How to make Sauerkraut at Home – All Steps

How to make Sauerkraut at home is not as difficult as you may think. When I wrote the last recipe for Sauerkraut I thought it would be good to know how you actually can make Sauerkraut from scratch. Making Sauerkraut is an old traditional way and it is healthy. It might be a bit tricky as it is not a commonly used procedure anymore. But back then when people had no refrigerator or cans, this was the way to preserve the cabbage during the winter season. It takes some time but it’s worth it.

The recipe below shows you how to make Sauerkraut at home:

Ingredients How to make Sauerkraut at Home

First you need a special Sauerkraut pot (10 liter) – It is called Fermenting crock pot.

     
(The ones above are available in the USA on Amazon and are Made in Germany)

Such pots would come with stone plates which you place on top of the Sauerkraut. Before using the plates you have to put them in water for 1 hour.
You can to use a special grater for cabbage, or use  a very sharp knife.

– 9-10 kg white cabbage, fresh and preferably organic (weigh the cabbage to determine the salt amount).
– Laurel leaves, juniper berries, sliced apple.
– Optional: White wine (dry Riesling; 250 gr for 10 L) to get wine sauerkraut.
– Buttermilk (500 gr for 10 Liter)
– If you cannot get butter milk you can get the powder and make it yourself. We found out on yahoo.com that you actually can buy it in every store but depending where you are located it might be different. More information about Buttermilk
– For the brine: 3 tbsp salt for half of a gallon.
– 50 g Morton pickling salt on 1 liter water or 1% salt of the cabbage weight. Don’t use ionized salt.

Instructions How you make Sauerkraut at Home

– Remove the outer cabbage leaves, cut it in quarters and remove the stalk, then cut or grate it into fine stripes. Grate cabbage in batches and add salt  to each batch. It should be evenly coated with salt. Let sit for 15 min.
– Rinse the pot with hot water and fill in the first layer of cabbage
– In using a masher, mash the layer until water is coming out, the layer needs to be mashed so that it is completely covered with water from the cabbage.
– Add the next layer, mash it and so on until the pot is filled but not completely to the to. The stone plate has to be placed directly under the lid. So keep some spare space for the plate.

– In between the layers add the buttermilk and the white wine, the laurel leaves, apple slices and juniper berries, you also can add caraway seeds if you like.
– When all cabbage is in the pot cover it with a cabbage leave. Place the fermenting stones on top.
– Last step is to put the plate on the top layer, and pour the brine into the lid.

Add the lid and fill the liquid channel with water. The pot has a special lid which has a channel into the pot (I call it liquid channel). This mechanism allows that fermenting gases can go out and no oxygen gets in. It also helps to prevent the bad smelling while fermenting. You need to have this channel always filled with water and never open the lid!
Keep the Sauerkraut in the pot for 4-6 weeks (or longer). At least 4 weeks.
Second video shows what to do after fermentation. Remove all water from the lid and the stone plates. Place Sauerkraut in sterilized jars.

TIPS

You need to mash the Sauerkraut better and more if there is not a layer of 1,5 inches or 5 cm water on top, this is very vital. So mash it a lot. In former times people used their feet to mash it!
– First you would keep the pot in the kitchen for about 3 days. You need room temperature, so it should be not to hot and not too cold.
– Then after 3 days keep the pot in a colder room (basement, cellar, room which is not heated). You can see that the liquid starts to become foamy and also it will start to small unpleasant, but this is not a bad sign. It is normal. The Sauerkraut is fermenting for 4-6 weeks.
– When the Sauerkraut is done, remove the first upper layer which is normally not tasteful.
– You can store it in the pot but if you are not using it a lot, always remove the upper layer before using. You need to have it always covered with 5 cm brine.
– Sometime the liquid starts to be very foamy and is overflowing. Keep the pot in a big dish or on an old tray.

Important: This Sauerkraut needs to cook for 2-3 hours. The one you buy in the jar is mostly pre-cooked.