salt - 30 g carrot - 2 pcs cabbage - 1/2 pc |
Pickled cabbage, also known in the Western culinary tradition as Sauerkraut, is finely cut cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
What do we start with?
1) Let’s start by cutting the cabbage into thin strips. Cut off the stem, break the cabbage into several layers, and shred it.
2) When you have enough cabbage, place it in a large pot. Your mission is to now press sea salt into it using your hands until juice comes out. The juice is the place where the fermenting processes will take place. For every kilogram of cabbage, we use 20 grams of salt (about 2 teaspoons for every pound). After this procedure, the cabbage will become a little softer. But even after three days of fermentation, it will still maintain its crunchiness.
3) All you need to make sauerkraut is cabbage and salt. However, some grated carrots are usually added, along with cranberries, raisins, or whatever you like best. In the next step, we’ll add grated carrots. The carrots aren’t just there for color and beauty. They contain a lot of sugar, which also aids the fermentation.
4) Grab a jar and place the mixture in there. In order to make sure that the juice that comes out covers the vegetables during the entire fermentation process, we’ll use a ‘weight’, which is really just a jar of water that we place on top. The vegetables are then covered in juice.
5) In order to be completely ready, the cabbage should sit like this for about three days. The mixture should be pushed down to the bottom of the jar twice a day or so. You can use a knife to do this in order to let out the carbon dioxide that builds up as a result of microorganisms in action.
In the video we're using our sauerkraut as an appetizer in potatoes. You can also stew it or add it to other dishes, like the Russian salad vinaigrette or shchi (a cabbage soup).
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