Learn how to make easy homemade sauerkraut in this step by step recipe. Sauerkraut is both delicious and very good for gut health. Once you have tasted homemade, you will never go back to shop bought again.

Health Benefits of homemade sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is the process of creating a lacto ferment using salt and naturally occuring good bacteria on the vegetables. Salt prevents bad bacteria from growing and creates a perfect environment for lactobacillus to grow. This natural probiotic is wonderful for gut health.

Gut health is so important to the rest of your body. A healthy gut feeds all of the tissues of the body so you will see improvements in not only your tummy. Your skin and hair will look better and your overall well-being will improve.

How to make Easy Homemade Sauerkraut

This simple recipe is so easy you will be shocked. Sauerkraut is literally just cabbage and salt! Yes really! It is that simple.

You will need a set of scales to weigh the cabbage, then work out 2% of that weight to work out the salt portion.

The first job is to shred the cabbage. This can be done in either a food processor or by hand with a sharp knife. The food processor is protest if you aren’t confident about cutting even shreds, but it isn’t necessary for a great end product.

Once the cabbage is shredded to your liking it needs to be weighed to calculate the salt portion. I use a Himalayan rock salt as this is the most natural salt with no additives. Some additives in table salt can inhibit the growth of the lactobacillus and that’s not what we want here.

Sprinkle over the salt and being mashing the cabbage to create a brine with the cabbage juices. The mashed cabbage can now be pressed firmly into a jar to allow the brine to completely submerge the cabbage. You need to make sure that all of the cabbage is under the liquid. Any cabbage not submerged will spoil and not ferment. To be sure that everything stays below the brine, a weight can be used. Fermenting weights are easily available online, but you can make do with a few pebbles in a clean plastic bag. Push the weight down and screw on the lid.

Place the jar in a dark place to ferment for 3-5 days. You can taste it as you go until you reach the level of sourness that you like. Once you reach this level, pop it in the fridge and enjoy a required.

Easy Homemade Sauerkraut

How to make easy homemade sauerkraut. Follow this easy step by staep recipe

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Prep Time 15

Total Time 15

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, English

Servings 1 Quart jar

Equipment

Scales
Quart mason jar

Ingredients

1 Head Red or white cabage
2% Salt

Instructions

First cut and core the head of cabbage
Shred the cabbage finely with either a food processor or by hand with a knife.
Place shredded cabbage into a bowl and measure out the salt. Salt =2% of the weight of the cabbage.
Sprinkle over the salt and start squeezing and mashing the salt into the cabbage shreds
After a short time the liquid should start coming out of the cabbage.
Pack the salted cabbage and juices into the mason jar.
Pack it down firmly and push out as much juice as possible
Press the cabbage down so that it is completely submerged under the brine.
Place either a fermentation weight or some pebbles in a plastic bag on top of the cabbage to hold it down while it ferments.
Lightly srew on the top and set aside in a dark place to ferment.
The sauerkraut should be ready to eat after 3-5 days. Taste it as you go to get the level of sour that you like.
Once fermented place in the fridge and enjoy.

Keyword cabbage, Fermented, food, gut health, homemade, Sauerkraut

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Fermentation weights

Quart mason jars

Himalayan rock salt

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