Is sauerkraut. Recipes for a 3-liter jar are quite simple, and preparation does not take much time. But as a result of the efforts, the result is not only a tasty, but also a very healthy dish that anyone can prepare. The main thing is to follow proportions and basic rules. At the moment there is a recipe for sauerkraut in a 3-liter jar with beets, carrots, onions and, of course, in cold brine. All these dishes are incredibly tasty and look very appetizing.
Recipe for sauerkraut in a 3-liter jar for the winter
Almost every housewife knows the recipe for this snack. In addition to the traditional method, there are many others, for example with beets or apples. So, how is classic sauerkraut prepared? The recipe for a 3-liter jar requires the following ingredients for preparation:
- White cabbage - 3 kilograms.
- Carrots - 3 pieces.
- Sugar - 2.5 teaspoons.
- Salt - a few tablespoons.
- Water - 1 liter.
How to cook
First, you should clean the cabbage from bad leaves, and then finely chop it, preferably into thin strips. The carrots should also be chopped. This is best done using a coarse grater. The vegetables must be mixed well and then transferred to a container. For fermentation, you can use not only three-liter jars, but also barrels, buckets and tubs. The main thing is that the container is not made of metal.
When the vegetables are prepared, you can start preparing the brine. To do this, pour all the water into a deep container, and then add granulated sugar and salt. The saucepan with the solution must be put on fire and boiled. The finished brine should be removed from the heat. The marinade must cool completely.
When the liquid has cooled, you need to pour it into a container with vegetables. The container with cabbage should be covered with a lid, preferably very tightly, and left for three days in a warm room. You should stir during the process. This is how classic sauerkraut is prepared. Recipes for a 3-liter jar may differ in several components. However, the result is a very tasty and original snack.
Recipe for sourdough cabbage with beets
The recipe for sauerkraut in a 3-liter jar with brine and beets is very good, and the dish will appeal to everyone who prefers unusual, but easy-to-prepare snacks. In this case you will need:
Basic cooking steps
In this case, there is no need to chop the cabbage. It's better to divide it into squares. To do this, the head of cabbage needs to be cut into two equal parts. Each half must be divided into 4 more pieces. Each part should be cut in half and crosswise. The result should be squares.
Fresh beets should be thoroughly peeled, washed, and then cut into thin slices. All vegetables need to be mixed. Now you can prepare the brine. To do this, pour water into a deep fireproof container and then bring it to a boil. Then you can add salt, spices and sugar. The brine needs to be boiled for another 10 minutes. At the end of cooking, you need to add table vinegar. Boil the brine for another 1 minute.
Vegetables must be placed in jars and filled with prepared marinade. For the fermentation process to be successful, the cabbage and beets should be left in a warm room for about 4 days.
That's all. Ready for a 3-liter jar can be completely different. But the taste of the snack is simply unique. You can serve sauerkraut prepared with beets in its pure form or seasoned with vegetable oil.
Sauerkraut with apples
This recipe is almost no different from the classic one. This snack includes a sour apple, which gives the dish a little piquancy. To prepare sauerkraut using this method you will need:
- White cabbage - 2 and a half kilograms.
- Carrots - 100 grams.
- Sour apples - 150 grams.
- Salt - 65 grams.
Cooking steps
The recipe for sauerkraut in a 3-liter jar with sour apples differs from the classic one in just a few components. First you need to prepare the vegetables. Cabbage and carrots need to be peeled and washed if necessary. After this, all the vegetables should be finely chopped. It is better to chop the cabbage into thin strips, and fresh carrots on a coarse grater.
Apples also need to be peeled. First, you need to remove the core and seeds from them. After this, the apples should be cut into slices. All chopped vegetables must be mixed in a deep container. You also need to add salt here. All components should be thoroughly ground so that juice appears. It's best to do this by hand.
After this, you need to add apples to the appetizer and mix again. The resulting mixture should be distributed tightly into jars. If the cabbage is fermented in a bucket or barrel, then you should press everything down with a weight on top.
The cabbage should be left in the room for a day and then moved to a cooler place. After 6 days the appetizer will be ready. You can make a good salad from it with herbs and vegetable oil. This dish is ideal with boiled potatoes.
Crispy sauerkraut recipe
To prepare this snack you will need:
- White cabbage - 2 kilograms.
- Carrots - 1 piece.
- Salt - one tablespoon.
- Bay leaves - 4 pieces.
- Black pepper - 10 peas.
Cooking method
First you need to prepare the vegetables. It is better to chop the cabbage into very thin strips, and grate the fresh carrots on a coarse grater. Prepared vegetables should be mixed in a deep container.
Place a bay leaf on the bottom of each jar. This can also be done after the first layer of vegetables. The containers need to be filled with cabbage. In this case, each layer must be carefully compacted.
Now you can prepare the brine. To do this, pour water into the container and bring it to a boil. You also need to add salt here. The finished brine can be removed from the heat and cooled. The marinade should be poured into jars with vegetables. In this case, you need to make sure that all the air comes out of the cabbage.
Now the jars can be placed in a warm place. A day later, the fermentation process will begin. From this point on, the cabbage must be stirred regularly. After a few days, the delicious snack will be ready. If the room temperature is low, it may take longer. But in the end it turns out sour and there are completely different varieties for a 3-liter jar. However, real sauerkraut is prepared without adding water and vinegar.
First recipe below- just such a valuable pickled option. For leisurely fermentation, it is actually quick-cooking. Crispy cabbage slices will be ready after 2-3 days of infusion in a jar at room temperature.
We have included a second sample in the article. Ultra-fast with hot marinade. It no longer has the benefit of natural fermentation because the marinade contains vinegar. It is a preservative and does not form “live bacteria” with it. But the savory vegetables are ready for sampling after 12 hours.
Choose an awesome snack according to your taste and goals and cook it often all winter long!
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Instant sauerkraut without vinegar
Super crispy recipe for everyone who loves tasty and healthy food. Sourdough in a marinade, which includes only salt and spices, they can be adjusted to taste. The finished cut is without oil, so it requires seasoning with something as useful as possible. For example, extra virgin olive oil. All .
With a short effort and a couple of days of patience, you will get a traditionally excellent ingredient for winter salads, sour soups and stews with meat.
- Preparation time: 30 minutes for preparation + 2-3 days for fermentation. We test for readiness after 2 days of infusion in a warm place.
- Calorie content per 100 grams is no more than 40 kcal.
We need:
- Cabbage - 2.5-3 kg
- Carrots - 3 pcs. and more medium sizes
- Water - 1 liter
- Salt (without additives) - 2 teaspoons
- Spices - to taste
- We have 6 allspice peas, 2 bay leaves, 1-2 hot peppers.
Important details:
- You can add as many carrots as you like. We love it when there is a lot of it. This gives the brine a pleasant warm shade and adds sweetness to the cabbage.
- Spices can also be adjusted to suit your needs. More hot pepper means more spiciness. And also cumin, cloves, ginger and even turmeric. This classic fermented recipe responds well to many experiments.
- Our proportions of ingredients will give traditional and juicy salad without too much spice. Brine can also be enjoyable as a separate drink.
Let's prepare the vegetables.
Finely chop the cabbage. The Berner grater always helps us out. Many housewives love a special manual shredding knife (or manual shredder). You can buy it right now during the fermentation season at any market in the aisles with barrel pickling.
Chop the peeled carrots to taste. Don't forget that there is not only a coarse grater. In this recipe we use medium.
Combine the cabbage and carrot slices and mix, fluffing them up at the same time. Convenient to work with your hands.
We will have brine in water, and not fermentation in our own juice. Without grinding, the cabbage will be as crunchy, delicious, and textured as possible.
Place the mixed vegetables in the jar halfway and tamp lightly. Put spices on top. In our case, this is 1 bay leaf, 3 allspice peas and 1 small hot pepper. Place the remaining chopped vegetables on top of the spices in the jar and repeat the set of spices again.
You can add cloves or remove the pepper if you don’t like even a hint of spiciness. These experiments will remain within the boundaries of traditional tastes.
Let's prepare the marinade, pour in the vegetables and let them ferment under supervision.
Water at room temperature (!).
It is beneficial to prepare 1.5 liters of brine for a 3-liter jar. The proportion for 1 liter is 2 teaspoons of salt. You need pure salt without additives. Accordingly, for 1.5 liters of water - 3 teaspoons. We pour spoons without the top and try.
Our goal is a solution slightly saltier than the ideal soup. Usually 3 level teaspoons are enough if the salt is extra fine. But there are different brands of salt, and coarse grinding is not as salty.
Stir the salt in the water until completely dissolved and pour the cabbage into the jar, covering the slices. We take a fork and pierce the vegetables deeper allowing the brine to penetrate to the very bottom.
You can use a long wooden stick, making a nod to the principles of natural fermentation. Strict Zozhevists and fans of Ayurveda strongly recommend working with fermented products only with wood or ceramics.
If such restrictions seem like unnecessary hassle, look for a long, two-pronged fork for turning fried foods. She will allow go even deeper in a dense layer of vegetables.
- Use any instrument to make simple movements: in depth and spread the cutting, bubbles came. And so on in several places of the vegetable mass.
Add brine almost to the top - 1 cm before the neck of the jar. Usually a few bubbles form at the top, like foam.
Place the jar in a bowl so that the inevitable foam from fermentation can drain out of the jar carefully. Place a fork nearby which will remind you of the need to pierce the slices from time to time. This will allow the air bubbles formed during pickling to be constantly released to the top.
We pierce vegetables 2-3 times a day.
Keep the jar at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
If your house is warm, it will take less time until it's ready. If the conditions are sporty (+/- 20 degrees), then 3 days is the standard period. Next, put the vegetables in the refrigerator to stop fermentation, otherwise the cabbage will turn out too sour.
- We advise you to try cutting at the end of 2.5 days and proceed according to your own preferences for readiness.
We get good sauerkraut and quite a lot of liquid that has flowed through the neck of the jar. As soon as the cabbage is ready, cover the container with a nylon lid and put it in the cold.
We once tried a version with honey.
On top of the cabbage, add 2 heaped tablespoons of coarse salt and the same amount of honey. Fill with water at room temperature. Follow the recipe above. Try it after 2 days to see if it’s ready (i.e., is it time to put it in the refrigerator). Honey cabbage is also very tasty and is suitable for anyone who is not allergic to honey.
Marinate quick classic cabbage in 12 hours
This savory guest of our meals is called “Provençal”. It is not only quick to cook, but also looks very impressive. How useful it will be during the holidays! If you've been overdoing it on alcohol, a tasty pickle drink is a popular first aid remedy for the morning after New Year's Eve.
- Preparation time: 30 minutes for preparation + 1 day for marinating. We test for readiness after 12-14 hours.
- Calorie content per 100 grams - no more than 100 kcal.
The result of some simple work is a fully prepared salad, already seasoned with oil. It can be easily stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month, but can be eaten in a couple of sittings. So good!
We need:
- Cabbage - 3 kg
- Carrots - 300 g or to taste
- Garlic - 4-5 large cloves or to taste
- Red bell pepper - 2-3 pcs. medium size (can be frozen)
For hot marinade per 1 liter of water:
- Salt (rock, coarsely ground) - 2 tbsp. spoons
- Sugar - 1 glass
- Vinegar, 9% - 80 ml
- Little vegetable - 1 cup
Important details:
- 1 glass - 250 ml
- Among the spices, the best decoration for a marinade is cumin, 5-10 grams. You can also add allspice (6-7 peas) and cloves (1-2 pcs.).
- Carrots and garlic can be adjusted to taste. A proportion that many people like: for 1 kg of cabbage - 1 medium carrot and 1 bell pepper.
- Frozen sweet red peppers pickle just as well as fresh ones. If you have it, feel free to use it.
- Convenient and safe cooking - in an enamel or stainless steel pan.
The preparation is simple and quick.
Shred the cabbage as thick as we like in salads. Knead with your hands in a spacious bowl, lightly, without fanaticism. Carrots - cut into strips using a knife or grater ala Berner. Or a democratic option: three on a coarse grater. Grind the garlic into thin slices. Cut the pepper into strips 0.5-0.8 cm thick or into cubes about 1 cm. Combine the vegetable cuts and mix well. Again, it is most convenient to work with your hands.
Prepare the marinade.
We start cooking when the vegetables are chopped and mixed. Heat 1 liter of water on the stove, add salt and sugar to it, pour in the oil and stir until the bulk ingredients are completely dissolved. As soon as the liquid boils, pour in the vinegar, make a couple of movements with the spoon and turn off the heat. Be sure to cover with a lid to prevent the vinegar from evaporating.
Place ½ of the vegetable mixture in the selected container and compact tightly. Fill in half the hot marinade. Add the second half of the vegetables and add the rest of the marinade again. Place a plate and a weight on top (a 1-2 liter jar of water).
Leave to marinate for 8 hours.
When the vegetables have cooled down, put in the refrigerator for another 16 hours. After 12 hours of infusion you can try.
TOP 2 secrets for successful fermentation
Which cabbage varieties are best to choose?
Dense and flattened on both sides, maximum white heads of large size (from 3 kg 1 piece). These varieties are crunchy and do not lose their shape even when thinly sliced.
Young cabbage and too old cabbage ferment poorly. Varieties with a spherical head of cabbage become untidy and often lose their crunch.
How to cook new and refreshing dishes?
In addition to their vibrant participation in meat stews, borscht or solyanka, both spicy cabbages can easily make friends with available colleagues in salads without heating.
Add onions, sweet apples, frozen berries, boiled beets, canned corn, boiled beans or potatoes to the appetizing result of fermentation. You can enrich the taste of daily dishes and add antioxidant vitamins to your winter menu.
In winter and early spring, we experience a deficiency of vitamins, which is caused by a lack of sun, fresh vegetables, berries and fruits. Sauerkraut can easily replace most of these products, bringing great benefits to our body. Since it contains not only very useful vitamins (C, P, B, A, H, E, K) but also important microelements (iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, sulfur, zinc, chromium, iodine, copper, molybdenum, etc.).
Not so long ago, this product was prepared for the winter only in the fall, and the whole family usually took part in preparing winter supplies for use. It was fermented with the addition of carrots, beets, various berries and fruits, for which they chopped, chopped into pieces, quarters (peluski) or used whole heads of cabbage. Ready-made cabbage can not only be served with butter and onions, but also cooked from it as main dishes, used as a filling for dumplings, pies and pies, and even boiled or cabbage soup.
Today I will introduce you to various ways to prepare this delicious winter snack.
For your information, the recipes offered below will remain relevant in winter, since cabbage and carrots are now sold in stores all year round.
The first recipe I want to introduce you to is the classic technology for fermenting white cabbage, used in canning industries.
Currently, the most common method of preparing this snack is the shredding method. Vegetables are usually fermented in barrels, vats, plastic or enamel containers.
To ferment for the winter, you need to choose the right vegetables. Not all varieties are suitable for this purpose. Usually mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties are used (for example, Slava, Belorusskaya, Moskovskaya late and others).
Early ripening varieties are undesirable for use, as they usually have a loose, friable structure and a low sugar content necessary for fermentation.
For fermentation, I choose white heads of cabbage with a dense, juicy structure, since vegetables that are not very juicy will produce little juice and the fermentation process will be complicated.
To prepare this snack according to the classic recipe, we need carrots, salt and spices as additional ingredients. I usually take 1 medium-sized carrot for 1 large head of cabbage, but since such concepts as large and medium are different for everyone, for convenience I will indicate all proportions per 1 kilogram.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 1 kg
- Carrots – 30 g
- Salt – 20 g (per 1 kg of vegetables)
- Dill seeds – 0.5 tsp.
- Bay leaf
First, we clean the heads of cabbage from outer green leaves and from all visible damage and wash them well. Then carefully cut out the stalk with a knife and chop it. When chopping, if possible, you should get a straw of uniform size.
Wash the carrots, peel them from the top layer and grate them or cut them into thin strips. The color of the finished product depends on the amount of carrots. The more it is, the brighter the shade. At the same time, there should not be too many carrots, otherwise they will give the finished dish additional softness.
Mix all the vegetables and grind with salt. Add salt in the amount of 20 g per 1 kg of vegetable mixture.
When fermenting cabbage, salt is added at the rate of 2-2.5% by weight of vegetables.
If you add more salt, the finished dish will be oversalted. Also, an excessive amount of salt will inhibit the activity of lactic acid bacteria, and then other microorganisms that are undesirable for us may develop in the product.
At the same time, if the amount of salt is less, then the finished product, due to the action of foreign microorganisms, may turn out to be too soft and may become covered with mucus.
You cannot use iodized salt for fermentation, otherwise the cabbage will turn out soft.
Now we transfer the vegetable mixture into a large container and compact it well with a wooden pestle or rolling pin. In the middle of the vegetable mass we place several bay leaves and dill seeds, wrapped in gauze or bandage. Dill will give the finished dish a spicy aroma; in addition, it has antibacterial properties, which will prevent the proliferation of putrefactive bacteria.
If desired, you can put whole leaves on top, which need to be prepared in advance by removing them from the washed heads of cabbage.
I don’t add whole leaves because it’s not convenient to pierce the vegetable mixture to remove the accumulated gas.
Finally, we place a wooden circle or flat plate on top, the diameter of which should be slightly less than the diameter of the container itself, and place a load (for example, a jar of water or a clean calcined stone). The pressure should be heavy enough for the mixture to settle and become covered with brine.
Sauerkraut for several days at room temperature. The fermentation process begins almost immediately. Within a few hours, juice appears on the surface.
We pierce the fermented vegetable mixture in several places every day (morning and evening) with a wooden stick, knife or fork. It does this in order to release the accumulated gas released during the fermentation process. If this is not done, the finished product will acquire an unpleasant odor and bitterness.
On the second day, foam appears above the surface of the brine, which also must be removed as it forms.
The favorable temperature for fermentation is in the range of 15-22°C. If the temperature is below 15°C, the fermentation process will be greatly delayed. At temperatures above 25°C, along with lactic acid bacteria, microorganisms harmful to the fermentation process will also develop, under the influence of which the finished product will acquire an unpleasant taste and smell.
At a temperature of 20-22°C, vegetables are fermented already on the fifth day, acquiring a pleasant sour taste. By this time the brine will become transparent. At lower temperatures, the fermentation process can last up to 10 days.
Considering that everyone has their own taste preferences, you can control the sour taste of the finished dish by taking a sample starting from the 3rd day.
As soon as the snack acquires a pleasant taste and sufficient sourness, the containers are removed to a cool place (cellar or basement). I transfer the finished snack into three-liter jars and put it in the refrigerator.
Sauerkraut with beets (in a 3-liter jar)
Of the incredible number of recipes for making sauerkraut, fermentation with beets is perhaps considered the best of them. That is why it is very popular, because of the amazing taste of the finished product and ease of preparation.
We will prepare an appetizer according to this recipe in a 3-liter jar. The dish turns out moderately spicy and beautiful to look at.
To prepare this dish, I took a large fork of the Slava variety, one medium beet of a dark burgundy color, which turned out to be very sweet in taste. I indicate the quantity of ingredients for one 3-liter jar.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 2.5 kg
- Beets – 1 pc. (average)
- Sugar – 1 heaped tablespoon
- Hot pepper – 1 pc.
- Garlic – 5 cloves
I washed the forks, removed the top leaves, cut them into two parts and removed the stalk. Then I chopped it with a knife into small strips. I washed the beets well with a coarse grater, peeled them and chopped them on a coarse grater.
Peeled the garlic and finely chopped it with a knife. I washed the hot pepper, removed the seeds and membranes and finely chopped it.
In a large container, I combined all the vegetables with salt, sugar, spices and mixed well.
I prepared a 3-liter jar in advance and washed it thoroughly. Placed the vegetable mixture in a well-washed jar, compacting it tightly with a wooden rolling pin. I placed the jar in a deep plate, since during the fermentation process the juice flows out of the jar.
Let me make a reservation right away that I placed the chopped vegetables in the jar in two stages. First, I filled the jar and waited 20-30 minutes until the vegetables released their juice and the mixture settled a little. Then I added the remaining vegetables.
Since the beets were quite sweet, the fermentation process was stronger. Foam appeared on the surface of the brine by the next morning.
I pierced the contents of the jar every day (morning and evening) with a large knife. I also removed any foam that appeared in the morning and evening.
Fermentation took place at a temperature of 20-22°C. On the fourth day, the fermentation process slowed down, and the appetizer was almost ready. I covered the jar with a nylon lid and stored it in the refrigerator.
The appetizer according to this recipe is a little spicy and can be stored in the cold all winter. It can be served on the table with vegetable oil and herbs.
Crispy sauerkraut for the winter (instant recipe in jars)
Here is another recipe for this wonderful dish. We will also ferment vegetables in jars for this recipe.
We take ripe forks of late varieties, carrots of mid-season or late-ripening varieties (they have a richer color and sweetness), salt, sugar and bay leaf.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 5 kg
- Carrots – 150 g
- Salt – 100 g
- Sugar – 100 g
- Bay leaf – 5 pcs.
- Boiled water
We clean the heads of cabbage, wash them, and remove the stalks. Next, we chop them or chop them. Wash the carrots under running water, peel the skins and grate them on a coarse grater.
Mix the prepared vegetables in a large container, grind with salt and fill the prepared jars with the resulting mixture, adding one bay leaf to each. There is no need to compact it. The vegetable mixture should lie freely.
Pour the vegetable mixture into jars with cold boiled water, cover with clean gauze and leave in a warm room.
The jars must be placed in a deep container (plate or basin), since as fermentation proceeds, the brine will flow out of the jars.
Fermentation time is approximately three days. Every day (morning and evening) we pierce the contents of the jars in several places, and also remove any foam that appears. Pour the leaking brine back into the jars.
After three days, pour the brine from the jars through cheesecloth into a saucepan, dissolve the sugar in it, pour it back into the jars, which we close with plastic lids and put in a cool place.
When adding sugar to the brine, you need to taste it. I like a sweet and sour taste, so I add sugar to the brine until it tastes sweet.
After 8-10 hours the appetizer is ready. It turns out crispy, slightly sweet, and can be served without any dressing.
How to quickly and tasty ferment cabbage in brine
Another option for preparing this wonderful snack is fermentation in brine.
I took a large fork of the late variety Slava, which turned out to be strong and juicy, and one carrot of the Karotel variety, which has sweet flesh of a delicate taste, juicy and crunchy.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 2.5 kg
- Carrots – 1 pc. (average)
- Salt – 2 heaped tablespoons
- Sugar – 2 heaped tablespoons
- Bay leaf – 2 pcs.
- Allspice peas – 6 pcs.
- Water – 1 l
I chopped the washed prepared vegetables and mixed them thoroughly in a large bowl.
Try to chop into thin strips. Finely shredded cabbage will ferment faster.
I placed the vegetables in a pre-prepared 3-liter jar, compacting each layer tightly with a wooden rolling pin. Already during this action, juice began to stand out from the vegetables.
This is a good signal; during fermentation, the contents of the jar will be completely covered with brine.
Adding sugar to the brine speeds up the fermentation process.
As soon as the brine cooled, I poured it over the vegetables in the jar. I placed the jar in a deep plate, since during the fermentation process the juice flows out of the jar.
In the morning and evening, I pierced the contents of the jar with a knife to release gas bubbles released during fermentation and removed the foam that appeared.
After two days, my snack had enough acidity for my taste and was completely ready to eat.
I would like to note that this recipe is suitable for those who live in a city apartment and do not have the opportunity to store the preparations in the basement or cellar. With this recipe, you can ferment vegetables all winter and spring as you eat them.
Recipe for homemade sauerkraut in a saucepan, like my grandmother's
There are many recipes for this wonderful appetizer, but the cabbage my grandmother fermented in the old Russian way was especially good. Do you want to cook the same?
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 10 kg
- Carrots – 200 g
- Salt – 200 g
- Sugar – 2 tbsp. l.
- Dill seeds – 1 tbsp. l.
- Bay leaf – 3-5 pcs.
If your forks total weight is more or less than 10 kg, calculate how much salt you need for your quantity.
We wash the heads of cabbage well, remove the stalks and, putting a couple of small heads of cabbage aside, cut into strips using a shredder or knife. Wash the carrots thoroughly, peel and grate on a coarse grater or cut into thin strips. We cut the remaining heads of cabbage into 8 pieces each.
Add grated carrots, salt, sugar to the chopped mass and mix, lightly rubbing with your hands.
Now transfer half of the vegetable mixture into a large enamel pan without chips and compact it well. Next, lay out in an even layer the heads of cabbage cut into pieces, 3-5 bay leaves, dill seeds wrapped in gauze or bandage and the remaining half of the shredded vegetables.
We compact everything tightly, cover it with a wooden circle or flat plate and press it down with a weight.
Cover the pan with a towel or napkin, since the vegetable mixture must breathe, and leave to ferment at room temperature (20-22°C).
In the morning and evening we pierce the contents of the pan in several places. We also remove any foam that appears daily.
After 5-7 days, as soon as the brine becomes transparent and the product acquires a pleasant taste and sufficient sourness, remove the pan to a cool place (cellar or basement).
If you want the vegetables to be slightly sour, then start sampling on the third day of fermentation.
My cabbage acquired the desired taste on the fourth day of cooking.
By the way, ready-made sauerkraut can be stored in the cold until spring, preventing it from defrosting.
Previously, in the absence of a cellar, we stored it on the balcony. If it defrosts, then it must be consumed as soon as possible, since in this case the finished product changes its structure and becomes soft, not crispy, and quickly deteriorates.
Video on how to ferment cabbage without salt and sugar
Now that we have learned how to prepare this snack without salt and sugar, I will tell you how you can diversify its taste by adding fruits and berries.
Delicious cabbage pickled for the winter with apples, cranberries and rowan berries
Now that we have prepared a sufficient amount of an easy-to-prepare, but nevertheless wonderful snack, let’s try another wonderful recipe.
We will sauerkraut with apples, cranberries and rowan berries.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 3 kg
- Carrots – 3 pcs. (large)
- Salt – 70 g (20 g per 1 kg of vegetable mixture)
- Cranberries – 200 g
- Rowan – 200 g
- Apples – 2 pcs.
- Allspice peas – 0.5 tsp.
- Black pepper – 0.5 tsp.
For this recipe we will use winter white cabbage (I have one large cabbage weighing 3 kg), carrots, cranberries, rowan berries and sweet and sour apples. I used the Semerenko variety of apples.
I removed a few top leaves from the prepared fork, cut the rest into several large pieces, cut out the stalk and chopped it into thin strips with a knife. I grated the carrots on a coarse grater.
Then she began to put the vegetable mixture into the pan in layers, compacting it tightly and layering it with apples and berries.
I laid out the remaining vegetable mixture as the last layer, compacted everything tightly again, covered it with a flat plate, pressed it down with a weight and left it to ferment at room temperature.
I pierced the contents of the pan every day (morning and evening) in several places with a knife in order to release the accumulated gas.
After three days, the snack acquired the desired taste, I put it in glass jars and put it in the refrigerator for storage.
You can use the cabbage we prepared according to these recipes in different ways: as a snack, simply season it with onions and butter; as a filling for dumplings, pies and pies; cook cabbage soup; fry, stew and bake, serving as a side dish for meat and fish dishes.
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Hello, Alexander is here. Today is one of the most interesting topics, we will look at how to make sauerkraut. Many people can say so, but why bother taking it apart, I chopped it up, sprinkled it with salt and put it in jars. But others may object - but we didn’t succeed, it doesn’t ferment, or it turns out soapy. And all because even such a simple action as sauerkraut contains many subtleties.
Today we will not talk about the benefits of cabbage, about its vitamin composition, just believe that it is wonderful. Today we will simply ferment with different options, and at the same time analyze what influences what. Looking ahead a little, I will say that there are two main methods of fermentation - in your own juice and in brine. We tried both methods, but did not find any fundamental difference in taste. That's why today's recipes contain both cooking options.
Choose any recipe you like and get to the kitchen. Because we are already starting the last harvest of this year, harvesting the white-sided beauties of our gardens and vegetable gardens.
The first recipe can be called classic; fermentation will be carried out in its own juice. For this we need mid-late or late ripening cabbage. The best proven varieties will be Moscow Late, Belorusskaya, and Slava 1305.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 4.5 kg
- Carrots – 200g.
- Salt – 90g (2% by weight)
For pickling, there are optimal proportions of salt and carrots, the amount of salt is 2% of the mass of cabbage, and 5% of carrots. As you can see, there is no sugar in the recipe. And this is not without reason, cabbage itself already contains sugar, which is so necessary for lactic acid bacteria, plus sugar is contained in carrots, which, by the way, is present in the recipe precisely for this purpose. Not for taste, not just for appearance, but specifically for sugar content.
We begin the preparation by preparing the cabbage: we check the heads of cabbage, if we see spoiled places, we discard them, and tear off the outer leaves of all the others.
Then we cut it into pieces that are comfortable to hold by hand and cut out the stalk.
If you have a special shredder, then you do not need to cut the head of cabbage.
We cut each piece with a knife into strips 5-7mm wide.
We first started cutting with a knife, but we quickly got bored with this activity, and we shredded the rest of the cabbage using an electric shredder.
Then, using a Korean carrot attachment, we shredded the carrots.
It is believed that it is better to cut carrots into strips with a knife than to grate them. With such carrots, sauerkraut turns out white, and with carrots, after grating, it will be yellowish-cream. Because after grating, carrots are thinner and release coloring carotenoids more easily. Whether you bother with this or not is up to you, of course.
After everything has been chopped, take a large saucepan and start mixing everything.
All ingredients can be mixed on the table, but we never do that. Just imagine that you have 50 kilograms of cabbage, which after shredding will take up half the kitchen? It is more convenient to mix all the ingredients either in a large basin or in a large saucepan. If you immediately chop all the cabbage into a pan and then add carrots, it will be very difficult to stir until smooth to the very bottom. That's why we do it in layers.
Pour a layer of cabbage, some carrots on it and sprinkle with salt, in proportion to the mass taken. Mix everything, pressing it with your hands, and level it out.
Then we repeat everything, but when mixing the next layers, we mix only the new layer, without touching the previous one, i.e. lower. We level it again and repeat further until we have mixed everything that has been chopped.
We don’t adhere to exact proportions in the layers; we do everything by eye, which has never failed? Thus, at a time we prepare up to 50-70 kilograms of cabbage in a stainless steel tank.
This time we do everything in a saucepan, because the children have grown up, moved to cities, and we no longer ferment in large quantities. It’s much easier to buy a couple of heads of cabbage in the store and pickle it; in a couple of days the delicious cabbage is ready.
When we have mixed everything that has been chopped, as a rule, the lower layers already produce juice. It is clearly visible if you press it from above with your hand. Place a plate of suitable size on top and place a 3-liter jar of water as a pressure.
That's all for now. Our cabbage will stand for 3 to 5 days, depending on the temperature. The optimal temperature is 21 degrees and 5 days. The temperature in our apartment is about 23 degrees, so we stand it for 3 days. Every day we remove the pressure and pierce the contents of the pan with a stainless steel skewer to release carbon dioxide.
After three days, put the cabbage in jars, crush it and fill it with brine from the pan. We close it either with nylon lids or screw ones, but not tightly, gases will still escape from the jar, and we put it away for storage in the cellar.
Of course, it was possible to immediately put the cabbage into jars, but preliminary fermentation is still more convenient to do in a saucepan. There is also a big plus in this - when you put it in jars, you are guaranteed to release all the carbon dioxide and, in the end, it will turn out tastier.
Sauerkraut is stored only in a cold place, either in the cellar or in the refrigerator. When warm, it will very quickly become sour and lose its crispness. You definitely won’t eat this again. I would also like to add that if you want to add dill or other spices, add only the seeds, do not use dried herbs, otherwise all your work will simply turn sour.
- The most delicious cabbage is obtained if the fermentation process is not completed. A small amount of acid with the remaining sugar gives a pleasant winey-salty flavor. As a rule, cabbage remains in this state from the moment of salting until about a month after cooking. This, by the way, is another reason why we switched to fermentation in small quantities.
- When stored for a month or more, the amount of acid increases and sugar decreases, which leads to a sour-salty taste.
- But cabbage, which is stored for six months, turns out to be sharply acidic. This, of course, is not for everybody, and they say that it is most valuable after a hangover, but I don’t recommend checking it, take it for granted?
That's all for the classic recipe, bon appetit!
Delicious sauerkraut recipe - you'll lick your fingers
According to the following recipe, we will ferment cabbage directly in 3-liter jars in its own juice, without sugar and vinegar.
- Cabbage – 2-2.5 kg
- Carrots – 1 pc.
- Salt – 1 tbsp.
For the recipe, we choose late-ripening cabbage, weighing at least 1 kg. Remove the top leaves from the heads of cabbage.
The upper leaves often show signs of mechanical damage and, as a rule, they are not very juicy.
We cut the head of cabbage into pieces that are convenient for holding by hand, usually into 4 parts and cut out the stalk.
Then use a knife to cut into strips approximately 5-7mm wide.
Place the shredded cabbage in a wide container.
Grate the carrots on a Korean grater or cut them with a knife.
If you don’t want the carrots to color the cabbage, don’t grate it using a regular grater.
Now knead everything together thoroughly with your hands and mix, then transfer it to a 3-liter jar. But we put it in a jar in layers, and sprinkle salt between the layers. When filling, crush everything with your hands and adhere to the salt norm - 1 tbsp. for the whole jar.
Never use iodized salt, only plain coarse rock salt.
After laying the last layer, leave a little free space for the juice, it will definitely stand out. Approximately 50mm to the neck of the jar, no more needed.
We put the jar on a plate for safety; if there is a lot of juice and the contents ferment well, the juice and foam can escape.
Leave the jar at room temperature for 3-4 days. Every day we pierce the contents of the jar to the very bottom to release gases. It is convenient to do this with a stainless steel skewer, but you can also use a wooden skewer.
If after the first 10-12 hours there is not enough juice in the jar and it does not cover all the cabbage, pour in some cooled boiled water. It may well be that the variety you are using is not juicy enough.
Fermentation, as a rule, ends in 3-4 days, but sometimes the process is delayed. You can determine this by gas bubbles that will no longer be released, or there will be very few of them. This means the jar can be stored in a cold place, cellar or refrigerator. At this time, cabbage can already be eaten.
And the best way to eat it is, of course, in a salad. Just add it to a plate and chop the onions, season with vegetable oil.
Bon appetit!
Recipe for sauerkraut with beets - without vinegar
The following recipe attracts with its unusualness. Down with monotonous colors, let's add variety. Let's do this using beets. And let's ferment it again in the jar.
Ingredients for a 3 liter jar:
- Cabbage – 1.5 kg.
- Beets – 300g.
- Garlic – 80g.
- Capsicum – 10-15g.
- Water – 1.5 l.
- Salt – 75g.
- Bay leaf – 3 pcs.
- Black peppercorns – 7 pcs.
- Allspice – 5 pcs.
Unlike previous recipes, we start this one by preparing the filling, or brine. Pour 1.5 liters of water into a saucepan and put on fire. After the water boils, add salt, bay leaf and peppers.
Use bay leaves and peppers to suit your taste; these are optional ingredients. By the way, you can try adding a couple of clove inflorescences for taste.
Stir everything and boil for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let the filling cool.
While the filling is cooling, prepare the vegetables. Cut the garlic into large pieces.
Remove seeds from hot peppers and cut into long strips.
Wash the beets, remove the peel, cut into 4 parts and cut each part into thin slices.
Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut into 4 parts and remove the stalk. We cut each piece into plates, 3cm thick, then cut the plates into squares.
Let's move on to filling the jar. We put a few pieces of beets and garlic on the bottom, and on top we put cabbage in a layer of 5-6 centimeters and pieces of pepper. Then we repeat the layers. Periodically compact the contents of the jar a little with your hand.
Fill the jar to the very top and fill it with cooled salty filling.
Cover with a lid, but not tightly, and leave to ferment for 4-5 days at room temperature.
While fermentation is going on, every day you need to push the edge of the cabbage and beets with a spoon to help carbon dioxide escape from the jar.
After 4-5 days, the release of carbon dioxide will practically stop, which means everything is ready. We close the jars with nylon lids and store them in the cellar or refrigerator.
Bon appetit!
Delicious crispy sauerkraut in a jar with brine
And the following recipe causes conflicting opinions among many, but I will try to dispel them. We will ferment the cabbage not in its own juice, but in brine. Moreover, this is the only way out if it suddenly turns out to be not juicy enough.
Ingredients for 3 liters. jar:
- Cabbage – 2-2.5 kg.
- Carrots – 1 pc.
- Salt – 1 tbsp. with a slide
- Water – 1l.
Why does this recipe cause so much controversy? Yes, because it is believed that cabbage should be fermented only in its own juice. In my opinion, this is a very controversial statement. Sometimes you come across a variety that has very little juice, and what should you do with it? Adding water is a very good way out of the situation, and no one has canceled the fermentation process itself, it is also ongoing. Those. It is impossible to say that the cabbage obtained is not sauerkraut; it turns out exactly the same as the cabbage fermented in its own juice, and sometimes even tastier.
The recipe will be similar to the previous one, only we will not put beets, and we will use the filling, or, in other words, brine.
To begin with, we prepare all the vegetables, namely: shred the cabbage in any convenient way, and grate the carrots either on a Korean grater or cut them into strips with a knife. Transfer to a large, convenient container and mix well, trying to squish it a little with your hands to release the juice faster. Then we transfer everything into a 3-liter jar. When filling the jar, press it down a little with your hands again, as if tamping it down a little.
By the way, why are 3-liter jars always used, and not, for example, 1-liter jars? In my opinion, everything is simple. In the jars, during the fermentation process, you need to leave a little space so that the juice does not escape. And in liter jars there’s not much space anyway. It’s a different matter with three rubles, there’s enough cabbage included in it, and there’s a free place.
When the jar is full, set it aside and prepare the brine. To do this, dissolve a large tablespoon of salt in 1 liter of boiled chilled water. Then pour the brine into a jar, cover the jar with gauze and leave to ferment for 4-5 days at room temperature.
Every day we pierce the contents of the jars with a wooden skewer or stainless steel skewer.
Well, then, when the bubbles practically stop appearing, close the jar with a nylon lid and put it away for storage in a cold place.
Once again I want to object to the words that such cabbage is not sauerkraut. Just try to prepare two jars, one in your own juice, the other in brine and compare the taste, and then we will discuss this topic?
Bon appetit!
Cabbage in a jar for the winter as a salad
And the following recipe will simply captivate you with both its ease of preparation and taste. And, I’m absolutely sure, he will confidently register in your notebooks.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 5 kg.
- Carrots – 1 kg.
- Onions – 1 kg.
- Bell pepper – 1 kg.
- Salt – 4 tbsp.
- Sugar – 300g.
- Vinegar 9% – 200ml.
- Vegetable oil – 500ml.
First, prepare all the vegetables. We shred the cabbage using a special shredder (or simply cut it with a knife).
Using a Korean grater, grate the carrots, cut the onions into half rings, and cut the bell pepper into strips.
We transfer all the vegetables into a large, convenient container, in our case it is a plastic bowl made of food-grade plastic. Add sugar, salt, vinegar and vegetable oil.
Mix everything well until smooth – of course, you can’t mix such a volume with your hands or a spoon. There is no need to grind or crush anything.
Then put it into clean jars.
We do not sterilize salad jars; we simply wash and rinse them with clean water. When putting it into jars, be sure to crush it well so that the juice comes out of the cabbage. If your hand doesn’t fit into the jar, then we crush it with a masher.
We close the jars with lids and store them in a cool place. And in winter, take it out of the refrigerator, put it on a plate, add grated apple and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar. Mmm, this makes a delicious salad.
Bon appetit!
Sauerkraut for the winter with apples
I offer a version of sauerkraut with apples. We won’t grate the apples, just cut them into pieces and add them to the jar. Let's add spices... but I won't get ahead of ourselves, I'll describe it in more detail below.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 4 kg.
- Apples – 400-800g.
- Carrots – 180g.
- Salt – 60g.
- Allspice peas – 4-5 pcs.
- Black peppercorns – 6-8 pcs.
- Cloves – 4 pcs.
In this recipe, the cabbage will ferment in its own juice, but because of the apples, it will acquire a very pleasant apple aroma.
Choose firm autumn varieties of apples to prevent them from going sour. Antonovka is very suitable for this.
So let's begin. To do this, remove the top leaves from the heads of cabbage, cut them into pieces convenient for holding by hand, and cut out the stalk. Then we chop it into small strips either on a shredder or simply with a knife.
The finer it is chopped, the shorter the ripening period. True, making this period shorter than 3 days will still not be possible physically, but wide straws will take up to 5 days, or even more.
Cut the carrots into small strips.
I repeat once again: you can grate the carrots on a regular coarse grater, but in this case it will color the cabbage creamy, and this will make it lose its snow-white color. How critical this is is up to you to decide.
After chopping all the vegetables, transfer them to a deep, convenient container - a large basin or large saucepan. If you only have a small amount of vegetables, you can continue to cook simply on the table.
Sprinkle all the vegetables with salt and mix with your hands, but don’t crush them too much, just a little.
Again, the thinner the cabbage straw, the less you need to crush it with your hands; the wider it is, the more effort we put in until the juice is released.
Cut the apples into 4 parts and remove the core and seeds. I remind you once again that it is better to take firm apples, otherwise they may become soggy when ripened.
In a convenient container, we use a bucket of cottage cheese, put 1/3 of the total volume of cabbage and crush it with your hands until the juice comes out. Place apple slices on top.
Lay out another layer of cabbage, also 1/3 of the original amount. And again lightly with your hands until the juice appears. Place a layer of apples again. Throw in half the peppers and a couple of cloves.
And put the remaining cabbage on top. Press well with your hands until the juice comes out. Throw in the remaining pepper and cloves. We put a plate on top as a pressure, and place a weight on the plate. We use a liter jar of water as a load. Leave the bucket at room temperature.
When you place the jar on a plate, press on top of it, this will release a lot of juice. But since the load is in the form of a jar, the juice will not go back and will cover all the cabbage and carrots. It is very important!
Now all that remains is to wait for the end of fermentation, which usually lasts three days. Every day we remove the plate with the oppression and pierce it with a skewer or skewer to release carbon dioxide, then install the oppression again.
When the fermentation is over, you will see for yourself that gas bubbles will no longer be released. This means everything is ready.
After this, put the cabbage in clean jars, close with nylon lids and store in a cool place. Do not store in a warm place!
And in winter we cook cabbage soup, borscht, vinaigrettes, or simply eat it as a salad. Bon appetit!
How to ferment cabbage in a jar under iron lids
You can store sauerkraut not only under nylon lids, but also under iron ones. To do this, you need to ferment it in any way and wait until the fermentation processes stop occurring. And then roll up the lids. One such method is described below.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 5 kg.
- Carrots – 250g.
- Salt – 100g.
As you have already read in previous recipes, it is better to choose late-ripening cabbage, as it contains more sugars and dry matter. Carrots are needed as an aid to increase sugar content. The optimal proportions of carrots are 5% of the total mass, salt is 2%. Based on these proportions, the recipe was compiled.
We chop the cabbage in any way convenient for us - on a shredder (manual or electric), or simply cut it with a knife. We make the width of the straw 5-7mm, this is the optimal size.
Grate the carrots into thin strips on a Korean grater, or cut them with a knife. You can grate it using a regular grater, but this will turn the cabbage creamy, which does not affect the taste.
Then put all the chopped vegetables into a deep saucepan or tank, sprinkle with salt and rub with your hands. At the end, be sure to press it well with your hands.
Cover the pan or tank with clean gauze and apply pressure. A 3-liter jar is quite suitable as oppression. Leave the pan at room temperature for 3-4 days.
During fermentation, be sure to remove the load, move away the gauze and pierce the cabbage to release carbon dioxide. And we do this 3-4 times a day. After three days, the formation of foam will stop, but the fermentation process is not yet complete. We take the pan out onto the balcony for subsequent fermentation and leave it for a few more days (provided that the temperature on the balcony is on average about 10 degrees, and this usually happens in the fall).
If there is no balcony, keep it at room temperature for a couple more days.
After this, we put the cabbage in ordinary jars, which we first wash well and rinse with clean water. We fill the jars right up to the cut, making sure to compact them in layers, for example with a masher. Finally, pour the brine from the pan into the jar so that there is no air left under the lid.
Air in the jar can cause subsequent fermentation, so you need to get rid of it as much as possible.
Place the lid on the jar and close it with a key. Then we put it away for storage in a cold place - a cellar or refrigerator.
Bon appetit!
Recipe for sauerkraut for a 3 liter jar
Friends, I would like to present another option for sauerkraut directly in jars. The fermentation will take place in its own juice.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 5 kg.
- Carrots – 200g.
- Salt – 100g.
As in previous recipes, we remove the outer leaves from the heads of cabbage - as a rule, they contain little juice. Then cut the heads of cabbage into quarters. This is done for ease of holding by hand during subsequent shredding. Be sure to cut out the stalk.
Cut the carrots into thin strips with a knife.
Shred the cabbage into strips. Then sprinkle with salt and lightly grind until juice appears.
Then sprinkle with carrots and mix. We don’t crush it with our hands, we don’t grind it, we just mix it.
You probably noticed that we grind cabbage without carrots. This is done so that the carrots release minimal juice, which can color everything. But I repeat once again, whether you get white cabbage or cream cabbage, it does not affect the taste.
Then we take clean 3-liter jars and put cabbage in them. Place in layers, compacting the layers until the juice releases. Leave some empty space on top for juice and foam.
Then cover each jar with a lid, place it on a plate and leave at room temperature for 3-4 days.
As a rule, the next day foam appears in the jar, which indicates that the fermentation process has begun. Now you need to pierce the contents to the very bottom every day several times to release carbon dioxide.
After a few days, when the foaming process ends, the cabbage is ready for storage. To do this, put it in clean jars and close the lids. We put it in a cold place - a cellar or refrigerator.
Bon appetit!
Instant sauerkraut per day
Friends, I would like to introduce you to a recipe for sauerkraut, which takes only one day to prepare. Intrigued? There is a little secret in the recipe, which you can read about below.
Ingredients:
- Cabbage – 2.5-3 kg.
- Carrots – 300g.
- Bay leaf – 5-6 pcs.
- Black peppercorns – 1 tsp.
- Water – 2.5 l.
- Salt – 0.5 tbsp.
- Sugar – 0.5 tbsp.
- Vinegar 9% - 0.5 tbsp.
I won’t bore you too much, I’ll just say that, of course, you can’t prepare sauerkraut in a day, but it’s very possible to make it taste similar to sauerkraut. This is exactly what we will do now.
Let's start cooking with the marinade. To do this, pour half a glass of salt and sugar into a saucepan with water, mix everything well and bring to a boil. In the meantime, prepare the vegetables.
We take a head of any cabbage, even with green leaves, which will still turn white due to the vinegar included in the recipe. Shred into small strips, as for pickling.
We grate the carrots on a Korean grater, or cut them into strips with a knife.
Place all vegetables in a large bowl. Add black peppercorns and bay leaves. Mix everything well, but there is no need to mash or grind the cabbage. Then we transfer it to a saucepan with a volume of at least 5 liters, where we will marinate everything.
While the vegetables were being prepared, our brine boiled. Remove the pan from the stove and pour in half a glass of vinegar. Stir and pour hot into the pan with vegetables.
Lightly compact everything so that the cabbage is immersed in the marinade, place a plate on top and place a jar of water as a pressure.
Leave the pan on the table at room temperature for one day. After a day, the cabbage is completely ready and tastes exactly like sauerkraut. The vinegar is not noticeable at all, slightly sour and moderately salty, crispy and tasty.
This type of cabbage should be stored in the same way as sauerkraut, in a cool place.
I hope you enjoy the recipe. Bon appetit!
That's all for me. As you can see, making sauerkraut is not a tricky task and anyone can do it. Cook with pleasure. Well, I say goodbye to you, until we meet again.
Sincerely, Alexander.
Previously, cabbage was fermented only in wooden barrels, it was taken to the cellar and buried 40 cm into the ground. Today, such difficulties are not needed, because very tasty sauerkraut for the winter is obtained in ordinary 3-liter jars, in a saucepan or bucket. The recipe is simple and quick, just three days and the appetizer is ready.
Classic recipe for crispy sauerkraut in a 3-liter jar
Gone are the days when cabbage was fermented in tubs and wooden barrels. Modern housewives prefer to ferment vegetables for the winter in simple 3-liter glass jars, which is very convenient in city apartments.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 kg of white cabbage;
- 2 large carrots;
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of salt;
- bay leaf and peppercorns (if desired).
Preparation:
- Pour water that has boiled in a kettle into the pan, add salty and sweet granules, and, if desired, add bay leaves and peppercorns. Let the brine cool.
- For fermentation, we take sweet cabbage; if the vegetable tastes bitter, then the appetizer will taste bitter.
- Cut the vegetable into thin strips and place in a deep bowl.
- Next we send the chopped on a coarse grater, mix everything thoroughly and transfer the vegetables into a three-liter glass jar.
- We pour the brine at room temperature, but not hot, as this can kill all the beneficial properties of the ingredients used.
- Fill the jar with brine right up to the neck and leave it open indoors for three days.
- It is better to place the jar with the contents in a deep bowl, since during the fermentation process carbon dioxide will push the brine out, and it will need to be returned.
- Also, cabbage should be pierced with a wooden stick twice a day to ensure a free outlet for carbon dioxide.
- If the brine stops bubbling, it means the fermentation process is complete, the jar of sauerkraut can be closed and moved to a cool place.
This recipe makes the cabbage juicy and crispy and can be stored for up to 8 months.
A simple recipe for sauerkraut in a saucepan
If you want to ferment cabbage in a saucepan, it is important to choose a suitable container. Enameled dishes without chips or cracks are suitable for fermentation. As for aluminum cookware, opinions differ; some recommend fermenting vegetables in aluminum, while others are against it.
You can ferment vegetables in a saucepan according to the classic version or take note of an interesting recipe with.
Ingredients for recipe 1:
- 6 kg of white cabbage;
- 7 carrot roots;
- bay leaf and allspice to taste;
- 420 g table salt;
- 210 g sugar;
- 7 liters of water.
Preparation:
- The first step is to prepare the cold brine. To do this, pour 7 liters into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then add salt and cook the brine for 5 minutes until all the grains dissolve.
- Pour shredded cabbage and carrots grated on the coarse side into a large bowl, mix everything thoroughly with your hands.
- Transfer the vegetables to the pan, alternating them with bay leaves and peppercorns.
- Fill everything with cooled brine, cover with whole cabbage leaves, place a plate and put pressure so that the brine protrudes above the plate.
- We leave the pan with the contents indoors and after five days we taste the sauerkraut.
Ingredients for recipe 2:
- 3 kg cabbage;
- large carrot root;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of honey;
- 3 dessert spoons of salt;
- 5 black peppercorns.
Preparation:
- Place shredded cabbage and grated carrots into a saucepan, add salt and peppercorns and mix.
- Place a plate on top, put pressure on it and leave the pan with its contents indoors for 48 hours. Every day we pierce the vegetables with a sharp stick so that gases escape and be sure to remove the foam that appears on the surface, as harmful bacteria accumulate in it.
- Then pour the brine into a bowl, stir honey in it, return it to the vegetables and keep the cabbage warm for another two days.
Place the finished snack in jars and store in a cool place.
Sauerkraut in a bucket without salt and sugar for the winter
To make it crispy, you need to take mid-late or late varieties of cabbage with uniform coloring, dense heads and rough leaves. Loose forks with green leaves are not suitable for sourdough. You can ferment cabbage without adding salt, sugar and even without water; this method will take more time, but the snack will be much healthier.
Ingredients:
- 6 kg cabbage;
- 2 kg carrots;
- several bay leaves and cloves;
- 100 g dill seeds.
Preparation:
- Shred the cabbage and grate the carrots. Mix the chopped vegetables with dill seeds, knead them well and put them in an enamel bucket. We try to pack the ingredients more tightly.
- Place a flat plate on top of the vegetables and place a weight of 15 to 20 kg under pressure so that the appetizer releases its juice faster. And as soon as this happens, you can change the heavy oppression to a load weighing from 2 to 3 kg.
- After three days we remove the load, and after 5 hours we taste the snack.
It is better to place fermented cabbage without salt in glass jars and place it in a cool place. You can leave the snack in a bucket under a load, but every day the cabbage will become more sour.
Georgian sauerkraut with beets
Many people believe that sauerkraut for the winter is an original Russian dish, but in fact, it has been fermented in other countries since ancient times. Among all the recipes, the Georgian version deserves special attention. Cabbage is fermented together with beets, and the end result is juicy and bright in appearance.
This appetizer can diversify both everyday and holiday tables.
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Ingredients:
- 3 kg cabbage;
- 1.5 kg of raw beets;
- 150 g celery (greens);
- 100 g garlic;
- 2 pods of hot pepper;
- 100 g cilantro;
- 90 g salt;
- 2.3 liters of water.
Preparation:
- For those who do not like too spicy salting, you can also add seven cloves and allspice, 20 g of sugar and two bay leaves to the recipe (the ingredients are presented per liter of water).
- Remove old leaves from cabbage forks and cut each head of cabbage into several pieces.
- Peel the beets and cut the root vegetable into thin slices.
- Divide the garlic cloves in half. There is no need to grind it finer, this is how it can transfer its taste to the brine and remain suitable for consumption in the finished snack.
- Remove seeds from hot peppers and cut into slices.
- Finely chop the green cilantro and celery.
- Now we move on to the brine; to do this, dissolve the salt granules in boiling water; the brine must cool. If you need to add other spices to the brine, add them along with salt and cook for 5 minutes.
- Place a layer of beets on the bottom of the enamel pan, then lay out the beets again and so on until all the chopped vegetables are gone, the last layer must be beets so that the cabbage is evenly colored in a beautiful color. Approximately in the middle, the cabbage layer should be sprinkled with a mixture of garlic, herbs and hot pepper.
- Fill the contents of the pan with cooled brine, place a plate with a load on top and leave the cabbage to ferment in a warm place for 5 days.
- Every day we pierce the vegetables with a sharp fork so that carbon dioxide can freely escape from the cabbage.
As soon as the foam stops appearing and the brine becomes transparent, it means the cabbage is ready, put it in jars and put it in a cooler place.
Recipe for crispy sauerkraut in a barrel for the winter
Sauerkraut in a barrel is a pleasure that you get not only from eating the finished snack, but also from the fermentation process itself. For the starter, you can take a barrel made of oak, linden or cedar, and, of course, find a suitable recipe (with photo) for pickling.
Ingredients:
- 46 g white cabbage;
- 4 kg carrots;
- 1 kg of coarse salt (without iodine).
Preparation:
- We scald the barrel with boiling water and it is better to do this twice.
- Using a shredder, chop the cabbage and carrots, add them to a large bowl, add salt and mix with your hands until the cabbage releases juice.
- Cover the bottom of the barrel with whole cabbage leaves and add the vegetables along with the juice, securing them with a good weight.
- We leave the cabbage to ferment in a warm room, remove the load every day (twice), pierce the vegetables so that the gas escapes and the appetizer does not turn out bitter.
- As soon as intensive fermentation stops, the barrel of cabbage must be moved to the basement. In 10 days the cabbage will be ready. You can watch the video on how to ferment cabbage in an oak barrel.
- You can store fermented cabbage in a barrel in the basement, but once a week you need to check the barrel with its contents and remove mold so that the snack does not spoil.
You can ferment cabbage in a barrel not only with carrots, but also very tasty cabbage with cranberries, apples and caraway seeds.
Spicy version
Today there are different options for how to ferment cabbage. One of the popular recipes is a spicy snack option. Here cabbage can be fermented with vinegar alone or with the addition of mustard.
Ingredients for recipe 1:
- forks of white cabbage;
- 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar;
- 1 tbsp. spoon of salt;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil;
- 2 tbsp. spoons of vinegar;
- head of garlic;
- 2 carrots;
- hot pepper pod.
Preparation:
- We cut the cabbage into large pieces, chop the carrots on a grater, cut the hot pepper into slices and cut the garlic cloves into small pieces.
- Place the prepared ingredients in layers in a glass jar and start with cabbage.
- To make the brine, add salt, sugar, oil and vinegar to the water. Boil the mixture and immediately pour it over the vegetables.
- The cabbage will be ready in a day; store the appetizer in a cool place.
Ingredients for mustard recipe:
- 3 kg of white cabbage;
- 3 carrots;
- 3 onions;
- 250 ml vegetable oil;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of mustard;
- 200 ml vinegar;
- 180 g sugar;
- 1.5 tbsp. spoons of salt.
Preparation:
- Shred the cabbage, chop the carrots on a grater for Korean salads, cut the onion into thin quarters.
- Place all the chopped vegetables in a deep container and mix.
- Pour oil and vinegar into a separate bowl, add salt, sugar and mustard, stir and heat the marinade for 5 minutes.
- Pour the hot mixture over the vegetables, stir and leave for 2 hours, during which time the contents of the container need to be mixed several times. Afterwards, put the snack into jars and move it to a cool place.
The cabbage can be served the next day, but it is best to let it sit for two days to get the best flavor.
Korean style in a 3 liter jar
Korean cuisine is ready to offer many recipes for pickling cabbage, because each province of this country has its own traditions and secrets of preparing vegetable snacks. It is important to note that white cabbage varieties are not suitable for pickling cabbage, because leaf varieties of cabbage, which we call Chinese cabbage, are popular in Korea.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of Chinese cabbage;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 3 tbsp. spoons of salt;
- 150 g daikon;
- 3 sweet peppers;
- a slice of fresh ginger (a teaspoon of dried);
- 50 g green onions;
- 2 pods of hot pepper (2 teaspoons of dry ground);
- 2 teaspoons sugar;
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander.
Preparation:
- Stir 5 tablespoons of salt in two liters of hot water and cool.
- We cut the Chinese cabbage into four parts, put it in a deep container, fill it with saline solution and keep it under pressure for 5 hours.
- Then we remove the oppression and swap those parts of the cabbage that are at the bottom of the container with the top ones, put the oppression back on and leave for 8 hours.
- Afterwards, take out the salted cabbage and rinse with water.
- Now we take the daikon, peel it and cut it into long thin slices or simply grate it for Korean salads.
- Peel the hot and sweet peppers from seeds, cut them into pieces, place them in a blender container and grind to a puree consistency.
- Chop the garlic cloves with a sharp knife or pass through a press.
- Use a sharp knife to chop the ginger if you are using fresh plant root.
- Combine all the ingredients in a deep container, add a spoonful of salt, the same amount of sugar and coriander. Let the mixture sit for about an hour.
- Then rub each piece of Chinese cabbage with the spicy mixture and place it tightly in a jar or any other glass or ceramic container.
- Depending on the room temperature, the fermentation process can last from two to five days.
Store the finished Korean snack in a cool place for three weeks.
You can ferment cabbage in different ways, but you need to choose the right day. If you believe folk superstitions, then it is correct to ferment cabbage only on the waxing moon and only on those days of the week that have the letter “R” in their name - these are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, except Sunday. But, the main thing is to choose cabbage suitable for fermentation - these are the varieties caught by the first frost.
