it (0.25 L glass jar filled with water in my case).
Let the cabbage sit undisturbed at room temperature (the temperature of my kitchen was 22 ºC), out of direct sunlight, for at least 7 days. The longer you ferment the more potentially probiotic bacteria called Lactobacilli you will have in your sauerkraut. So be patient and wait! Do not mind all other bottles and jars around on the picture below. It was my big fermentation day!
Transfer the cabbage into a clean glass jar once it is ready to store in the refrigerator.
Ferment the cabbage for at least 7 days or longer for better health benefits. Remember “when in doubt, throw it out”.
Keyword fermented, fermented cabbage, sauerkraut