Small Batch Sauerkraut

Ingredients:
1 medium head of cabbage about 4 cups shredded
10 grams or 1 heaping tablespoon kosher salt (9 grams)
Don't use an iodized salt or sea salt

Brine
1 1/2 quarts of water left out over night to get rid of the chlorine
You can boil the water also for 15 min. and let cool
1 1/2 slightly heaping tablespoons Kosher Salt ( 16 grams)
Don't use an iodized salt or sea salt

Equipment:
Ceramic crock, ceramic or glass bowl or glass canning jar
put through dishwasher or sterilize.Jar filled with water for a weight

 

Directions:

1. Shred the cabbage with a knife or a slicer
like this one.

2. Sprinkle a tablespoon of salt onto the cabbage and work in with your fingers.

3. Work the salt into the cabbage and let sit for a while 20 min to 2 hours.

4. Add the Kosher salt to the water and stir till dissolved. It is important to use a salt that is free of iodine
and flow agents that can hurt the fermentation. Sea salt has impurities in it that also can harm the development
of the pro biotics like lacto bacilus. If you boil the water instead of letting it sit out for 24 hours to get rid of the chlorine,
boil for 15 minutes. Let cool before you pour the brine over the cabbage.

5. Put the cabbage into your fermenting vessel,crock or a sterilized mason jar.Fill with the cool brine (if you boiled the water) until it is to the level of the cabbage. For the canning jar method , place a slope sided glass into the opening to push down the water and make a seal.

6. The water level should be above the kraut. This keeps out oxygen

7. Fill the water to a 1/2 inch above the plate so it makes a seal and locks out the oxygen. It is important to keep the water level above the cabbage. The time honored method is to keep a plate on top of your crock and use a weight. My grandma used a rock, here I used an empty clean canning jar filled with water.

8. Let the Kraut sit for at least 3 days. The temperature should be between 65 degrees and 75 degrees F.
I taste it each day to see how it is doing. If a white scum forms on top
it isn't harmful just skim it off. If a pink scum forms it is best to throw it out.

9. In 3 days my Sauerkraut looks like this and tastes crunchy and wonderful!
I put it into a canning jar or other glass container and cover with the brine.
It will continue to ferment slowly in the fridge. It lasts a week to 2 weeks.
Usually after a week I will use the rest in cooking.