It might be an acquired taste, but the health benefits are totally worth adding in Raw Herbal Sauerkraut to your daily diet!
Even our kids ask for this. Especially in winter when fresh produce can be lacking, we add a spoon of this to our dinner. Everyone knows they just get a scoop and move on. The kids have grown to love it for sure! It helps if you get them involved in the process.
You can also easily ferment Lemon Honey for that little boost you need. Fermented Garlic can be a great helper in winter. I love to get that started so we have a large jar ready for sick season.
Key Ingredients
Cabbage - I definitely find cabbage in the garden that will sit in our root cellar just fine for months. If I find ones that are looser heads or just not the size I want to save, they become perfect for kraut.
Carrots - Again, this is a great way to save that summer produce! I love adding carrots for the sweetness.
Herbs - Select fresh herbs from your garden or you can use dried. I just feel the fresh adds a great flavour! You don't want a ton, just enough.
How to Make Raw Kraut
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Slice the bottoms off the cabbage.
Step 2: Cut out the heart of each head. Chunk into manageable pieces if necessary.
Step 3: You can use a food processor, mandoline, or knife to shred/cut the cabbage the way you like.
Step 4: Add cabbage to a bowl and massage if necessary to release water.
Step 5: Shred carrots and add to kraut.
Step 6: Combine well with clean hands and ensure it is wet. Calculate appropriate salt and stir in.
Step 7: Slice fresh herbs very finely.
Step 8: Stir herbs into kraut.
Step 9: Add a weight, or cabbage leaves, to make sure all kraut is submerged.
Step 10: Use cheesecloth and a ring or a burping lid.
Tips and Tricks
- You technically don't need special equipment. Folded cabbage leaves and clean rocks work well as weights.
- You can slice the cabbage however you think your family will enjoy. Small to disappear on their plate or larger chunks like coleslaw.
- Change up the flavour by trying out different herbs.
- If you are doing a lot of kraut, the food processor will make quick work of it!
FAQs
Calculate the salt needed which will be 2-2.5% of your kraut weight. (Go for 2.5 if you like a saltier kraut) in our case our total cabbage mix (not including herbs) is 1905 grams so we added 41.91 grams of salt. (1905 x 2.2% on calculator). Yup, you need to do math here - salt is crucial and you need enough!
Air is the enemy here! You must make sure you have enough liquid from massaging the cabbage that it is completely submerged in the jar. Using a heavy weight is key as well, because the cabbage will shrink down as it sits. You can fold a cabbage leaf and use a smooth, washed rock, or purchase actual fermenting weights.
While air is bad to let in, you need to ensure gas can get OUT. As it ferments, the kraut will release gas which is why you must let it breathe. Use special fermenting or burping lids with your jar rings, or you can cover with cheesecloth and a ring. You might have liquid escaping, so keep the jars on a tray. You will see the action slow down and have less gas after two weeks. You can then safely add lids for storage.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
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Raw Herbal Sauerkraut
Equipment
- Large wide-mouth jars
- Canning/fermenting weight
- Burping lid or cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 2 medium cabbage see notes
- 1 small bunch carrots
- Fine Sea Salt
- Herbs of choice
Instructions
- Peel off outer cabbage leaves, and set aside for now as you may use them to cover your kraut later.
- Cut cabbages in half and cut out heart of cabbage.
- Clean carrots and cut off greens, or if they are fresh, you could add them to the kraut. Set aside.
- Decide whether you want chunky, coarse shredded or extra fine kraut at this point. It is a personal preference, but each type requires different methods. We opted for coarse shredded.
- If you are going for coarse, chop up all your cabbage with a strong and weighted knife to the bite size you want. You will have to manually “massage” and squeeze your cabbage to break it down in order to release the juices. You may not want to go this route but it is a satisfying process and hand workout nonetheless!
- If you opted for a hand chopped kraut, at this stage you are going to going to massage the cabbage (with clean hands) until the cabbage has released a lot of its juices. The more of the juices you release, the less of a need there will be to add water and the stronger the flavour. If done properly, the slaw will be very juicy and when squeezed it will run the juices through your fingers.
- If you are wanting a finer kraut, you can use a grater (watch those fingers!) or use a food processor to speed up the process. We used a knife to cut cabbage into manageable chunks then opted for a coarse shred in our food processor. It saves a lot of time if you have a larger food processor! The added bonus is that you will have little to no massaging to do, as your cabbage should already be very wet.
- Once you’ve chopped/grated/processed your cabbage transfer to a large bowl.
- Shred your carrots with a grater, or food processor and if you are using the greens, chop finely and add to the bowl.
- At this point weigh another large bowl and zero your scale to 0 grams. Now add the slaw and weigh, writing it down.
- Calculate the salt needed which will be 2-2.5% of your kraut weight. (Go for 2.5 if you like a saltier kraut) in our case our total cabbage mix (not including herbs) is 1905 grams so we added 41.91 grams of salt. (1905 x 2.2% on calculator)
- Add salt and squeeze cut/shredded cabbage with hands, thoroughly mixing in salt until the juices are flowing and salt is well incorporated. Taste and decide at this point if the salt amount is just right, or too little. The kraut will have the same amount of salt when it is finished fermenting so now is the time to decide if you want a bit more to your taste.
- Now you can add you herbs. Chop all your fresh herbs finely, add then add the seeds. Mix in well with your hands.
- Set up your jars, making sure they are very clean.
- Add your fresh salted kraut to the first jar (you usually need more than one if you are using more than one cabbage), making sure to press it down in the jar firmly until kraut is near the top by a few inches, with juices flowing over the kraut. You can use pieces of the cabbage leaf you set aside before you put the weight on.
- Juices may overflow at this point, so wipe clean.
- After this step, if you have a “burper” put it over the weight, and firmly screw on lid. If you don’t have a burper, cover with a clean piece cheese cloth and screw on carefully. You cannot screw on a jar lid as it could cause your ferment to explode!
- Check in on ferments regularly every day or so and clean up any spills on the tray.
- Two weeks is a safe bet for fermentation, but you can go up to a month. Once bubbling/action is done, you can switch to a clean lid for storage.
Notes
- 2 cabbage = approximately 1 - 1 ½ litres of sauerkraut
- For herbs, choose your favourites but keep it simple and moderate. Some herbs will add and keep a distinct flavour, like caraway seeds, others will meld into the kraut with the nutrients added but the flavour muted, like basil and dill.
We used: 10 ml caraway seeds, ½ cup fresh dill, ½ cup fresh parsley, 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, ½ cup dried kelp
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