Sauerkraut Recipes - How To Make Sauerkraut At Home
Sauerkraut recipes offer a vivacious and active, living food addition to your favorite meals.
I love making sauerkraut, or raw cultured veggies, by the quart or gallon for a fraction of the cost of store bought sauerkraut. It is the way to go if you've adopted this fermented food as a favorite condiment.
Raw, unpasteurized kraut is packed with enzymes and friendly flora that will aid digestion and re-balance intestinal ecology. It is one of the great cultured superfoods that is worth adding to your diet plan for these reasons.
Learning how to make sauerkraut gives you the freedom to use whatever raw veggies and spices you want to put into it, making your own custom blends and recipes.
Why not start the age old tradition of making sauerkraut with family and friends on a regular basis.
As, many of you may know, sauerkraut is one of my favorite fermented foods. My husband and I each have the task of making certain food ferments in our superfood kitchen. They are the ones we love to make the most. He loves to make the tempeh and kombucha, for example. I love to make the miso and.... the sauerkraut! I usually make a gallon at a time and have got into the habit of making it so we never run out!
How To Eat IT
I enjoy eating sauerkraut alone as a snack food. It works well when you get cravings for those "less than healthy" sweet or salty snacks. It is also a wonderful compliment to:
The process of making cultured raw veggies or sauerkraut is simple and easy and can be accomplished by most anyone with the desire, motivation and some basic kitchen tools.
(Make the brine: Take 1/2 C of your veggies and blend them with water, ginger, salt and lemon)
Add the brine to your bowl.
Mix in your dill by hand.
This is your kraut!
Pack a quart size jar full of the sauerkraut mixture.
Push down with clean hands.
Leave a few inches at the top of the jar.
Pack in some cabbage leaves.
Place a sprout lid on top.
Cover with a cloth.
Let sit for 3-7 days.
Makes 1 quart of yummy sauerkraut!
The general rule for fermentation time is:
If colder temp----longer time ferment
If warmer temp----shorter time ferment.
Somewhere between 3 and 7 days.
The texture of sauerkraut recipes should be soft and taste is tangy, but sweet.
~~Dispose of the top layer after the fermentation process is complete. It is natural for the top 1-2 inches to have some spots of whitish mold, but do not be alarmed. Underneath this layer you will find a colorful and tasty living food ready to take action in your colon.~~
Sauerkraut Salsa:
1/2 red cabbage
1C tomatoes
1/4 onion
1 small beet (peeled)
1 carrot
1 small red pepper
1 priobiotic caps (optional)
1t celtic sea salt
1/4t cayenne pepper
Chop red cabbage and place in food processor.
Process until fine and moist.
Place in large bowl.
Next add tomato, onion, beet, carrot, red pepper, cayenne, and salt, probiotic to processor.
Process until fine and moist.
Add to bowl of cabbage.
This is your kraut!
(The salsa replaces the brine in this recipe.)
Pack a quart size jar full of the sauerkraut mixture.
Push down with clean hands.
Leave a few inches at the top of the jar.
Pack in some cabbage leaves.
Place a sprout lid on top.
Cover with a cloth.
Let sit for 3-7 days.
Makes roughly one quart.
Note: This recipe should be avoided by those you have
candida,
because its tomato content is too acidic.
You can make your sauerkraut recipes without salt, probiotic or even lemon juice. We use them, however, for a little assistance to create an environment that supports the growth of friendly flora.
Refrigeration slows down the fermentation process, but not completely. These sauerkraut recipes can keep for months, if not years. Over time, they are said to develop an aged quality, like a fine wine.
Cultured kraut can be made from almost any vegetable, but cabbage is traditionally the main ingredient.
Try these basic recipes to start, then you can later expand with different spices and themes as you become more accustom to the process.
Can Sauerkraut Recipes Go Bad?
Yes, kraut can go bad. In certain environments and climates that are not conducive to the growth of beneficial bacteria, you will often get spoilage. This means your kraut will SMELL BAD and other "not so friendly" bacteria have taken over your ferment. The color will often have a brown, dingy look to it.
It is also important to remember to keep everything as sterile as possible, washing all jars, bowels and knives in soapy, hot water before using them to prepare and store your sauerkraut.
Another reminder.... When culturing vegetables you most often will get some mold growth on the very top layer. This is natural and does not mean it went bad. Just simply skim off the first inch or two below the cabbage leaves. Your zesty kraut will be waiting underneath!
***Also see our fermented food recipes for more info on a great new book for anyone new to the world of fermented and cultured foods.***
The texture of sauerkraut recipes should be soft and taste is tangy, but sweet.
You can make your sauerkraut recipes without salt, probiotic or even lemon juice. We use them, however, for a little assistance to create an environment that supports the growth of friendly flora.
