Homemade Sauerkraut

Making homemade sauerkraut is one of my favorite's and so easy to do; no cooking required!

As I reached my fifties, I realized that I could no longer eat some of the same foods anymore. I felt constipated, bloated, and was gaining weight rapidly. I wanted something to help me with digestion. I found help in eating sauerkraut.

My sweet helper, Rebecca, with the finished product!

Homemade sauerkraut is easy to digest and is healthy for your gut. It is high in vitamin C and low in  pH, containing healthy probiotics. And don't forget to drink the juice, where vitamins are found too. 

It is reported that Captain Cook carried nearly 20,000 pounds on his second voyage to keep the men from getting scurvy!

My homemade kraut has a distinctive crunch that is not found in store-bought jars and cans. The healthy gut priobiotics are not destroyed because I do not heat it. I like the classic version and have used both green and purple cabbages. I like to buy organic when possible.

You will need:

• one head of either green or purple cabbage, about 3 pounds, shredded
• 2 small whole leaves from the cabbage, reserved
• 2 tablespoons of sea salt
• 2 mason jars with tight fitting lids
• a dowel
• a large bowl
• sharp knife                           

Chop the cabbage, finely or coursely, whatever you prefer. Place cabbage in a large non-breakable bowl or pot. I learned this from past experience because I tamped too hard in my ceramic crock-pot and broke it!

 

Sprinkle salt on the cabbage as you work and begin tamping it down with the dowel. The salt pulls water out of the cabbage and creates a brine, so the cabbage can ferment without rotting. The salt also helps keep the cabbage crunchy. I use a little more salt in the summer, less in the winter.

You can add other vegetables like grated carrots, onions, garlic, turnips or beets. I prefer the classic version, but you can have fun experimenting!

Mix the ingredients together and fill your quart size mason jars, tamping the cabbage down firmly, as you fill the jar. Be careful here! Only fill the jar three-quarters of the way full, leaving at least one to two inches of space at the top. If you fill the jar to the top, the fermentation process will expand and leak juices out. 

If the brine (liquid) is not completely covering the cabbage, then mix one teaspoon of sea salt to a cup of water and add until liquid is just above the cabbage. Place a small whole cabbage leaf on the top, pressing it down , but not necessarily under the brine. Do not overfill!

Close the jars tightly and place in a cool, dark closet. I put mine in our kitchen pantry floor where it is cool. After a couple of days, carefully open the jars to release the pressure and reseal them quickly.

Taste after the tenth day has passed and see if it is to your liking. The flavor will get stronger as time passes and can be kept for months. I recently opened my last jar, which is six months old and it is tasty! The texture will become softer with time. Once a jar has been opened for eating, I place it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

Develop a system, keep a continuous brew going by jump starting your next batch and add a little old kraut with its juice to the new batch! You will be giving a boost to the new batch with this already active culture starter!

This is a wonderful condiment to be enjoyed at any summertime party, or, year round!

Kim has a passion to follow Christ and bring Him glory in every area of her life. She lives with her husband, one teenage son and a pre-teen daughter.  She loves being a wife, home school mom, homemaker, and a distributor of Young Living Essential Oils. 

One of her goals is total wellness; spiritually, physically, and emotionally! She enjoys researching and making homemade, healthy recipes. 


Her family has replaced it's medicine cabinet with essential oils for total wellness. They apply the oils instead of over-the-counter drugs. She enjoys a simple, natural life making her own toothpaste, deodorant, and uses a "no-poo" shampoo method.