Sauerkraut - very tasty classic recipes for the winter

But I can’t stop and hope that I will still have time before the end of the harvesting season. I believe that sauerkraut is simply an indispensable attribute of autumn and winter. Juicy and crispy, with carrots, apples, cranberries or caraway seeds, sauerkraut beckons us to the table. Moreover, sauerkraut is healthier than fresh thanks to lactic acid bacteria that are formed during the fermentation process.

In apartment conditions, it is most convenient to prepare sauerkraut in glass jars. But if you are the happy owner of a cellar and you have a wooden barrel, then it would be simply a crime not to fill it with cabbage and ferment it for the joy of the whole family. And so that your efforts are not in vain, you need to carefully read the useful tips for sauerkraut.

1. The main thing is to buy or grow cabbage for pickling only late varieties. Summer cabbage is completely unsuitable for this. Summer cabbage varieties have thinner, greener and looser leaves. Winter varieties of cabbage are distinguished by their dense heads and white color. When choosing cabbage, pay attention that it is not too “stringy”, with hard veins.
2. Cabbage for pickling should not be cut into very small pieces. The thickness of each piece should be about 5 mm. If you chop the cabbage too much, it will become soft.
3. To sauerkraut, use coarse non-iodized salt.
4. Be responsible when choosing containers. Glass, wooden or enamel dishes without chips are suitable for fermentation. In an aluminum pan, the lactic acid that is formed during fermentation will react and ruin the whole thing for you.
5. Sauerkraut should be fermented at a temperature no higher than 24 and no lower than 20 degrees. If you overheat, you will get jelly, but in a cold room the cabbage simply will not sour.
6. The fermentation process takes about 3 days. After this, the cabbage can, of course, be eaten. But the real taste of classic sauerkraut will appear only after a week.
7. Shredded cabbage for sourdough must be pressed down with something heavy, for example, a plate with a 3-liter jar of cucumbers. My grandmother always kept a pressure handy - a wooden circle and pressed it with a clean, heavy stone.
8. To prevent the gases formed during fermentation from accumulating in the cabbage, it must be pierced in several places with a wooden stick.
9. The ideal temperature for storing sauerkraut is from 0 to +2 degrees. You can transfer the cabbage into 3-liter jars and then it will be convenient to store it in the refrigerator.
10. Cabbage is perfectly preserved for 9 months. True, the longer it is stored, the more sour it becomes. Therefore, it is better to cook in small portions.
11. Cabbage retains its properties only when frozen once. You can put the sauerkraut in bags and put it in the freezer.
12. To get delicious crispy sauerkraut, pay attention to the phase of the moon. It is best to ferment cabbage on the waxing Moon, 3-4 days after the New Moon.

To prepare delicious, crispy sauerkraut, I offer several simple classic recipes.

Sauerkraut - classic recipe with brine for a 3 liter jar

In order to make a 3-liter jar of sauerkraut, we will need forks of fresh cabbage weighing approximately 2.5 kg. The simplest, classic and no-nonsense recipe for sauerkraut.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 1 head weighing 2.5 kg
• carrots - 3-4 pcs.
• salt - 2 tbsp. l.
• sugar - 2 tbsp. l.
• water - 0.5 liters (approximately)

1. Shred cabbage using any of the following methods. It’s convenient to have a special grater for this, or you can simply cut it into thin strips using a knife. Place the cabbage in a deep bowl.

2. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater and add to the cabbage.

3. Simply mix both of these ingredients with your hands. Moreover, the cabbage should not be squeezed, otherwise it may become soft.

4. Take a clean 3-liter jar and put the cabbage and carrots into it, lightly compacting it. Fill the entire jar. Add salt and sugar on top of the cabbage with a spoon.

5. Cabbage must be fermented in brine. Simply fill the cabbage with cold, unboiled water (not chlorinated) up to the very neck of the jar.

The brine must cover the entire cabbage. If the amount of brine decreases, simply add water

6. We pierce the cabbage in several places with a wooden stick so that the gases accumulated during fermentation escape. During fermentation, it is advisable to pierce the cabbage with a wooden stick at least once a day.

During fermentation, the amount of brine will increase and it will flow out of the jar, so be sure to place the jar of cabbage in a basin or any other container.

7. Cover the jar with cabbage with gauze and make sure that the brine covers all the cabbage. Cabbage should stand at room temperature for 2-3 days. After this, you can close it with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for storage.

How to make sauerkraut at home in jars - a simple recipe

Also a classic recipe, only here we will do without adding water. The ingredients are the same - cabbage and carrots, and we will also add salt in a 3-liter jar.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 1 head weighing 2 kg
• carrots - 1 pc.
• salt - 1 tbsp. l. with a slide
• sugar - 1 tsp.

1. Chop the cabbage and carrots and place in a deep bowl.

2. Mix salt and sugar in a glass; we will gradually add them to the cabbage.

3. In this recipe we will stir and rub the cabbage with our hands as if we were kneading dough. The cabbage should release its juice.

4. Gradually compact the cabbage into a 3-liter jar and sprinkle each layer with salt and sugar. Fill the jar to the very top.

5. Close the jar with a plastic lid and place a saucer or bowl underneath. Sauerkraut for 3 days at room temperature. Don’t forget to pierce the cabbage with a wooden or plastic stick 1-2 times a day.

6. After this, put the finished cabbage in the refrigerator for storage.

In order for the brine to constantly cover the cabbage, you need a load on top. To do this, place a plastic lid inside the jar, and place a 0.5 liter bottle of water on it.

Delicious sauerkraut with apples and peppers - a recipe for the winter

This recipe is a little more complicated with the addition of different ingredients. The cabbage turns out simply delicious, cook it and see for yourself.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 1 head weighing 2 kg
• carrots - 1 pc.
• apples (Antonovka is best) - 4-5 pcs.
• bell pepper - 1 pc.
• parsley, dill
• garlic - 2 cloves
• coriander - a pinch
• black peppercorns
• water - 1 liter
• salt - 4 tsp.
• sugar - 1 tsp.

1. Shred the cabbage, grate the carrots on a coarse grater, cut the bell pepper into strips, cut the apples into 4 parts and remove the seeds.

2. Place the ingredients in layers in a large container, such as a bucket. A layer of cabbage will go to the bottom, sprinkle with sweet pepper on top and lay out a layer of apples.

3. Place a layer of cabbage again, carrots on top, then chopped parsley and dill. Next add chopped garlic.

4. We repeat these layers again - cabbage, peppers, apples. Cabbage, carrots, herbs, garlic.

5. Prepare hot brine. The recipe is for 1 liter of water, you may need more water. Bring the water to a boil and add salt, add coriander and peppercorns to taste. Pour brine over cabbage. We pierce the cabbage in several places with a wooden stick. Let the cabbage ferment for 3 days at room temperature.

After 3 days, transfer the cabbage into clean jars and put them in the refrigerator. Delicious cabbage is ready.

Sauerkraut - recipe with bell pepper and horseradish

Another recipe for sauerkraut, which uses not only traditional cabbage and carrots, but also bell peppers and even horseradish.

Sauerkraut with apples, cranberries and rowan berries

A unique recipe in which we will use a decoction of oak bark to obtain crispy cabbage. Well, there will be even more vitamins in cabbage when we add cranberries and rowan berries.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 1 head weighing 3 kg
• carrots - 3 pcs.
• apples - 2 pcs.
• cranberries - 1/2 cup
• rowan - 1/2 cup
• black peppercorns
• salt - 3 tbsp. l.
• oak bark decoction - 50 ml

1. Chop the cabbage and carrots, sprinkle with salt and rub with your hands until the juice appears.

2. We choose sweet and sour varieties of apples such as Antonovka. Cut the apples into thin slices.

3. For the starter we will use a large enamel pan. Place cabbage leaves on the bottom of the pan and sprinkle peppercorns.

4. Lay cabbage and carrots in layers, then apples and generously sprinkle with cranberries and rowan berries. We repeat the layers in the same sequence and be sure to compact them with our hands.

To remove bitterness from rowan, pour boiling water over it.

5. To make the cabbage crispy, prepare a decoction of oak bark in advance. To do this, boil the washed bark in boiling water for 10 minutes and cool. Pour the cooled broth into the pan with cabbage.

6. When you have laid out all the cabbage, place a plate of the appropriate diameter and a heavy weight, for example, a jar of water, on top.

7. To allow gases to escape from the cabbage, insert wooden sticks into the cabbage.

8. The cabbage will ferment for 3 days, after which it can be put into jars and stored in a cold place.

Delicious sauerkraut with apples and pears

You are convinced that there are many recipes for sauerkraut and I tried to introduce you to a variety of recipes for every taste. Now is the time to prepare sauerkraut. As I already wrote, it is very good to ferment cabbage after the New Moon, which will occur on the 19th in October 2017. So stock up on cabbage, save the recipes, and I wish you good luck in making healthy and tasty preparations.