Another microbiology project in my kitchen. This time, I made sauerkraut. It was surprisingly easy. Easier than kimchee. I love kimchee but it’s more involved, so after a few rounds of it, I stopped doing it. Then I went on to kombucha which is super easy. And now, I introduce to you, red cabbage sauerkraut!
- Sea salt
- Filtered water
- 1 head of red cabbage
- 1 red onion – Optional
- 6 or so cloves of garlic – Optional
- 3 carrots – Optional
I chopped and rinsed the cabbage.
Chopped the onions
Flattened the garlic cloves a little (just to break them)
Cut the carrots into sticks.
Massage the cabbage in 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Crush it a little as you work the salt in. You can let it sit out after massaging it to see if you can get some water out of that. I was too impatient. I just packed it all in the jars and added extra salt water to cover up all the vegetables. Don’t oversalt or it’ll taste too salty. Leave it in a dark place covered with a paper towel or something and then let it ferment. I thought it would take weeks but one week was enough for me to smell the sourness. The top layer started to get moldy because it floated above the water. I just scooped it out. The stuff in the brine is perfectly fine and it tastes tangy and delicious. Then after a week, when it smelled sour, and I took care of the moldy pieces, I put the lids on and refrigerated them. They are very crunchy and delicious and bright pink!!
So next time you get yourself a head of cabbage and aren’t sure what to do with it, ferment it. It’s easy to make and very easy to eat. I just ate a bowl of it by itself just now.