{Recipe Redux} Homemade Sauerkraut

This month for The Recipe Redux the theme is 2013 Food Trends.  I honestly did not know what I was going to post about until just a few days ago, because – lets face it – I’m really not “in” with what’s cool and hip in the world. 

I came across this link from Bon Appetit on their predictions for food trends this year, and I thought it was very interesting!  The one that caught my eye was homemade yogurt!  I love making my own yogurt, and have posted about it here and here.  Recently, I have been making yogurt with whole milk, and it turns out so creamy and thick – just like Greek yogurt without having to do any straining!

Since making yogurt is a form of fermentation, I decided to post of MY trend for food in this new year – fermenting!  I have recently really started to get serious about making fermented food at home.  I have my kefir going pretty much nonstop, as well as kombucha.  And now, I started some sauerkraut!

About 2 years ago, I went on a huge sauerkraut kick and made (and canned) soooo much more sauerkraut than we will ever go through in our lifetime. 

  This time around, I made just one quart jar of it – enough that I have some to use when I want it, but not a huge amount.  I love sauerkraut!  I know you are either a lover or a hater of it – I for sure am a lover!

Sauerkraut is so easy to make – you only need 2 ingredients – cabbage and salt!  Cabbage is so cheap to buy (especially as we get closer to St. Patrick’s Day), so this really is a cheap condiment!

Homemade Sauerkraut

Print this recipe!

1/2 large head of cabbage, shredded

1 tbsp sea salt

First, shred the cabbage.  You can do this by hand with a large handled knife, or in a food processor.  I chose to do this in the food processor to make it easier!

Add the shredded cabbage to a medium sized bowl, and add the salt.  Mix well.

Cover the bowl with a towel, and let sit for 1 hour.  Stir the cabbage, and cover again.  Let sit for another hour, and check again.  You should notice that there is becoming more liquid in the bowl, as the salt draws it out of the cabbage.  If there isn’t a lot of liquid, add some more salt.  (I used about 1 1/2 tbsp salt total).

At this point, spoon the cabbage into a quart sized glass jar.  Pack the cabbage in as much as you can, and make sure there is liquid to cover the cabbage.

Let the cabbage ferment for 5-7 days.  Every day, open the lid at least once to remove gasses that might build up in the jar.  And taste it!  You will notice it starting to smell (and taste) more and more like sauerkraut.  Mine also turned more of a white color, and not so much green.

When it tastes as sour as your like it, place in the fridge and eat as desired!

You can have so much fun with sauerkraut – use red cabbage instead of green, add onions and caraway seeds, add anything you want!  Your gut will thank you! 

As the first and only recipe challenge founded by registered dietitians, The Recipe ReDux is focused on taking delicious dishes, keeping them delicious, but making them better for you. As the Latin term “redux” means to revisit or reinvent, we are reinventing the idea of healthy eating with a taste-first approach. We aim to inspire the food lover in every healthy eater and inspire the healthy eater in every food lover.