Sauerkraut. So nutritious. So yummy. So cheap. Just do it.
- Medium-Small Fresh Cabbage with loose outer leaves removed finely sliced (not chopped). Using a mandolin is best.
- 1 Tbsp whole peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1.5 Tbsp sea salt (no iodine)
- Toss together in a large bowl. Tamp into mason jar in layers using a meat tenderizer mallet (it's hard to over tamp. give it a good effort)
- If cabbage is already covered in it's own brine, great, you're done. If not, wait a couple hours, come back, tamp some more if necessary. If it's still not covered, make up a brine that tastes about as salty as typical kraut. Pour it over the cabbage.
- Now you just want to keep every single piece of cabbage under that brine. If you want, you can cut out a circular piece of thick green cabbage leaf to sit on top (it needs to stay submerged too). Then fill up a small glass or water (or some sort of weight) to sit on top and hold the cabbage down.
- Lay a light cloth on top to keep out dust. Let ferment for 1-3 weeks (speed varies by temperature). Supposedly the best tasting is at slightly lower room temperatures over more time. The warmer it is, the faster it goes.
- Keep tasting periodically to see if it tastes ready. It will stink in a less pleasant way the first few days, so don't worry about that yet. If you see mold / spots appear on top (because a bit of cabbage touched the air), just scoop out that piece of cabbage and the spots and wipe down the side of the glass.
- Once it's ready, just keep it in the fridge. If you eat it fairly soon after sticking in the fridge, it will be a fair but crunchier than store bought kraut (much yummier, I think). I like cutting up just a bit of darker green leaves. Prettier that way.
Note: homemade kraut has the beneficial bacteria in it where as store bought has been pasteurized and all bacteria (the good stuff) is killed.
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