Now is the season and return of cabbages. There are plenty in our veg boxes and we often don't know what to do with them!
Here is a very simple recipe that I use to make my kraut and it's always a win win: tasty, crunchy, great to add to salads, in a sandwich and so gut for out gut as it is lacto fermented with a lot of good bacteria which will increase our immunity!
1 kg organic white or red cabbage
10 gr of unrefined sea salt
Half a teaspoon of your favourite seeds like caraway, fennel or cumin.
- Remove the soft leaves around the cabbage and keep them for the end.
- Cut your cabbage in half and remove the core (keep it as you can use it at the end)
- Shred it as thin as you like, sideways (the thinner the quicker it will get the salt in to ferment, but I like it thicker as it remains crunchier to my taste).
- Put in a big bowl and sprinkle the salt over it.
- Add the seeds and start massaging the cabbage, really crunching those leaves until they start releasing their moisture and that the shreds become submerged with cabbage juice.
It can take about 10 minutes and the volume should go right down to half. During this process, have a taste and check if it is salty enough to your taste. It's best to add more salt later than making it too salty!
- Then pack the cabbage into a sterilized jar, make sure there are no air bubbles and that the cabbage is covered with its juice. Cover the top with the soft cabbage leaf and use the stalk to push the cabbage down into the liquid and close the jar.
- Leave at room temperature for at least 5 days, depending on how crunchy and sauer you like it. You may need to remove some of the juice as it starts bubbling in the jar.
- Then either transfer the kraut into smaller pots or refrigerate and consume within the next 3 months.
Enjoy!
