In the old days, cabbage was stored in large volumes for the winter, and even now in the villages and villages they also ferment it in barrels and store it in cellars. And a small family living in an apartment does not need so much, and freshly prepared sauerkraut is much tastier than one that has stood all winter and has lost its taste and aroma.
You can ferment cabbage in a variety of ways. But the recipe for the classic, well-known, sauerkraut is very simple. With the minimum expenditure of labor and funds, you can get a tasty and healthy product.
What you need for sourdough cabbage
At home, it is most convenient to ferment cabbage in a large saucepan with a volume of at least five liters. You will need a bowl made of food grade plastic or enamelled. A sharp long knife, or better a special shredder - on it the cabbage turns out to be smooth, beautiful, and the cutting process itself is faster.
From products you will need:
- white cabbage 3-4 kg,
- grated carrots,
- coarse salt
You can use regular fine salt, but coarse cabbage is juicier.
How to ferment cabbage
Wash all utensils and tools with hot water. Remove the top leaves from the cabbage heads. Cut the cabbage with a knife into long, narrow strips or chop directly into the basin. It is not necessary to cut the stump, it is thrown away together with the upper leaves.
Wash, peel and grate the carrots. Add to cabbage and mix well. Weigh the resulting mass. Add salt at the rate of 25 grams per kilogram of cabbage mass. 25 grams of salt is about a flat, medium-sized tablespoon.
Mix everything well and mash the cabbage with your hands so that a lot of juice appears. Now put the whole mass in a saucepan and tamp as much as possible. This can be done with a wooden pusher or simply with your hands clenched into fists. In this case, the juice should appear well on the surface.
The cabbage must be covered in juice throughout the entire fermentation process. To do this, press it with a wooden circle, the diameter of which is a couple of centimeters less than the diameter of the pan, or just a flat plate of suitable size. You need to put a load on top. Ideally, this is a flat stone, but if there is none, you can pour water into a small glass jar, close well with a screw-cut lid, and press it down.
Cover the saucepan with cabbage and put in a warm place. Best of all, fermentation occurs at a temperature of 22-25 degrees. During the fermentation process, abundant foam appears on the surface of the juice. It is not necessary to remove it, but every day it is necessary to pierce the entire mass in several places and to the very bottom with a wooden stick in order to remove excess carbon dioxide. When the foam disappears and the cabbage acquires a pleasant sour smell, it is ready. This happens approximately on the seventh day.
When laying cabbage for sourdough, you can put various additives in it, which will give it a piquancy and aroma. For example, cranberries or Antonov apples. Alternatively, you can add caraway seeds, bay leaves, allspice, dill seed. Here you have to focus on your own taste preferences.
