Sauerkraut

It has turned decidedly cool for August – the boy thinks cool enough for making Sauerkraut, so we have sought out some tight white cabbages.

This recipe is very scalable and really depends on the size of your container. However as it takes a while to ferment, I think it’s worth making a fair amount.

2kg cabbage

50g salt

1tsp caraway seeds

The boy’s favourite way to remove the stalk of the cabbages is to whack it hard, stalk side down on the kitchen surface. That way you should just be able to pull it out. Remove the outer leaves and finely shred the rest. Our food processor is too small so it’s a knife job for us. The boy gets his consignment even finer than mine. Well done him.

Layer the cabbage into your container – we’re using the fermentation tub that we use for brewing beer. Sprinkle salt on each layer , but turn them and mix as you go along and sprinkle in a few caraway seeds as you go. There is some debate about what salt to use but I think the cheap table stuff will be fine.

Put a weighted plate on top – we’re using a couple of tins of tomatoes- to press it down.

After about a week, a brine will form so we will remove the cans but leave the plate on. Just check that the top of the cabbage remains submerged. If it isn’t, add some more brine – 25g salt in 1 litre of water.

It needs checking every couple of days. Once it starts fermenting a foam will form on the top which you need to skim off. After about 3 weeks this should stop which means it is ready to eat. Just give your serving a quick rinse and drain it first to get rid of some of the salt.

I like the sour hit of it as it comes though the boy likes his in the German style, gently fried in butter, and with plenty of good sausages. This will be ready in mid-September when my thoughts turn to mellow fruitfulness and the boy’s turn to sausages with sautéed sauerkraut.