That's sauerkraut. How to ferment cabbage: recipes for quick preparation of tasty and crispy preparation at home

Since ancient times, cabbage has been and continues to be a desirable product on every table. Autumn harvesting for future use using the fermentation method is especially popular. But not all housewives know how to make sauerkraut at home. Some people prefer ready-made ones from the supermarket or market. The quality of such a delicacy is questionable. Who knows what technology was used to create the product, what hands were used to knead the ingredients.

Secrets of successful cooking

Our ancestors also knew the secrets of how to make sauerkraut especially tasty. The technology was passed on to subsequent generations. New components were added. But time has not changed the key requirements for cooking. To get a successful snack, you need:

Cut strips up to 5 mm with a sharp knife. Smaller pieces have a weak crunch.
Ferment in enamel, glass, oak containers. It is contraindicated to use aluminum containers, since the lactic acid formed during fermentation interacts with the metal.
Ferment at room temperature or slightly lower. If more than 24°C - mucus forms, less than 20°C - souring stops.
Compact the chopped vegetables and press down with a heavy weight so that the released juice covers the surface. The mass outside the liquid darkens and becomes soft.
Periodically pierce the contents of the container with a long stick. The dish will be bitter and smell unpleasant if fermentation gases are not removed.

After 3 days of fermentation, you can start eating cabbage. But it will acquire a complete taste in a week. Acceptable storage temperature is 0-2 °C. Stores up to 9 months. To prevent the surface from becoming moldy, it is sprinkled with mustard. Frozen pickled salad at home lasts longer.

Important: Juicy white forks that are moderately firm to the touch are suitable for souring. Soft early or hard late varieties are not suitable.

Classic recipe for dry fermentation

Not everyone knows how to make sauerkraut correctly without additional brine. Although you don't have to be an advanced cook to prepare a traditional snack. The method is more than simple: for 4 kg of white cabbage we take 400 g of carrots, 80 g of sugar, 80 g of coarse salt.

Important: You cannot use iodized salt. Iodine interferes with the growth of fermentation bacteria. The salad will turn out soft and slippery.

The cooking process is step by step:

We chop clean forks into 3-4 mm strips.
Coarsely grate the prepared carrots.
Salt the vegetables and lightly knead them in a bowl.
Add sugar, 6 peppercorns, mix.
Fill a 5-liter pan or the same jar with the mixture, not forgetting to compact each ball with your fist. The released juice will overflow over the edges, so you need a basin under the bottom.
Cover the surface with gauze. If a pan is used, oppression is required.
Fermentation lasts 3 days. Periodically remove the foam, rinse the gauze, and release gases. Towards the end of souring, foaming will decrease.
On the 4th day, we take the workpiece out into the cold and keep it for another 4 days.
Before use, homemade snacks can be placed in small jars.

Now you know how to make crispy, pleasantly sour sauerkraut.

Original pickling recipes

Previously, housewives had to look for recipes for winter salads in every possible way. Valuable information was copied from magazines, learned from colleagues, neighbors, and acquaintances. Not all owners of exclusive information were willing to share secrets. Today it is not at all necessary to ask someone how to make sauerkraut at home. Type a question into a search engine and get a detailed description of the method.

Pickling in brine

If you don’t know how to make juicy sauerkraut at home without the risk of mucus formation, try the brine technology. From 2 kg of white cabbage, with the addition of 200 g of carrots, 50 g of salt, the same amount of sugar, as well as 1.5 liters of water, the output will be 3 liters of sweet and sour product. It is prepared like this:

1. Fill jars with chopped and mixed vegetables. Spices are placed on top - a few peppercorns, bay leaves.

2. The contents are filled with warm boiled brine.

3. Souring at home lasts 3 days. The mass is pierced to the bottom from time to time.

4. The fermented salad is cooled on the 4th day.

Important: Do not pour hot solution into the prepared composition. Lactic acid bacteria will die and the product will become moldy.

Recipe using honey

The method is interesting because it involves souring with sterilization. Many people don’t know how to make sauerkraut with honey, the recipe for which allows you to store the rolled-up cabbage all winter. But it’s not at all difficult. The ingredients are the same, except for honey.

Important: Use dark honey, it is more fragrant.

According to the condition, you will need 5 kg of white cabbage, a couple of medium carrots, 90 g of coarse salt, 75 ml of buckwheat honey, 5-6 bay leaves. Stages of preparing a honey-flavored product:

1. Using prepared forks, chop the root vegetables into a large bowl.

2. Add salt to the chopped vegetable mass and squeeze until juice appears.

3. Chop honey in 50-60 ml of warm boiled water.

4. Enrich the ground components with honey solution.

5. Place one bay leaf at the bottom of the prepared liter jars.

6. Fill the containers with vegetables, leaving space on top for juice. If there is excessive juice secretion, drain off some of the liquid.

7. After 3 days of souring, the composition in the jars is sterilized for 20 minutes, then rolled up, turned over, and wrapped.

Spicy sauerkraut

Spicy lovers will enjoy this piquant and bright appetizer. Garlic and horseradish add vigor to the dish, and beets add a pink-burgundy color. From 4 kg of cabbage, 400 g of beets, 30 g of grated horseradish, 2 heads of garlic, 60 g of sugar, 80 g of salt, 1 liter of water yields up to 5-6 liters of an appetizing product. The cooking scenario is as follows:

1. Grate raw peeled beets, as for Korean salad.

2. Chop the garlic with a knife or crush it in a garlic press.

3. Grate fresh horseradish.

4. Chop the head of cabbage into thin strips.

5. Mix all the ingredients in a basin, place in a vessel for souring, pressing firmly with your hand.

6. Pour the hot boiled mixture over the vegetables. If the width of the container allows, oppression is placed.

The fermentation lasts a week. All this time, gases are periodically removed. After absorbing the liquid, the delicacy is placed in smaller containers and cooled.

How to make crispy sauerkraut

Recipe for fermentation based on a three-liter jar

The salad turns out refreshing and crispy. It wears out quickly, but it is easy to repair it again. For a 5-liter bucket of chopped cabbage, grate a couple of medium carrots, add two handfuls of salt, one handful of sugar. Suitable spices include cumin and peppercorns.

Cooking steps:

1. Mix the chopped vegetable mass, lightly grind it, compact it tightly into a jar until juice appears.

2. Cover the neck with gauze and leave the product to ferment for 3-4 days, remembering to remove the gases.

3. After the brine has been absorbed, cool. After a couple of days, you can eat the crunchy snack.

Express cabbage

For those who don’t know how to quickly make sauerkraut in a jar, we offer another popular recipe. The method involves the use of 9 percent table vinegar. For a medium-sized fork you need 3 carrots, 4 cloves of garlic, half a glass of vegetable oil, 150 ml of vinegar, half a liter of water, 100 g of sugar, coarse salt to taste.

Cooking process:

1. Chop the vegetables.

2. Crush the garlic.

3. Place the crushed mass in a jar.

4. Prepare the brine and boil.

5. Pour the contents of the container, cover with a plate.

After three hours, you can try the aromatic cabbage. And in a day it will become even tastier.

This topic is my favorite. Because sauerkraut- that rare case when I, as they say, “shine” with culinary talent, which probably extends only to dishes made from this vegetable. Everyone loves my cabbage - I’m bragging about this without exaggeration

I don’t know what the secret is, but all my friends and relatives respect my version of this tasty and healthy recipe.

Although I don’t do anything special, everything seems to be the same as everyone else.

This good preparation for winter u: there is always a snack, and the family is provided with vitamins on the table. Today I read that for a long time in Rus', all girls and even girls learned to ferment cabbage Exactly, exactly! It was my mother who gave me this recipe when I helped her in this matter as a child. And on the Internet it is written that "It's hard work". This is truly amazing! Because and it only takes a couple of hours and a couple of assistants who will peel and grate carrots and wash glass jars.

Yes, by the way, about utensils for work. I've heard a lot about pickling in barrels, tubs, etc. I myself ABSOLUTELY salt (sauerkraut) cabbage ONLY in 3-liter jars. Once I was persuaded to use a plastic tub, but the product turned out completely different from what it always was - not mine at all

DIY sauerkraut

So, we need:

three-liter jars,
salt (no need for iodized salt, just regular salt),
cabbage (tight light green heads, early green cabbage is not suitable for pickling)
carrots (quantity - by eye, depending on your preference)
sugar

Well, the pickling recipe itself is simple. Finely chop it and sprinkle grated carrots on top.

Now the main thing is how and how much salt. I remember my mother’s instructions very well - to add salt so that it would be pleasant to eat. That is, do not add salt by adding too much salt - they say, “we’ll add salt,” but as if we’re doing

And now - attention! Pa-ba-ba-bam! After studying several sauerkraut recipes, I realized the differences between mine and other recipes. I sprinkle a bunch of chopped vegetables with sugar! A little bit, literally half a handful. Sugar will help start the natural process of fermentation and the formation of lactic acid.

Judging by other recipes, fermentation should take place on its own. I don’t know, maybe today the cabbage is somehow not the same as before, that it needs to be “helped”? But I always sprinkle it with sugar, and it always captivates other people's hearts and stomachs

Then we need to mash this pile a little so that our cabbage releases its juice.

In a washed jar (no need to sterilize), we begin to place it tightly, compacting it, using our own fist.

The narrow part of the jar will perfectly cope with the role of oppression; the main thing is to thoroughly compact our future snack. In other versions of fermentation, it was proposed to use oppression, weight, and so on. I get by with the minimum, as already mentioned.

If the juice has already come out, drain a little. Place the jar on a deep plate (overnight the juice will release and flood the floor or table without a plate). No need to cover.

Cabbage ferments for two to three days, depending on the temperature in the house. I recently had it ready in 2 days, but in the fall this process usually takes three to four days. During this time, you need to constantly remove excess juice with a tablespoon and pierce the cabbage with a long knife two to three times a day in the jar to the very bottom - so that the gases escape. The smell, I’ll tell you, will still linger in your kitchen, so it’s better to warn your household. Although they will later be very grateful to you for the awesomeness!

Mom's assistant:

If you then have nowhere to put the jars (there is no basement or cold cellar in the garage), you can separate the snack into bags (that’s what I do) and put it in the freezer. Throughout the winter, I take a bag out of the refrigerator, enough for two or three salads. Either I make borscht or stew sauerkraut - very tasty!

But most often we make it simply with butter and onions (you can also add green peas). And recently my husband tried dressing this salad instead of vegetable oil. It turned out very tasty!

Bon appetit!

Good day everyone.

Just the other day we were looking at ways. In the same note, I mentioned that pickled and sauerkraut are completely different things, although many people inadvertently confuse these methods with each other.

Let me briefly remind you that the fermentation process occurs due to the release of lactic acid bacteria from the vegetable itself, which triggers the process of fermentation and preservation. And when pickling, vinegar serves as a preservative. That's the whole difference. It seems like nonsense, but the taste of these two snacks is completely different.

Due to the absence of external preservatives when sauerkraut is sauerkraut, this process is quite lengthy and takes at least 3 days. It is prepared quickly, literally in half an hour, and the rest of the time is needed for fermentation.

So keep in mind that if a recipe says “instant”, it means that filling the jar itself takes little time. But there is no way to reduce the fermentation time.

Well, now let's look at the most popular methods of sourdough.

Sauerkraut in a jar with brine - quick recipe (3 days in advance)

Let's start with the fastest recipe. Again, this means it doesn’t take long to cook. But you will have to wait at least 3 days for the cabbage to “ripen”.

The simplicity comes mainly from a small number of ingredients. We will need:

Cabbage 2.3-2.5 kg
Carrots - 1 pc.
Salt - 2 tbsp. spoons
Sugar - 1 tbsp. spoon
Black peppercorns – 15 pcs.
Cold boiled water - 800-1000 ml

Preparation:

1. For convenience, divide the head of cabbage into 4 parts and chop it.

It is very advisable to have a special grater for this; it significantly speeds up the chopping process.

2. Place the cabbage in a deep bowl, add grated carrots on a coarse grater and mix gently. There is no need to crush or squeeze the vegetables while mixing.

3. Transfer the cabbage from the bowl to the jar, compacting it well. In the process of adding vegetables, we throw peppercorns into the jar so that they do not lie in one pile, but are more or less evenly distributed throughout the jar.

If your hand cannot fit into the jar, we use improvised means - a rolling pin or a mallet.

4. Take boiled cooled water and dissolve sugar and salt in it.

5. And pour the resulting brine into a jar with cabbage. There should be enough water up to the neck. If not, add regular water.

6. Cover the jar with a lid, put it in a deep bowl and leave it like that overnight at room temperature.

Overnight, lactic acid bacteria are activated and the fermentation process begins with the release of carbon dioxide. Bubbles will begin to appear and some of the liquid will overflow from the jar. That's why you need a basin.

7. The next day, take a thin long stick (for example, a wooden skewer or Chinese chopsticks) and pierce the cabbage several times throughout the entire depth of the jar.

This must be done so that the resulting gas comes to the surface, otherwise the cabbage will turn out bitter.

Pour the brine that has poured into the basin back into the jar.

8. These procedures need to be done 5-6 times a day for 3 days. By the evening of the third day, it will be clear that gas bubbles are practically no longer formed and this is a sign that the cabbage has already fermented.

We take a sample, close the jar with a plastic lid and put it in the refrigerator or cellar.

Storage in a cold place is necessary; in a warm place the jar will ferment and spoil.

Crispy cabbage pickled in brine with honey

A curious method of preparation in which no water is used at all, but honey is used to give a sweetish taste. The snack turns out crispy and very tasty. I recommend.

Ingredients:

Cabbage – 3 – 3.5 kg
1 medium carrot
Salt - 1 tbsp. spoon
Sugar - 1 tbsp. spoon
Honey - 1 tbsp. spoon

Preparation:

1. Finely chop the cabbage and place it on the table for convenience. Grate the carrots on top and add salt and sugar.

2. Actively mix everything and press until the cabbage releases juice.

3. Then compact it tightly into a clean jar.

Since the cabbage has been thoroughly mashed beforehand, there will already be enough juice in the jar and there will be no need to add water.

4. Place the jar on a plate and leave it like that for two days. Don’t forget, every time the liquid level in the jar has risen, make several punctures and release the accumulated carbon dioxide, and pour back the brine that spilled over the edge.

5. In two days we will perform one interesting operation. We take all the cabbage out of the jar, squeeze it thoroughly into a separate bowl and put it back. There is brine left in the bowl to which you need to add a tablespoon of honey, stir everything very thoroughly and pour the resulting honey brine back into the jar.

6. In another day (that’s 3 days in total) the cabbage will be ready. You can already eat it, or for convenience, you can put it in plastic containers and store it in the refrigerator.

How to properly ferment cabbage at home without vinegar and sugar

But this recipe can safely be called a classic, because initially the fermentation was carried out without sugar. And adding vinegar, as I already said, turns fermentation into pickling.

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 1 head (2-2.5 kg)
Carrots - 1 pc.
Salt - 2 tbsp.
Allspice - 10-12 peas
Bay leaf - 3-4 leaves

It is advisable to choose dense, winter varieties of cabbage.

Preparation:

1. Shred the cabbage, mix with grated carrots on a coarse grater, add salt, squeeze and knead thoroughly (just like dough) so that it releases its juice.

2. When the juice begins to actively stand out, throw peppercorns on top and place the vegetables in a clean three-liter jar.

While filling the jar, place bay leaves in different places.

3. Well, then everything is as usual: put the filled jar in a bowl and regularly (at least once every 4-6 hours) pierce the cabbage with a long stick to release the fermentation products of the lower layer. Pour the juice that flows into the bowl back into the jar.

On about the third day, the sauerkraut will be ready.

Important: you don’t need to overcook the cabbage either, otherwise it will go rancid. From the second day, taste it and as soon as you understand (and you will understand) that it is ready, close the jar with a lid and put it in the refrigerator.

Recipe for sauerkraut with apple for the winter in a 3 liter jar

Very often, other products are added to cabbage, in addition to carrots. The most popular are sour apples (Antonovka, for example) and cranberries.

I’ll show you an example with Antonovka.

By the way, we will cook in a 3-liter jar and store in a 2-liter jar. Why? It’s more convenient, you’ll see why later.

Ingredients:

2 kg cabbage
200 g carrots
2 tbsp. salt
1 tsp cumin
2 sour apples

Preparation:

1. Mix shredded cabbage with grated carrots, add cumin, salt and knead thoroughly until the cabbage releases juice and decreases in volume by 2-3 times.

2. Then take a clean 3-liter jar, fill it with cabbage, topping it with sliced apples.

3. The specified amount of cabbage and carrots will fill the jar 2/3. Now the contents of the jar need to be placed under pressure. This is usually done with a plastic lid, which is placed directly on the vegetables, and a glass of water is placed on top.

For me, this is too complicated, because this structure needs to be constantly removed in order to make punctures in the cabbage.

Personally, I use a regular half-liter plastic water bottle - it fits into the neck of the jar without any problems.

4. So, for three days we regularly remove the pressure and pierce the cabbage, releasing carbon dioxide. As soon as we see that the gas has stopped actively forming (there are few or no bubbles on the surface), we transfer the cabbage into a 2-liter jar, close it with a plastic lid and put it in the cellar or refrigerator.

Now I’ll explain about banks. When sauerkraut comes into contact with air, it darkens and becomes unattractive. Therefore, it is necessary that the jar be filled to the very top - this reduces the area of contact with air.

But if you fill a 3-liter jar to the very top during the cooking process, you won’t be able to put pressure on top; too much brine will flow out.

So we cook in a larger jar and store it in a smaller one. That's the whole trick.

Video on how to ferment cabbage according to a classic recipe

And finally, let me show you an excellent video on how to prepare sauerkraut according to the classic Soviet recipe. When I saw a guy putting salt in a matchbox, I almost shed a tear from nostalgia.

Well, in general, these are the most popular recipes that I and everyone I know use. If you add a few more interesting ways to my collection, I will be grateful.

That's all for today, thank you for your attention.

Despite the fact that cabbage does not have a sour taste, it contains a lot of vitamin C. People especially need it in the cold season to support the immune system and successfully resist flu and colds. Vitamin C is well preserved when cabbage is pickled and even frozen once. Sauerkraut at home helps you recover from illness and not get sick at all. In addition, it is a very tasty snack and the basis for many hearty dishes.

Features of sauerkraut at home

The first experience of sauerkraut at home may end in failure if you do not know the secrets that are well known to experienced housewives:

Not all varieties of cabbage are suitable for pickling. The harvest collected in summer is not suitable for home preparation. It is better to ferment late varieties, giving preference to the juiciest ones, whose heads are almost completely white. One of the most popular varieties for fermentation is “Slava”, it is suitable for dry fermentation. “Kolobok” and “Amager” are best salted in brine.
You need to cut the cabbage for fermentation with a sharp knife designed for shredding. But it is better to make the pieces not very thin, but about 5 mm. If you ferment thin, small pieces, they will become too soft, but sauerkraut tastes much better when it remains crunchy.
You can ferment cabbage at home in an enamel pan, bucket, or in glass jars. If possible, you can try fermenting cabbage in an oak tub or barrel - it will acquire a unique taste. However, this method is only suitable for those who have a cold cellar for storing pickles. Aluminum containers are not suitable in any case, since this material reacts with lactic acid, which is formed during the fermentation of vegetables.
Sauerkraut is fermented at room temperature or slightly below it. If the room temperature rises above 24 degrees, the cabbage may become slippery. At temperatures below 20 degrees, fermentation will not proceed intensively enough.
In order for enough juice to be released, the cabbage must be placed under pressure or compacted very well. This is especially true when sauerkraut is dry-cooked.
During fermentation, the cabbage must be pierced from time to time with a long, sharp knife to release gases. Otherwise, the finished snack will not have the most pleasant smell.
Pickling cabbage at room temperature lasts 3 days, then you can eat it, but it will still taste better a little later: classic recipes call for fermentation for a week.
It is best to store sauerkraut at a temperature of 0 to 2 degrees, so the cellar and refrigerator are ideal places for this. If necessary, cabbage can be frozen. To do this, you need to put it in bags and put it in the freezer. It is advisable to make portions not very large, since cabbage cannot be re-frozen. For the same reason, the balcony is not the most suitable place for storing sauerkraut at home.
During storage, mold may form on cabbage. Mustard and sugar, which can be sprinkled on the workpiece at least once a month, help prevent its appearance.

When properly prepared and stored, sauerkraut can be eaten for 9 months after preparation. The fresher it is, the tastier it is, which is why it usually doesn’t sit out for so long.

Classic sauerkraut recipe: dry method

Composition (per 5 l):

white cabbage – 4 kg;
carrots – 0.4 kg;
salt – 80 g;
sugar – 80 g.

Cooking method:

Wash the cabbage and remove the top leaves. Chop into strips of 3–4 mm.
Peel the carrots and grate them on a coarse grater. If desired, you can grate it to make Korean salads.
Mix the cabbage and salt thoroughly, crushing it with your hands.
Sprinkle with carrots and sugar and stir.
Fill the container in which you are going to ferment the cabbage. A five-liter saucepan or a clean glass jar of the same capacity is suitable for this purpose.
When laying cabbage, compact it often with your hands or even your fist. Place the container in the basin, as a lot of juice will soon be released. Cover the cabbage with clean gauze; if possible, place a weight on top (when fermenting in a jar, you can do without pressure). Leave at room temperature for 3 days. Twice a day skim off the foam, rinse the gauze and pierce the cabbage with a knife.
Move the container to a cooler place (unheated pantry, on the loggia, if there is no frost outside) and wait another 4 days.
Place the cabbage in containers convenient for its further storage at home (if desired, you can store it in the same place you fermented it in). Put it in the basement or refrigerator. Don't forget that sauerkraut can also be stored in the freezer.

This recipe produces crispy cabbage with a slight sourness. There is no need to rinse or soak it before serving – you just need to pour some oil on it.

A simple recipe for sauerkraut in brine

Composition (per 3 l):

cabbage – 2 kg;
carrots – 0.2 kg;
water – 1.5 l;
salt – 50 g;
sugar – 50 g;
bay leaf – 1 pc.;
black peppercorns – 3 pcs.

Cooking method:

Wash the vegetables. Chop the cabbage and grate the carrots.
Mix cabbage with carrots, put in a jar, pressing it down carefully.
Boil water, dissolve salt and sugar in it.
Place bay leaves and peppercorns on top of the cabbage.
Place the jar in a plate, pour hot brine over the cabbage until it overflows.
Leave it in the room for 3 days, piercing the cabbage several times a day to release the unpleasant-smelling gases produced during fermentation.
Transfer the cabbage to smaller jars, fill with the remaining brine and store in a cool place. At home, this place is usually the refrigerator, although some people store pickles in the basement.

Cabbage in brine is prepared simply and quickly, even for inexperienced housewives.

Sauerkraut with apples and lingonberries

Composition (for 6 l):

cabbage – 3.5 kg;
sour apples (ideally Antonov) – 1 kg;
carrots – 0.3 kg;
lingonberries (can be replaced with cranberries) – 100 g;
rye bread (crackers) – 100 g;
juniper berries – 5-6 pcs.;
cumin (seeds) – 5 g;
sugar – 60 g;
salt – 80 g;
currant leaves – 5-6 pcs.;
vodka – 70 ml.

Cooking method:

Prepare a container for sauerkraut. Two three-liter jars or a large saucepan of 6-7 liters will do. An enamel bucket and an oak tub are also suitable containers. The selected container must be washed well and doused with boiling water.
Place cabbage leaves at the bottom of the tub (or other container), after washing them first. Place half of the currant leaves and a crust of bread there.
Chop the cabbage, mix it with salt and wait until the juice starts to release.
Add sugar, grated carrots and cumin seeds, stir.
Wash the apples, cut into several parts, cut out the core.
Add a layer of cabbage, filling the container about a third full. Compact it well.
Add half the apples, juniper berries, and remaining currant leaves.
Lay out the rest of the cabbage and tamp it down thoroughly.
Add the remaining apples and sprinkle the lingonberries. Cover with gauze or a clean cloth. Pour vodka over the cabbage and leave to ferment at a temperature of 18–22 degrees for 5–7 days. Pierce the cabbage regularly with a knife or long-handled wooden spoon.
Store in a cool place.

There is no shame in serving cabbage pickled according to this ancient recipe even at the holiday table.

Spicy sauerkraut with beets, horseradish, garlic

Composition (for 5–6 l):

cabbage – 4 kg;
beets 0.4 kg;
garlic – 2 heads;
grated horseradish root – 30 g;
sugar – 60 g;
salt – 80 g;
water – 1 l.

Cooking method:

Peel the raw beets, wash them, cut them into large pieces and grate them using a regular grater or a Korean salad grater.
Pass the garlic through a press.
Grate the horseradish.
Finely chop the cabbage.
Mix cabbage with horseradish, beets and garlic.
Boil water, dissolving salt and sugar in it.
Place the cabbage in a fermentation container (you can put it in jars). Place the container itself on a large plate or in a basin.
Carefully press down the cabbage so that it lies as tightly as possible.
Pour hot brine over the cabbage.
If the size of the container allows, place a plate on top of the cabbage and place a weight on it (for example, a jar filled with water).
2-3 times a day for a week, remove the load and pierce the cabbage in several places to release the gas formed during fermentation.
After 7 days, put the cabbage in jars and put it in the refrigerator. If the cabbage has already been fermented in jars, you can store it directly in them.

This recipe produces a spicy appetizer with a beautiful color that will appeal to lovers of savory dishes.

Tender cabbage pickled with honey

Composition (for 6 l):

cabbage – 4.5–5 kg;
salt – 85–90 g;
honey – 70–75 g;
bay leaf – 5-6 pcs.

Cooking method:

Chop the cabbage, mix with salt, remember and wait until the juice is released.
Melt the honey, dissolve it in a minimum amount of water (a quarter cup).
Pour the honey liquid over the cabbage and mix well.
Sterilize liter or larger jars and place bay leaves on them.
Tamp each layer down and fill the jars with cabbage, leaving enough room at the top for the cabbage juice to escape. Place the jars on plates.
Place for 3 days in a fairly warm room (20 to 24 degrees). Prick the cabbage twice a day.
Drain off excess juice, leaving only a small layer covering the cabbage.
Place a wooden circle or cloth in a large saucepan. Place the jars of cabbage in the pan. Fill the pot with water until it reaches approximately the level of the cabbage in the jars.
Place on low heat. Sterilize for 20 to 40 minutes depending on the volume of the jars.
Remove the jars of cabbage from the pan, roll them up and turn them over.
Wrap it up and leave it to cool like that.
When the jars have cooled, they can be stored in the pantry.

Cabbage prepared according to this recipe will be tender. It keeps well even at room temperature. This distinguishes this method of its preparation from others.

Video: Delicious sauerkraut according to a family recipe!

Taste, crunch, beauty!

Sauerkraut is delicious on its own, but traditionally it is served as an appetizer, adding onion cut into thin half rings and drizzling with vegetable oil. In addition, home-sauerkraut can be used to prepare solyanka, bigos, cabbage soup and other dishes.

How attractive and healthy sauerkraut is in winter, sour, crispy, slightly pinkish from carrots or beets, and most importantly - incredibly tasty. Our grandmothers believed that you need to ferment cabbage on the waxing moon, and also on days that have the letter “r” in their name - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and under no circumstances should you do it on Sunday. By the way, in December 2012 the moon will rise from the 14th, so there is time to prepare and stock up on food. When fermented cabbage retains almost all its beneficial qualities. Juicy and crispy cabbage can be obtained with the addition of apples, cranberries, lingonberries, bay leaves, caraway seeds, sweet peppers and beets. Of course, you shouldn’t mix it all at once; let’s consider several different recipes.

Useful properties of sauerkraut

Each vegetable has in its arsenal a vitamin that is its real calling card. In the case of white cabbage, this is methylmethionine - vitamin U. It can treat stomach or duodenal ulcers, gastritis and many other intestinal diseases.
In sauerkraut, cabbage is the leader in vitamin C content. Interestingly, this vitamin remains in the same concentration for more than six months. No other vegetable has this property. The fact is that vitamin C is stored in cabbage not only in its pure form, but also bound in form (ascorbigen). In this case, even heat treatment does not harm it; it simply turns into ascorbic acid.

Sauerkraut is an excellent remedy for stress and intoxication of the body, overcomes infections and improves immunity. In addition, one can note the presence of vitamins B, K, and PP, potassium, enzymes, amino acids, and minerals. These are not all the beneficial substances that sauerkraut offers us. Interesting information for those who want to lose weight - 100 grams of the product contains only 25 kilocalories, and a large amount of fiber removes waste and toxins from the body.

Sauerkraut - food preparation

The main preservative when preparing cabbage is lactic acid. Heads of cabbage contain natural lactic acid bacteria that convert the sugar it contains into lactic acid. Alcoholic fermentation produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. But this is not enough to completely prevent rotting, so table salt is used as an additional preservative.

For fermentation, dense heads of late white cabbage varieties, at least 0.8 kg, are selected. Defects of heads of cabbage are allowed no more than 5%. Among the countless varieties, the best ones are mid-season - Kashirka, Saburovka, Ladoga, Belorusskaya, Slava Gribovskaya, Mozharskaya, Slava Altai. Late-ripening - egg capsule, Moscow late, likurichka, Zavadovskaya, Slavyanka, etc.

Sauerkraut - the best recipes

Recipe 1: Sauerkraut with carrots

The most classic recipe that doesn't require much effort. Just chop up the cabbage and carrots, wait a few days, and enjoy a healthy, crispy salad until spring.

Ingredients: cabbage (3 kg), carrots (100 g), sugar (5 tablespoons), salt (70 grams).

Cooking method

We peel the cabbage from the top leaves and shred it into strips using a special shredder or knife. Grate the carrots using a grater with large holes. Salt and rub with your hands until juice is obtained, carefully compact into a container, or into large jars. Cover with gauze and place pressure on top. The container should be left in a warm place until foam appears on the surface. We remove the foam and make several deep punctures with a knitting needle. Mix. The cabbage should ferment for 7 days, then it must be removed to a cool, dark place.

Recipe 2: Sauerkraut with pumpkin and herbs

For this recipe we use mint and tarragon. Pumpkin will give the dish a characteristic sweetish taste. We choose ripe fruits with orange pulp.

Ingredients: Cabbage (4 kg), sugar (3 tablespoons), salt 130 grams, mint and tarragon.

Cooking method

Cut the peeled pumpkin into large slices. Sprinkle it with sugar and leave it to release the juice. Shred the cabbage, salt and grind. Finely chop the greens and mix with cabbage. Place the cabbage in the prepared container and pieces of pumpkin on top. Cover everything with a clean cloth and pressure, then leave at room temperature. After a few days you can try. We store it in the refrigerator or cellar.

Recipe 3: sauerkraut with peppers, tomatoes and zucchini

The cooking principle is practically no different from pickling simple cabbage, but first scald the vegetables with boiling water and lay them in layers. Fill with brine and leave for a while at room temperature. The result is a wonderful salad of pickled vegetables. It should be stored in the refrigerator or cellar.

Ingredients: cabbage (10 kg), sweet pepper (1 kg), tomatoes (1 kg), zucchini, carrots (5 pcs), garlic, parsley, cilantro, hot pepper.

Cooking method

Cut the head of cabbage into 4 pieces and place in boiling water. Let's do the same with pepper. Tomatoes and carrots are cut into slices. Peel the garlic, chop the greens. Place cabbage, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers in layers in an enamel pan. Sprinkle each layer with garlic cloves and herbs, and add a layer of carrots. Fill with brine at the rate of 2 tablespoons of salt per liter of water. Cover the vegetables with gauze and put pressure on them. The cabbage will be ready in 3 days.

Recipe 4: Sauerkraut with onions

This is a recipe for those housewives who like to thoroughly stock up for the winter. Approximately 5 large heads of white cabbage (20 kg) can even be placed in a small barrel, like in the good old days. But you can also use ordinary banks, it all depends. where do you plan to store it?

Ingredients: cabbage (20 kg), onion (1 kg), carrots (600 g), salt (500 grams), sugar (30 grams).

Cooking method

Shred the cabbage in the classic way. Grind with salt and mix with chopped carrots (can be in the form of straws) and finely chopped onions. Sprinkle with ground black pepper and add sugar and bay leaf. Mix, place in deep containers and cover with weighted plates. After three days, we free the mixture from excess gases - pierce it with a wooden knitting needle and squeeze it out. Pack tightly for storage and put in a cool place.

Recipe 5: Sauerkraut with grapes and honey

This cabbage cooks very quickly, in just a day. Honey and grapes give it an original sweetish taste. You can try preparing a small portion of this cabbage - it will all fit in a small three-liter enamel saucepan.

Ingredients: cabbage (2 kg), 1 kg grapes (1 kg), carrots (200 g), basil (100 grams), honey (100 g), salt (15 g).

Cooking method

Shred carrots and cabbage on a shredder, grind with salt and place in a prepared container. Layer the grapes and basil. Fill with boiling brine: 15 grams of salt per 1 liter of water, stir and add 100 grams of honey). Cover with a lid and leave for a day.

Recipe 6: Sauerkraut with Apples

We choose ripe, sour apples of late varieties, preferably green.

Ingredients: cabbage (10 kg), 500 g apples (500 g), dill seeds and caraway seeds, salt (250-300 grams).

Cooking method

Peel and core apples. Cut into slices and mix with shredded cabbage and grated with salt. Place in a container, layering the apples and adding dill and cumin. Leave under pressure for several days to ferment. Don’t forget, the cabbage needs to be helped to release gases - periodically pierce it deep down to the very bottom.

This is just a small selection of existing sauerkraut recipes. The cooking principle is almost the same - cut the cabbage and get it to release juice. The taste depends largely on the additives. Here are some more options:

— Viburnum: for 10 kg of Savoy cabbage you need to take 1 kg of viburnum and 200 grams of dill. 200 grams of salt is enough.

— Horseradish: everything here can be tasted by eye (add a head of garlic, carrots, salt and a little sugar for 1 head of cabbage).

— Beetroot marinade: for 2 kg of cabbage, a head of garlic, 1 bell pepper. Marinade – ½ cup of vegetable oil per 1 liter of water, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of salt. Cabbage is poured with hot marinade and acquires a characteristic beetroot color. This cabbage ferments without foam, due to the small vinegar content; its readiness is determined by taste.

Bon appetit!