This simple and Easy Sauerkraut Recipe comes together in 15 minutes and then its just a matter of admiring its beauty before popping it away in a dark cupboard and waiting for it to be ready.
It can be used after a week but the longer you leave it the mellower it will become. Try taste testing it after a week and then again week by week to see how the flavour develops. When it gets to how you like move it into the fridge ready to be used in sandwiches or popped on the side of a salad or avocado toast.
Sauerkraut IS a superfood, its not just pickled cabbage! During the fermentation process probiotics are produced which are highly beneficial for gut health, strengthening the balance of your digestive system. There are many many other benefits of sauerkraut including boosting your immune system, lowering cholesterol and helping with inflammation. If you want to read up further on these and more then click here and see what Dr Axe has to say about it.
Bought sauerkraut in the past and thought yuk? You’re not alone! I wasn’t a fan either until I made my own! I only found one shop bought variety that I can’t even go so far as to say I liked though I can say I didn’t mind the taste of BUT more importantly most of these factory produced krauts have been pasteurised and the probiotics killed off. So if you are looking at store bought sauerkrauts make sure they have not been pasteurised. Better still just buy a cabbage and make your own. All you need is salt, apple cider vinegar, garlic and black peppercorns and a jar to put it in and you’ll be spooning this deliciousness from the jar in no time!
Are you ready to make yummy Easy Sauerkraut?
Lets do this!
EASY SAUERKRAUT RECIPE
A basic recipe for a simple sauerkraut
Ingredients
- 1 red cabbage
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 8 black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar with the mother
- filtered water
Instructions
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Remove and keep the outer leaves of the cabbage, set aside.
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Cut off the end and tough middle part and discard.
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Chop or shred the cabbage either by hand or in your food processor.
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Place in a bowl with the salt and massage for a few minutes so it starts to release moisture then put into a sterilised jar and push down with a wooden spoon handle so its tightly packed, leaving about an inch clear from the top of the jar.
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Sprinkle the garlic and peppercorns on top of the cabbage then spoon in the vinegar. Top up with a tbsp or so of filtered water if needed so the cabbage is just immersed in liquid. You really don’t want too much liquid as the cabbage will produce its own during the fermentation process and may spill over (I learned the hard way, red juice everywhere doh!).
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Now use the outer leaves that you saved to plug the gap between the cabbage and lid, like an inner lid, before popping the lid on the jar.
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Place in a cool dark cupboard and leave for as long as you like, testing weekly to check the progress. I like mine after 3-4 weeks but you can use it after a week if its not too tart. The longer you leave it the mellower it becomes. It’ll be fine for months if you can wait that long!
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Once it has reached the maturity you like then pop it in the fridge and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
Once you have got comfortable with this basic recipe feel free to experiment with any other herbs and spices you fancy. Lemon, ginger, turmeric, pink peppercorns etc all work very well. Let your imagination run wild!