Have you noticed the bottles of locally made kimchi, kvass and other fermented vegetables at our local farm markets? Fermented foods have made a comeback in food trends. Food preservation techniques, like fermenting, are centuries old and it may be the health benefits that have driven their popularity.
With holiday overeating (being unkind to our gut) and the New Year’s pork and sauerkraut traditions in mind, let’s get started on a batch of our own sauerkraut! I enlisted the help of local clean eating enthusiast and educator Annemarie Cantrell of Cucina Verde. She was also the most recent guest on the Two Weird Hungry Girls podcast episode, Drinking Kvass.
Annemarie, host of cooking classes and wellness lectures, is sharing her recipe for Homemade Sauerkraut! It is so simple I can’t wait to give a try!
She explains this method of preserving as lacto-fermentation, which provides enormous health benefits. “The process involves breaking down the cellulose of the vegetables (the salt helps to do that) so that beneficial bacteria can proliferate in the end product. The end product is teeming with beneficial probiotic bacteria, digestive enzymes and the vitamins present in the vegetables become more bio-available through the fermentation process.”
With two ingredients in hand, let’s try our hands at making our own kraut for the new year. Tune into the podcast to hear more about kvass, the benefits of fermented foods and details about this recipe!
Happy ‘krauting and happy holidays!
Homemade Sauerkraut
Recipe from Annemarie Cantrell of Cucina Verde
Ingredients
- 5 pounds head cabbage, red or green or a combination of both
- 2-3 Tbsp salt
- Optional additions: Caraway seeds, juniper berries, any spice that you like
Instructions
- Finely chop the cabbage by hand or a grater option of a food processor.
- Place the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkle with the salt and begin to massage the salt into the cabbage. Use your hands or a pounder to do this. As you massage, you are breaking up the cell wall and allowing the liquid to be released. This liquid will serve as your brine.
- Pack the cabbage into a clean canning jar and push down so there are no air bubbles. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to press the cabbage tightly to the neck of a canning jar. Add the salt brine to the jars.
- Seal the jars using clean lids and place the jars on a plate (there may be spillage as it processes).
- Let vegetables sit on the counter, out of direct sunlight, for anywhere from 5 days to 3 weeks.
- Burp the jars daily by opening the lid to releases the natural gasses and reseal.
- Taste it as time goes on and see how you like it. When it suits your taste, transfer to the refrigerator. Consume within 8-10 months.
Recipe notes:
- You may also add other vegetables to your sauerkraut. Consider carrot, daikon, radish, beet or apple.
- The more finely the vegetables are chopped, the more surface area present for the bacteria to infiltrate. The vegetables will also ferment more quickly when thinly chopped.
- If you see white foam or scum forming on the surface of the jars, scoop it off. It is a natural part of the process.
