Instructions

1. Grate the cabbage and any other vegetable or fruit additions.
2. Toss the cabbage with spices and salt.
3. Pack it into a wide mouth mason jar(s) leaving at least 2″ of head room. Use a spoon to really pound all the cabbage into the jar. Pack it down enough for liquid to be pressed out of the cabbage. You want enough liquid to submerge the cabbage. Also, it’s important to fully pack the cabbage into the jar because air bubbles increase the risk of contamination. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough liquid right away, it should produce it within 24 hours. So you can to leave your cabbage to sweat a bit then pack it down again.
4. Leave the jar to ferment at room temperature (around 18 C if possible) and out of the sun.
5. The first three days the cabbage will bubble and liquid may over flow from the jar (so put a bowl underneath your jar to catch any liquid).
6. Sauerkraut is ready when you decide it is done. After 5 days you will have a sweet tasting kraut. And up to 7 weeks for a sour kraut. I often permanently leave my kraut in a cupboard since I’m short on space in my fridge.
7. Store it in the fridge to stop the fermentation.