Easy Homemade Sauerkraut

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 medium head cabbage

  (about 3-4 lbs.)
• 1.5 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds
• 3 32 oz. wide mouth mason jars
• cheesecloth
• pickle pebbles, or jar weights

  (just another smaller wide mouth mason jar also works)

Instructions

• 1 Start with a clean surface including hands and all equipment you are using. 
• 2 Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage. DO NOT WASH THE CABBAGE. The beneficial
  bacteria is in the cabbage, don't wash it all away. I prefer to use organic
  cabbage as to avoid pesticide exposure.
• 3 Slice the cabbage by first slicing in half, then in quarters. Remove the core
  and slice the cabbage lengthwise into thin ribbons
  
• 4 Place the cabbage into a large bowl [https://abraskitchen.com/xgxc] and sprinkle
  with salt. Using clean hands, massage the salt into the cabbage. Continue to
  massage and squeeze the cabbage for several minutes. This requires putting a
  little muscle into it. Gradually the cabbage will become watery and limp. This
  should take 5-10 minutes.
• 5 Your cabbage should begin to look like this once you've properly given it a good
  rub down.
• 6 If you are using caraway seeds or any other spice add it now.
• 7 Pack the cabbage into your wide mouth mason jars. Really punch the cabbage down
  with your fist to attempt to pack the cabbage in and allow the liquid to rise to
  the surface. Ideally you want the cabbage to be fully immersed in liquid (the
  liquid that you have produced by rubbing the salt into the leaves). Pour any
  additional liquid from the bowl into the jars with cabbage. Fill the jars a
  little more than 3/4 full. 
• 8 Optional – Use one of the larger reserved outer cabbage leaves over the surface
  of the sliced cabbage. This will help to keep the cabbage submerged.
• 9 Once all of the cabbage has been placed into jars, use either a pickle pebble or
  another smaller mason jar filled with pebbles or dried beans to weigh down the
  cabbage and allow the cabbage to remain submerged in liquid.
• 10 Cover the mouth of the jar with cheesecloth and a rubberband or twine. This will
  allow air to pass in and out of the jar while still keeping creepy crawlers out.
• 11 For the first 24 hours of fermentation you will need to open the jars and press
  the cabbage down every so often. I call this step “punch the cabbage”. This is
  to ensure that the cabbage stays submerged and over time the cabbage will become
  more limp and compact and the liquid will rise to the surface.
• 12 If after 24 hours you find that there isn't enough liquid, dissolve 1 tsp salt
  into 1 cup of water and add more liquid to the cabbage.
• 13 Ferment the cabbage for 3-10 days. After 3 days taste the cabbage, I tend to
  like cabbage at the 7 day mark, but if you like a milder ferment you can stop
  the fermentation process at 3 days. Keep in mind that you reach peak nutrition
  around day 7.
  
  While the cabbage is fermenting you may see bubbles rise to the surface, this is
  ok! That is fermentation working. If you see scum rise to the surface you can
  skim that off and if any mold begins to appear remove it and do not eat that
  bit. 
• 14 Once you have reached your desired level of fermentation, remove the
  cheesecloth, and weights from the jar and close with regular mason jar lid.
  Store in fridge for 2 months or longer. My rule of thumb is as long as it still
  tastes good, it's good to eat. 

Nutrition Info