Kraut
Spring is a powerful force!
And so is inspiration, which sometimes strikes at odd times. I was sweeping my entire house at 7:30 this morning and elbow deep in sauerkraut by 10.
Homemade Raw Sauerkraut
Start with a couple pounds of green or red cabbage. Today I used about 3 pounds of green.
My KitchenAid food processor made quick and easy work of the shredding.
Salt it up. I used 1 tablespoon of high quality sea salt.
And dig in.
Squeeze, mix, and mash to break the cell walls of the cabbage and release the natural juices.
Work it.
At this point I threw in a pinch of ground coriander and celery seeds.
After about 4 minutes of muscling it I deemed it jar-ready. Pack, pack, pack it down with your hand.
I placed an upside-down jar full of water just inside the lid to ensure that the brine completely covers the cabbage.
Covered with a clean dish towel (to keep it clean) and set in the pantry to work it’s fermenting magic.
I’ll check the ‘kraut every few days and will put and lid on it, put it in the fridge, and start to eat off of it in about a week.
Raw sauerkraut is an awesome source of vitamin c and probiotics. You don’t have to worry about “bad” bacteria because the acidic environment is not conducive to those nasty buggers. Botulism can only form in an anaerobic environment, there is oxygen present in the jar because it just has a towel over it.
The whole process took 15 minutes and cost less than $2.
Have you experimented with fermented foods? I think it’s really fun and rewarding and I fully believe that including fermented foods in my diet this winter has helped keep me healthier than usual.
