How to Make Sauerkraut, Step-by-Step

In her book发酵好, Sharon Flynn describes in detail how to make sauerkraut, before presenting dozens of ideas for variation and then delving deeper into the wider world of fermented foods.

玩发酵a bit tricky—monitoring pH levels, releasing the pressure from your ferment, etc. But Flynn notes that it's practically impossible to mess up a basic sauerkraut, which is made from little more than cabbage and salt. If you're new to the technique of fermenting, it's a good place to start. Plus, once you get the basics down, it's an easy method to adapt for experimentation: add shredded carrots, sliced chiles, or herbs and you're on the road to customizing your kraut in whatever way you like to enjoy it best. If you're a fan of theChose Your Own Adventurebook series, then this kraut's for you. Let's get started:

How to Make Sauerkraut

For a 2-liter jar of kraut, you'll need about2 heads of cabbage. Remove the outer leaves and then, using a sharp knife,cut the cabbage in half through the stem end. Next, cut each piece in half (again through the stem end) to make quarters. With one cut side down, slice off the core from each quarter at a slight angle and toss the core into your compost bin. Finally, shred the cabbage into slices as thick or thin as you prefer, along either the horizontal or vertical edge, depending on whether you prefer short or long cabbage strands.

Place a large bowl atop adigital scaleand tare out the bowl's weight. Add the shredded cabbage and record the total weight (for accuracy, it's easiest to do this in grams).

增加约2%的卷心菜在盐的总重量. Remember when I said to choose your own adventure? Lynn suggests a salt percentage range anywhere from 1.5% to 2.5%, so if you like a more saline sauerkraut, go for the higher percentage. Want it less salty? Go for 1.5%. Not sure? Go mid-range and calculate at 2%. (So, if your shredded cabbage weighs 2 kilograms, you'll want to add 40 grams of salt.) What kind of salt you use is also up to you: Lynn goes for sea salt, but kosher or pickling salt also work. Just don't use anything with additives like iodine or anti-caking agents which can turn your brine cloudy and affect the fermentation.

Toss the salt through the shredded cabbage. Now massage the cabbage until the salt is thoroughly mixed throughout and the cabbage is just starting to feel wet. Let the cabbage sit for about 10 minutes while you take care of the next step.

Don't go overboard here. You just want to make sure that whatever vessel you plan to ferment your sauerkraut in is very clean, but you shouldn't use any harsh cleaners. The easiest way to do that is to run it through a dishwasher (no detergent necessary). No dishwasher? Boil some water in a tea kettle, pour it into your vessel, swish it around and pour it out. (Be sure to handle the vessel with a kitchen towel—the boiled water will heat it up very quickly.)

As to the type of vessel, you can use aspecialty fermenting crock, amason jar, or some antique urn that you found at a flea market: the choice really is yours. Just make sure that the material it's made from doesn't react to an acidic environment (i.e. no aluminum, copper, or cast iron) and that the material is food grade (i.e. no pots finished with a lead-based glaze).

What's better than aReuben? A Reuben made with custom sauerkraut.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

Using a "pounder"—this could be the blunt end of a wooden rolling pin, a potato masher, aspurtle, or even a dedicatedsauerkraut tamper—pound the cabbage "quite energetically" (Flynn's words), until the cabbage is drips with liquid when lifted out of the mix.

If you'd like, now's the time to add in those desired spices or herbs I mentioned above. Chile flakes, allspice, anise seed—it all works. Want to go traditional? For 2 heads of cabbage, Flynn suggests about15 grams caraway seeds. Toss whatever you're using though to evenly distribute.

Pack the shredded cabbage tightly into your chosen vessel. Use the pounder to gently push everything down. The goal here is to leave as little room in the vessel as possible for air. Pour any brine left in your bowl over the cabbage and push down again to make sure everything is packed as tightly as possible. Make sure to leave at least two inches of space between the top of your mixture and the lid to allow room for a follower and weight (more on that in a minute). You also don't want the liquid reaching quite to the top since that could cause it to bubble over once the fermentation is underway.

Place a whole cabbage leaf or small plate (also known as a "follower") directly on top of the shredded cabbage, then place a weight on top of the follower. The weight could be acommercially made fermentation weightor it could be a large stone from your grandmother's yard that you've sterilized by boiling in water for 10 minutes and allowed to cool. If you want to add more flavor, you could also use a quarter of an onion as a weight or a large chunk of carrot.

In order to seal your sauerkraut properly, you need an airlock system. There are a lot of variations of this available on the market, but my favorite for small-batch fermenting are theseBPA-free silicone lidswhich have a one-way valve in the top that allow for carbon dioxide to escape, without letting air in, so you won't have to worry about "burping" your ferment manually. If you've purchased a fermentation crock, it likely features a built-in airlock system.

Start your ferment at a cool room temperature (that means 54°F to 70°F). Any lower and your cabbage may not ferment at all, any higher and you run a greater risk of spoilage. Make sure it's out of the path of direct sunlight. (For tips on fermenting in hot weather, check out these suggestions.) And then, do nothing for two weeks.

After two weeks, remove the lid, weight, and follower and give your sauerkraut a taste. If you like it, go ahead and stash it in your fridge to halt the fermentation process. If you think it could use a bit more time to sour, replace the follower, weight, and lid and place it back in storage. Taste it periodically until you like the flavor and then stash your kraut in the fridge for up to 12 months.

Now that you know how to make sauerkraut, why don't you put it to good use?