The other day I happened to acquire five pounds of shredded cabbage.
I know, that's sorta a weird way to start a post, but I suppose not really since the subject matter is sauerkraut. I mean, I love fermented foods, so when I saw a five pound bag of shredded cabbage for a whole $3.95, I just had to do a bit of experimenting!
The first thing I did was get out a large stainless steel mixing bowl and put about two and a half pounds of the shredded cabbage in it. Then I sprinkled a Tablespoon of canning salt on the cabbage.
Seriously, I think you could use sea salt too, but I have A LOT of canning and pickling salt, so it was what I threw in.
Then came the easiest part of the job, I let the salted cabbage sit for a bit. I sat down to eat lunch while I waited for moisture to come out of my future sauerkraut.
Now, as luck (well, not really, I just intuitively plan things now after all these years) would have it, I had an entire dishwasher of canning jars washing and sterilizing as the hubs and I had rebottled the lavender hydrosol this morning. So, after I ate my lunch and caught up on the headlines around the globe (insert horrified face here!), I then got up and went to complete the fun part of the sauerkraut experimentation initiative, the kneading.
For the next eight minutes I mashed and kneaded the salted cabbage like a professional masseuse. I don't know if being a licensed cabbage masseuse would be a lucrative career, but I think I might have the aptitude for it!
Anyway, after kneading the juices out of the shredded cabbage, I got out a sterilized quart canning jar, a smaller mixing bowl, a whisk, and a 2 cup measuring cup. I whisked a half a Tablespoon of canning salt into two cups of water until it dissolved and then set to work packing the canning jar full of well-kneaded, salted future kraut.
Now, I took some time on this step, I wanted the kraut to be firmly packed into the jar and for no air bubbles to be present. Even fermentation is my goal!
After getting things packed better than Major Payne's duffle bag, I poured a bit of brine over the cabbage conglomeration (about an inch or so over the top of the cabbage, put on a lid, screwed it hand tight, and plopped the jar on top of my dishwasher (It's out of direct light).
Every day I will burp my fermenting kraut, and on day seven we are having ourselves a nice little taste test. I'll even post about it! Because experiments are fun, even if they fail!
We shall see....
Canning Jar Sauerkraut
2 1/2 pounds shredded cabbage
1 TBSP canning or sea saltPlace shredded cabbage in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle with salt, set aside for at least fifteen minutes.
Knead salted cabbage for at least 8 minutes, pack into sterilized quart canning jar, use a spoon to press out any air bubbles, you want to stop your cabbage a couple inches from the top of the jar.
For the brine:
2 cups of non-chlorinated water
1/2 Tbsp canning saltWhisk the salt in the water until well dissolved. Pour over cabbage until it is completely covered, leaving one inch of headspace in the jar. Screw on the lid, and leave in a room temp out of sunlight place for at least a week.
Burp the jar daily, and taste after one week, if tangy to your liking, store in the fridge and eat it as you feel like it!
