How to Make Raw Sauerkraut

By andreajayros

Ingredients

• 1 medium to large head green cabbage, shredded in food processor or finely sliced by hand
• 6 radishes, shredded in FP or finely sliced by hand
• Leave several of the outer cabbage leaves to the side, intact for filling top of jars
• 4 cups water
• 4 inches ginger root, peeled
• 2 TB. sea salt
• Blend brine up in a high powered blender (I use a Vitamix) until smooth.
• (The ginger root assists with digestion and adds a nice zing to the combo.)

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from onegreenplanet.org

Preparation

Step 1

The way I make raw sauerkraut it is generally ready within 4 to 7 days. The longer it ferments, or cultures, the more probiotic support it offers your digestive system.

Kraut can be made with several different ingredients (green and red cabbage, radish, daikon, carrot, etc.) Here I just used a HUGE green cabbage that I picked up from a local, organic farmer a few days prior and some radishes fresh from my garden.

I usually just pull out a sharp knife and cutting board and cut produce thinly, but this giant guy required the food processor for a quicker job.

I used the small slicing blade for this procedure.

After several minutes of processing and transferring to bowls, I mixed the cabbage and radish to incorporate fully and have a nice blend.After that is done, it is time to start packing mixture in clean, sanitized mason jars 3/4 full of mixture (I had enough to fill 5 quart jars and 1 pint jar (made for Darcey).

Use a wooden spoon to REALLY PACK the mixture tightly!

Leave about 2 inches of room at the top of the jars to allow room for the kraut to expand.

OK, all the jars are filled to 2 inches from the top and ready to pour liquid brine in over the mixture.

Now fold a few of the outer cabbage leaves into very tight rolls, and place them on top of the mixture to fill that 2 inch space.

Tightly close and seal the jars.

I set mine on the counter with a towel over it (just in case anything wants to spew forth due to fermentation process – that’s why you leave some space at top so you don’t have exploding kraut – it builds some pressure!)

After the 5-7 days, move the jars to the refrigerator, which will slow down the fermentation process.

If you see bubbling inside, this is a good sign! That is the probiotic process in action!

When you open the jar, remove the outer cabbage leaves and discard. Ready to eat!