Recipe for delicious salted cabbage in a wooden barrel. How to cook sauerkraut with cabbage at home

Many housewives pickle cabbage for the winter in order to be able to serve it as an independent salad, and also use it for a variety of dishes. In most cases, the vegetable is finely chopped and then poured with marinade, but you can greatly simplify your task and cook whole heads of cabbage.

The processes are very similar, but it is important to have the right size container. For example, it can be a barrel, a large pot or a plastic bucket. Consider a few proven recipes.

How to pickle cabbage with forks for the winter?

A similar method of harvesting this vegetable is especially popular in Bulgaria. Various snacks are prepared from whole leaves, for example, cabbage rolls or Korean salads. Prepared ingredients are designed for a capacity of 100 liters.

To cook cabbage with forks for the winter, take these products: 50 kg of cabbage, 2.5 kg of coarse sea salt and cold water. In addition, you need to take a plastic hose 1.5 m long. You can include other vegetables and spices in this recipe for taste.

Cooking steps:

1. to pickle the forks, the heads of cabbage must be prepared by removing the leaves from them and removing the stalk. Make a cross cut on the fork. Fill the hole where the dense part of the vegetable was with salt;
2. in the prepared container, tightly lay the cabbage with heads of cabbage, after lowering one edge to the bottom, and the other should stick out on the surface. If desired, you can put a couple of onions, quince or horseradish root. These ingredients will give the vegetable an original taste and aroma;
3. put the remaining salt into the water, mix well until completely dissolved, and then pour the brine into the container. The liquid should cover the vegetables. Put oppression on top so that the heads of cabbage do not float;
4. for 5 days, it is necessary to mix the brine, for which you need a hose, which was first fixed in a container. Remove the pressure, and then, strongly blow into the free end of the hose about 10 times. This will be enough to mix the brine. For 3 weeks, the process should be repeated a couple of times. After a couple of months, cabbage is considered ready. A white film will appear on the surface of the liquid, which is one of the readiness signals. Using a slotted spoon, remove it. The process must take place in a cold room.

Salting cabbage for the winter with forks in a barrel

The ideal vessel for this procedure is an oak barrel. The forks prepared according to this recipe are not only delicious, but also very healthy. Thanks to the fact that whole heads of cabbage are salted, they can be preserved until spring and enjoy delicious dishes all winter. By the way, it was customary to cook vegetables in a barrel back in the pre-revolutionary era.

First you need to prepare the container. Take a barrel and rinse it thoroughly with a solution of soda and boiling water. After that, it must be completely filled with water, and left for 7 days. This is necessary so that the wood swells and subsequently does not absorb the solution. For pickling cabbage with forks, it is recommended to use a vegetable of late varieties. Also prepare carrots, tomatoes and sweet peppers. If you want to give the vegetable a beautiful color, then add beets.

Cooking steps:

1. to start, clean the forks from the outer leaves so that a smooth and dense head of cabbage remains. By the way, cut leaves can not be thrown away, because they can fill the voids in the top row and after a few weeks they are considered ready;
2. remove the stalk using a sharp knife. Thanks to this, the salting process will proceed evenly. Put the vegetables in the prepared barrel, filling the voids with large pieces of carrots, tomatoes and peppers. These vegetables will make the taste of the product even more original;
3. we will salt in brine, for the preparation of which combine 10 liters of purified water and 400 g of salt. Pour the liquid into the barrel, put the leaves in the voids and cover the top with a piece of linen. Put a cross and press down with a load, for example, with a stone;
4. every week, it is necessary to take out the fabric and, together with the circle, wash it in water, removing the mold that has formed. In a couple of months everything will be ready.

How to salt cauliflower with forks?

You can cook not only white, but also colored forks, which also turn out to be very tasty. Separate inflorescences will be an excellent basis, for example, for Korean salads.

For this recipe for the winter, you need to take such products: 2 forks of cauliflower, 0.5 kg of carrots, 5 bay leaves, 6 peppercorns and the same number of garlic cloves. To make a brine for 1 liter, you will need: 1 tbsp. a spoon with a slide of salt and a little less than 1 tbsp. spoons of sugar.

Cooking steps:

1. salting begins with the preparation of the vegetable: carefully review the forks, as they should be dense, white and without spots. Otherwise, they are considered unsuitable for salting. Rinse them in water, then soak for a couple of hours to remove insects. It is best to remove too hard legs. The next step is to lower the forks for 2 minutes. into boiling water and then into cold water. It is important not to overcook the vegetable, as it will become soft and unsuitable for further processing. Chop the peeled carrots on a regular Korean grater;
2. To make a brine, dissolve salt and sugar in water. After that, put the liquid on the stove and boil. Put the forks in a saucepan, add the carrots, slices of garlic, laurel and peppercorns, and then pour them with the cooled brine. Put oppression on top and leave for 2 days at room temperature. After that, transfer the container to a cool place, and after 4-5 days the cabbage will be ready. Vegetables should be stored in the refrigerator.

Recipe for sauerkraut with apples

Another option for cooking a vegetable, which, thanks to apples, turns out to be fragrant. In addition, salted fruits are also very tasty. Most often, this recipe is used by people who want to cook delicious and juicy cabbage rolls in the winter.

To prepare sauerkraut, take: 3 heads, 1 kg of apples and salt, which must be taken on the basis that 90 g should fall on 1 liter. In general, you will need about 5 liters of water.

Cooking steps:

1. cabbage prepared for this recipe should be cleaned of old leaves and various stains. Using a sharp knife, remove the stalks. Take a large container, pour warm water into it and dissolve the salt. Stir well until the salt dissolves;
2. tightly pack the heads and apples in a container with brine. Cover with a layer of gauze on top and put oppression, for example, it can be a bottle of water. Leave for 5 days at room temperature. After the time has elapsed, rinse the gauze in running water from mold, and also turn the heads of cabbage over. In order for the workpiece to turn out crispy, it is recommended to add a couple of corn cobs. Put the gauze back on and set the oppression. After that, transfer everything to a cool place for a month.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in sauerkraut and everyone can cope with this process. Be sure to use the suggested recipes to get a tasty and healthy meal for your family.

Preserving fruits and vegetables is a great way to supplement your daily winter diet with a complete, vitamin-packed diet. Many recipes are passed from generation to generation for many years, some are forgotten. But every housewife needs to know how to pickle cabbage in a barrel.

Secrets and features of salting in a barrel

Sauerkraut is a unique product containing prebiotics and probiotics, where the former are responsible for the formation of human intestinal microflora, the latter are carriers of microorganisms. The positive results of eating this product include:

• improvement and stabilization of the gastrointestinal tract;
• strengthening the body's immune system;
• prevention of cancer, diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• prevention of obesity, diabetes.

The maximum nutritional value of pickled cabbage is achieved by following these recommendations:

1. Any white cabbage is suitable for seasonal salting. But when using early varieties, it will be soft and not crispy. The best option is represented by medium and late ripening varieties.
2. Iodized salt excessively softens the structure of the leaf and gives an additional undesirable flavor, only stone salt should be used.
3. The properties of the finished cabbage practically do not differ if salting is carried out in its own juice, or using brine.
4. Original taste qualities and additional vitamins can be obtained with the addition of apples, berries, beets.
5. The aroma of cabbage will be enhanced by cloves, cumin and other seasonings.

Important! Salting cabbage is carried out in any container made of glass, wood, metal or plastic. But the best result is obtained when salting in a barrel way.

Barrel preparation

The presence of an oak barrel determines the possibility of pickling according to old classic recipes. But, first of all, the barrel should be prepared:

1. After purchase, the barrel should be washed from small sawdust and debris. There should be no smell in the container.
2. 2 weeks before the proposed salting, the container must be soaked. Until the boards are completely swollen, leakage and “fogging” of the joints can be observed. The swelling period does not exceed one day.
3. Before laying cabbage, the lid is washed with warm water, oppression and the barrel itself. Check for the presence of foreign odors, upon detection of which the procedure is repeated.
4. The quality of the preparation of the oak container will be higher if steam treatment under pressure is used. This procedure will rid the wood of unnecessary microorganisms and odors.

In order to spend the minimum time preparing the container before salting, it should be properly stored. The vacated barrel is washed with hot water and soda and rinsed with running water. Dried, excluding direct sunlight, stored in the basement.

Important! There are several options for pre-preparing oak planks for barrel assembly. They should be clarified with the seller or master cooper.

Rules for laying cabbage

The order of distribution of cabbage and the placement of other ingredients necessary for salting is presented as follows:

1. At the bottom of the container, a small amount of flour is distributed, which is covered with cabbage leaves.
2. The next layer is cabbage.
3. Sprinkle evenly with salt, add carrots.
4. The procedure is repeated until the barrel is filled, taking into account the space for raising the brine during fermentation, as well as the placement of oppression.
5. Laying the next layer of cabbage is preceded by light tamping by hand or a special pestle.
6. The last layer is covered with cabbage leaves.

Before closing the lid, a canvas fabric is laid, on top of which oppression is placed.

Important! Periodic "piercing" the contents of the barrel with a small diameter stick will ensure uniform salting of the cabbage.

The oppression is a wooden circle, the diameter of which is smaller than the neck of the barrel. Weighting agents are installed on top of it - household items or stones cleaned of dirt. A small pot with a heavy filling does a good job of this task.

How to pickle cabbage in an oak barrel

Cabbage salting is practiced both in shredded form and whole heads of cabbage. If the requirements for the preparation of the barrel for both options are unchanged, then the order of laying the blanks is different.

Whole heads

In this option, be sure to use a brine of 400 g of salt and 10 liters of hot boiled water. Observing the proportion, prepare the required amount of concentrate.

Preparation procedure:

1. Before salting, choose cabbage forks of approximately the same size. In this case, the salting time will be approximately the same.
2. The upper leaves are removed from the heads of cabbage, while the whole ones are left to fill the voids, as well as the upper and lower layers, the torn ones are thrown in.
3. Cabbage stalks may accumulate residues of mineral fertilizers that are dangerous to human health, so they are removed before salting.
4. The bottom of the container, and at the end of the laying of the cabbage and the top, are covered with whole leaves.
5. Vegetables are placed in layers. The gaps between the heads are filled with chopped carrots, bell peppers and tomatoes. Spices are added based on your own taste.
6. The final step is pouring the brine.

After salting, a linen cloth is placed on the vegetables and oppression is placed. To prevent the formation of mold, remove the foam daily and wash the fabric.

How to salt shredded cabbage in a barrel

For salting slaw cabbage for every 10 kg of vegetable you will need:

• coarse table salt - 250 g;
• carrots - 300-400 g;
• black peppercorns - 7-8 pcs.;
• any berries or apples to taste.

1. The thickness of the shredded cabbage should allow for quick salting, but not be too thin. A finely chopped vegetable will undergo destruction of the leaf tissue structure.
2. Grate carrots preferably on a medium grater. For more sweetness and softness of sauerkraut, the amount of carrots can be increased.
3. You can improve the nutritional properties of pickles with the help of beets. It is rubbed or cut into small pieces.
4. For the speed of the process, it is better to use special automatic or manual household appliances and appliances.
5. Layer-by-layer laying of the components in a barrel will ensure simultaneous salting of shredded cabbage: whole cabbage leaves - chopped main component - salt - carrots. This sequence must be repeated until the container is filled.
6. The top, final layer is whole cabbage leaves, woven fabric and oppression.

Attention! If the barrel is used for the first time, the amount of salt should be increased, as the new wooden walls will surely absorb it.

How long does it take to pickle

The time when you can sample sauerkraut in a barrel depends on the external conditions and characteristics of the container. If the barrel is small and it is possible to move it, after laying the ingredients, the first stage of salting is carried out at room temperature for 3-4 days. During this time, the cabbage will be salted and it can be used as food. Next, the container is moved for storage in the basement or cellar.

With large dimensions of the barrel, the laying is carried out directly at the place of subsequent storage. Before the first readiness of the dish should take from 8 to 14 days.

Terms and conditions of storage

It is necessary to store pickled cabbage in basements or cellars at temperatures from 0 to +5 ° C. High humidity is undesirable.

You can place a small barrel with a pickled vegetable in a cool closet of an apartment, where it is usually customary to store all fruit and vegetable preparations in jars for the winter.

Another option is the basement or basement of the house. The room should be prepared in advance: check the ventilation, find backup heat sources, treat the walls with antifungal compounds.

It is necessary to install a barrel with pickled cabbage, taking into account the following recommendations:

• the location is chosen near the ventilation, since the fermentation process is accompanied by a specific smell;
• place the container with salted cabbage in such a way that you always have access to the barrel to remove the foam and pierce the workpiece;
• the barrel must be placed on a wooden or brick stand, this will prevent the formation of a fungal mass and prevent rotting of the wooden walls.

The shelf life of a vegetable pickled in a barrel depends on compliance with the rules for caring for the blanks, which includes: timely removal of foam, periodic replacement of linen for washing. With proper maintenance and observance of the thermal regime, cabbage, placed in a barrel in autumn, may well complement the menu even in early spring.

Conclusion

You can pickle cabbage in a barrel with your own hands without making much effort. All family members can participate in the salting process. For children, this can be a playful event, and for adults, it can be an occasion for a useful time together. In the cold season, sauerkraut will not only delight with its taste, but will also become a natural source of vitamins.

Sauerkraut, should be in every family, tk. it is a storehouse of vitamins that will help our body cope with beriberi.

Before lemons appeared in Russia, our sailors, going on a long voyage, stocked up on barrels of sauerkraut, which prevented an epidemic of scurvy.

Sauerkraut, on winter evenings, can be eaten as an independent dish, or you can cook from it: salads, borscht, pies and many other dishes.

During the process of fermentation and ripening, enzymes and bacteria are formed in the cabbage, which have a beneficial effect on our intestines.

There are many recipes for sauerkraut, but I will talk about the classic preparation, without any additives ...

If you are interested in this recipe, then let's start cooking it.

The original composition of the products.

As we can see, our billet has a simple composition: cabbage, carrots, coarse salt, dill umbrellas and bay leaf.

Recipe composition:

Step by step description

1. Preparing carrots.

Carrots, I prepare first, because. then it is convenient to just take it and add it to the cabbage.

Carrots need to be washed well, and then with the help of such a knife I easily remove the top layer.

Peeled carrots, I chop in a meat grinder. For these purposes, there is a nozzle (with an average cell), which quickly and easily chop the right amount of raw materials.

If suddenly you do not have such a nozzle, then you can chop carrots on a coarse grater. Medium and fine grater will not work, because. carrots turn into porridge.

This is the size of the carrot.

2. Shred the cabbage.

We take a fork of cabbage, peel off the top, damaged and green leaves from it and cut the head of cabbage into four parts.

Cut off the stem from each quarter.

With a special knife, we easily chop the cabbage. True, it’s just a fork, it’s inconvenient to cut on the table, so I built a small platform from two wooden boards (2 cm thick each), with which it became convenient to perform this procedure.

If there is no such knife, then you can chop the cabbage with an ordinary knife. Just try to keep the cabbage strips as thin as possible.

3. We collect cabbage together.

Pour shredded cabbage into a 5 liter bowl, add a small handful of salt and grind strongly (as if washing clothes), until the first juice appears.

Try the cabbage, if there is not enough salt, then add more. The taste of cabbage should be slightly salted.

Now add a good harvest of carrots to the grated cabbage and mix until smooth.

Carrots can be taken in a smaller amount than in the recipe, unless of course you really like it, but you can’t do without it.

We take a container of at least 30 liters, lay out the bottom with clean, green leaves, which were previously removed while cleaning the head of cabbage.

Then pour the contents of the basin into the barrel and level the layer.

Now the layer of cabbage needs to be compacted, for this we use a heavy bottle, which must first be filled with water.

For these purposes, a champagne bottle is quite suitable, in extreme cases, if there is no such bottle, then we fill an ordinary plastic bottle with water.

You need to tamp the cabbage until the first juice appears.

After tamping, put 1 bay leaf and dill umbrella.

And so layer by layer we repeat until all the cabbage is over.

Cabbage in a barrel, now we cover the top as well as the bottom of the container, i.e. clean green leaves.

We cover the top of the leaves with clean gauze.

In the process of fermentation, every day, cabbage to the very bottom will need to be pierced in 5 places with a long knife, and also rinsed with gauze in cold water.

Pierce the cabbage gently to release the bitterness that will form during the cooking of the cabbage.

On top of the gauze, we lay a wooden circle, I don’t have one, so I used a plastic dumpling.

Now we need to purchase a heavy stone, which we first wash in hot water with soap and only then put it in a bag and put it on a circle.

The container with cabbage should be in a warm place, in my kitchen under the window.

Prepare sauerkraut within a week.

We lay out the finished cabbage in jars, cover with lids and put it in a cool place.

Good luck preparing!

I wish you good luck with your cooking. crispy cabbage ! I will be glad if you like this recipe.

Compound:

Fresh cabbage - 10 forks

Carrot - 1.6 kg

Salt - 320 gr.

Bay leaf - 5 pcs.

Dill - 3 umbrellas

Good luck preparing!

Compound:

Fresh cabbage - 10 forks

Carrot - 1.6 kg

Salt - 320 gr.

Bay leaf - 5 pcs.

Dill - 3 umbrellas

We begin to ferment cabbage for the winter.

1. First of all, rub washed, peeled carrots on a coarse grater.

2. We clean the head of cabbage from the upper leaves and cut it into four parts.

3. Remove the stalk from each part and chop finely.

4. In a 5-liter bowl, put 850g of chopped cabbage, add a small handful of salt and grind everything well (as if washing clothes) - until juice appears. You need to salt the cabbage with a margin, i.e. overdo it a little.

5. Add a handful of grated carrots to the cabbage and mix everything thoroughly.

6. We lay the bottom of the container (at least 30 liters) with clean, green leaves, which were previously removed from the fork when it was cleaned.

7. We fill in the prepared cabbage from the basin, level it with an even layer and tamp it with a bottle of water until the juice appears easily. Put 1 bay leaf and 1 dill umbrella on top. We continue this procedure until the cabbage runs out.

8. We also cover the top layer with clean, green cabbage leaves, clean gauze, a wooden circle and a heavy, clean stone.

9. Cabbage should stand in a warm place for 7 days, while once a day it needs to be pierced in several places with a long knife so that bitterness comes out. You also need to rinse the gauze every time.

10. We lay out the finished cabbage in 3-liter jars, cover with lids and put them in a cool place.

Good luck preparing!

Filling composition: for 1 liter of water, 50 g of salt, 3 g of citric acid.

Thoroughly wash the cauliflower heads, remove the leaves, cut into inflorescences 3-5 cm in diameter. Blanch the prepared cabbage for 3-4 minutes in boiling acidified or salted water (1 g of citric acid or 10 g of table salt per 1 liter of water) and cool in cold water. (Blanched cabbage will not turn brown later.) Place the cabbage tightly in the prepared wooden tub and fill with cold brine. Top with canvas or gauze, put a wooden circle and oppression. Keep at room temperature. When fermentation begins (the filling becomes cloudy, foam forms on the surface of the tub), transfer the cabbage to a cold place.

Sauerkraut white cabbage

10 kg of cabbage, 200-250 g of coarse salt, especially for salting.

Clean the heads of green and damaged leaves, drill or cut out the stalk. Shred the cabbage with a long sharp kitchen knife or on a special shredder. The shavings of properly shredded cabbage should be uniform in size, 3 to 5 mm wide.

When fermenting in a tub, barrel, etc., work in the following order: put a layer of whole leaves on the bottom, which protect the first portions of cabbage from crushing, then put a layer of shredded cabbage, sprinkle it with salt and tamp with a wooden pestle or rammer. Cover the cabbage with a layer of cleanly washed leaves and a double layer of scalded canvas or gauze, put a wooden circle and oppression. Cobblestone can be used for oppression. Limestone, shale, sandstone or cement products are not suitable for this purpose. The wooden circle must be constantly covered with juice.

Before sauerkraut in wooden tubs it must be carefully ground with salt, then tightly laid and tamped so that the cabbage starts up the juice. A tub or a barrel filled with cabbage, put in a room with a temperature of 18-22 ° C. Under these conditions, it quickly ferments. During the fermentation period, constantly monitor the condition of the cabbage and remove excess foam. If the cabbage is fermented in tubs, it must be pierced from time to time to the bottom with a well-washed and scalded wooden stick. When the fermentation process ends, the brine brightens, the cabbage settles and acquires a pleasant refreshing sour-salty taste, crunches on the teeth.

After the end of the fermentation process, transfer the tub with cabbage to a cold place. The best conditions for storing sauerkraut are at a temperature of 0-2°C. At this temperature, the cabbage does not become overly acidic. When storing cabbage in a tub or barrel, you need to make sure that the cabbage is covered with brine all the time and that mold does not appear. At higher temperatures, cabbage loses its qualities.

Sauerkraut red cabbage

10 kg of cabbage, 2 kg of apples, 500 g of onion, 25 g of cumin or dill seeds, 200 g of salt.

Cut hard and sour apples, remove the skin and core, cut into strips. Peel the onion and cut into strips. Chop the cabbage, rub it with salt with your hands and mix with apples, onions, cumin or dill. Put in a tub, compacting. Then proceed as with white cabbage (see the recipe for "sauerkraut").

Sauerkraut with apples

10 kg of cabbage, 500 g of apples, 25 g of dill or caraway seeds, 200-250 g of salt.

Ripe healthy sour apples (Antonovka is best) peel and core, cut into slices and mix with shredded cabbage. Then cook as usual. You can also put whole apples - in this case, fruits of medium size are selected. Whole apples are put in after the cabbage has been rammed and the juice has run out.

Sauerkraut white cabbage with carrots

10 kg of cabbage, 300-500 g of carrots, 25 g of cumin or dill seeds, 200-250 g of salt.

Carrots improve the appearance of cabbage, enrich it with carotene and sugar. Thoroughly washed carrots, peel and cut into noodles or chop on a coarse grater. Mix carrots with shredded cabbage, cumin and salt. Sour in a tub in the usual way. If a lot of juice forms, pour it out and store in the refrigerator, and then add to the finished cabbage.

Sauerkraut with cumin

10 kg of cabbage, 25 g of cumin or dill seeds, 200-250 g of salt.

Cumin seeds contain 3-7% strong-smelling caraway oil, which has a pleasant taste and smell and improves the taste of sauerkraut in a tub. In addition, caraway oil, covering the surface of the juice with a thin film, prevents the development of harmful microorganisms, in particular molds. Similar properties are possessed by dill seeds, which contain up to 4% of essential oils. Cumin seeds are added to chopped cabbage along with salt. The rest is prepared according to the previous recipe.

Armenian sauerkraut

To prepare 50 kg of sauerkraut. 60 kg of white cabbage, 1 kg of garlic, 3.5 kg. carrots, 1.5-2 kg of roots (celery, parsley and cilantro with tops), 25 pieces of hot capsicum, 300-400 g of cherry leaves, 1 kg of table beets, 7-8 allspice peas, 1.4 kg of salt , 10-15 pieces of bay leaf, 2 pods of broken cinnamon.

Cabbage is cleaned of outer leaves, washed in running water, cut into 2-3 parts. The heads of garlic are divided into cloves, soaked in warm water for 1.5-2 hours, then peeled, washed again in running water and cut into circles 3-4 mm thick. Peppers are washed, the stalks are removed. The roots are peeled, the thickened edges are cut lengthwise into 2-4 parts, the cherry leaves are washed, and the water is allowed to drain. Beets are thoroughly washed, peeled and cut into thin slices.

To the bottom wooden tub well-washed cabbage and cherry leaves are laid, and then the cabbage is tightly laid in rows. Garlic, roots, mugs of carrots, beet slices, hot peppers are placed between the rows. The top layer of vegetables is covered with clean cabbage leaves, and then with gauze and canvas, a well-washed wooden circle is placed on top, on which a load is placed. After that, the vegetables are poured with marinade 4-5 cm above the laid vegetables. Prepare 30 liters of marinade for 50 kg of cabbage. Water (29 l) is boiled, allspice, bay leaf, cinnamon and salt are added, then the marinade is cooled and filled with a tub filled with it. For 4-5 days, cabbage in a tub stands in a warm place, then it is transferred to a cold place. Sauerkraut is recommended to be stored at a temperature not exceeding 10°C.

Bulgarian cabbage pickling

For salting cabbage according to this recipe, 50 kg of cabbage will require 20 liters of water and 1.6 kg of salt.

Take strong white heads of medium size and a few red ones - they will give color to the brine. Peel the heads of cabbage from the upper leaves, cut them crosswise at the base of the stalks and place them upside down with the stalks in a tub with a hole for the brine to drain.

To the bottom wooden tub so that the fermentation process goes faster, you need to put a little barley. Place a cross and a load on top of the heads of cabbage. For the brine, dissolve the salt in boiling water. If the liquid is cloudy, strain it through cheesecloth. Pour in the brine to cover the cabbage.

While salting is in progress, it is necessary to drain and refill liquid into the barrel several times, then the cabbage will be salted evenly. In the first week, drain the brine every other day, in the second - after two or three days, and then - once a week.

Sauerkraut

Cabbage is sauerkraut in strong wooden tubs. A small amount (5-10 kg) can be fermented in glass jars or clay pots. Select healthy, without green leaves, heads of cabbage, chop or chop them, mix chopped cabbage with salt (about 250 g of salt per 10 kg of cabbage). Sprinkle the bottom of a cleanly washed tub with a thin layer of rye flour, cover with whole cabbage leaves and stuff the tub tightly with chopped cabbage, covering the top with cabbage leaves. For taste and aroma, you can add whole or sliced ​​\u200b\u200bcarrots and Antonov apples, as well as lingonberries and cranberries to the cabbage. Put a wooden circle on top of the cabbage, and a load (washed stone) on it.

After a few days, the cabbage will begin to turn sour and foam will appear on its surface. The amount of foam will initially increase, but gradually it will come to naught. When the foam disappears completely, the cabbage is fermented. During souring, the cabbage must be pierced several times with a clean birch stake to release the resulting gases. If mold appears on the surface of the brine, it must be carefully removed, and the wooden circle, cloth and weight covering the cabbage should be washed with boiling water.

Sauerkraut is the most common pickle in the old days in Rus'. "Schi and porridge" - they said in Rus' ... Shchi, of course, was from sauerkraut, rich in vitamins A, B and C.
Do not forget to pre-prepare an oak tub before the first salting (see).
For salting, medium and late varieties of white cabbage are suitable, which, after harvesting, lay down a bit. Cabbage must be ripe, without diseases. At the beginning of cooking, with an ordinary knife, the cabbage is peeled from the upper leaves and the stalk is cut out. Shredding cabbage is most often recommended on a special shredding board or a long kitchen knife. Shredded cabbage should have the same length (at least 60 mm), 3-5 mm wide.
Carrots are thoroughly washed, soaked in cold water and peeled. It is also necessary to shred carrots with chips of uniform size (about 30 mm), no more than 5 mm wide.
All spices should also be fresh and clean. We suggest using the following spices for salting (fermenting) cabbage in an oak tub: salt, apples (preferably Antonovka), cumin, bay leaf, allspice.
For 50 kg of peeled cabbage you need:
- 1300 grams of table salt
- 1.5 - 2 kg of carrots
- 2.5-3 kg of apples (can be whole, can be chopped)
- 9-10 grams of cumin
- 4-5 grams of allspice
Before laying the cabbage in the tub, it must be carefully and for a long time grind with salt. We do this on a large clean table or in a large container until the table salt is completely dissolved in the cabbage juice.
At the bottom of the oak tub lay out a layer of large cabbage leaves. Then spread shredded cabbage mixed with carrots and spices on the leaves. Cabbage must be carefully tamped so that it starts up the juice. When no more than 10 cm remains to the top of the tub, shredded cabbage is covered with whole cabbage leaves.
In 30,50,100 liter oak tubs, you can pickle whole cabbages (half heads, half shredded). It is recommended to take small heads of cabbage, cut the stalk with a cross and pour salt into it. The space between whole heads of cabbage must be very tightly packed with shredded cabbage.
We put gauze in several layers on top of the cabbage leaves and cover with the wooden oppression attached to our oak tubs. On top of the oppression, it is necessary to put a load in such a way that the wooden oppression is necessarily covered with brine. If there is not enough brine and the cabbage comes into contact with air, it will darken and begin to deteriorate. For 50 kg of cabbage, you need to pick up oppression up to 8-10 kg. It is forbidden to use any metal things as oppression, in this case your cabbage will simply deteriorate. We recommend using hard washed stones as oppression.
We leave the filled oak tub in a room with room temperature. The fermentation process begins, in which the volume in the tub will increase, as gases are released in the cabbage. If the cabbage is laid out to the very top of the tub, the cabbage juice will pour out. In order for excess gas to escape, we recommend that you pierce the cabbage with an oak pin without fail.
At the beginning of fermentation, foam necessarily forms on the cabbage, sometimes mold forms on the wooden yoke and the upper part of the tub. Wipe the tub with a rag soaked in 20% saline solution, and remove the oppression and load and rinse with boiling water.
The cabbage begins to ferment the very next day, the brine becomes cloudy. The whole fermentation process lasts 7-10 days. If the temperature is high (more than 25 degrees), fermentation will end earlier, but the taste and quality of such sauerkraut will be worse. At low temperatures (less than 10 degrees), fermentation slows down and the required amount of lactic acid is not formed.
When the cabbage fermentation process ends, the foam disappears, the brine becomes light, the cabbage acquires a pleasant color and a refreshing sour-salty taste, slightly crunches on the teeth.

After the end of the fermentation process, the oak tub with sauerkraut is removed to a cold, dark room. Bon appetit!