SAUERKRAUT
Ingredients:
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Clean stones, marbles, or other weights for weighing the jelly jar
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Cloth for covering the jar
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Rubber band or twine for securing the cloth
Method:
1. Clean everything
2. Slice the cabbage, discard the wilted, limp outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and trim out the core. Slice each quarter down its length, making 8 wedges. Slice each wedge crosswise into very thin ribbons.
3. Combine the cabbage and salt: Transfer the cabbage to a big mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt over top. Begin working the salt into the cabbage by massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. At first, it may not seem like enough salt, but gradually, the cabbage will become watery and limp — more like coleslaw than raw cabbage. This will take 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Mix in flavours like bay leaves and pepper
5. Pack the cabbage into the jar
6. Weigh the cabbage down (can use marble weights or a smaller empty jar, or even the core of the cabbage), keep the cabbage weighed down, and eventually, submerged beneath its liquid.
7. Cover the jar with cloth and secure with elastic band
8. Press the cabbage every few hours over the next 24 hours
9. Add extra liquid, if needed: If after 24 hours, the liquid has not risen above the cabbage, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water and add enough to submerge the cabbage.
10. Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days
11. Store sauerkraut for several months in fridge once ready