Red cabbage sauerkraut (fermented red cabbage)
Red cabbage sauerkraut is a fermented food with a crunchy texture and tangy flavour made using only cabbage and salt. You can serve it as a vegetable side dish or condiment.
Ingredients
- 500 grams red cabbage
- 10 grams salt
Instructions
- Discard any cabbage leaves which are old or damaged. Set aside enough whole cabbage leaves to cover the sauerkraut in the jars.
- Thinly slice the raw cabbage and place in a large bowl. Ideally slice the cabbage an even thickness.
- Add the salt to the shredded cabbage and toss so that the salt is mixed evenly with the cabbage. Leave for 15 minutes to allow the salt to draw water out of the cabbage.
- Massage the cabbage using your hands for 10 to 15 minutes torelease more water from the cabbage.
- Pack into clean sterilised jars making sure that the brine completely covers the cabbage. If you need to add more brine you can make this by adding 1 teaspoon salt to one cup of bottled water.
- Place the reserved whole cabbage leaves on top of the shredded cabbage and press down below the level of the brine. Fit the lids onto the jars.
- Leave to ferment at room temperature for between 1 and 4 weeks. You will see bubbles in the brine as it ferments. If you are leaving the sauerkraut to ferment longer than a week it is an unscrew the lids to release some of the gases. When it is ready transfer to the fridge to stop any further fermentation.
Notes
Note
-
- Fermenting time will vary between 1 and 4 weeks. The time indicated above is based on 1 week.
-
- You can add spices to the brine such as peppercorns, star anise, chopped chilli or finely chopped fresh ginger.
- You can follow the same recipe using white cabbage or a mixture of red and white cabbage.
-
- Sauerkraut makes a tasty side dish to many main meals including lentil nut roast, veggie sausages or lentil cottage pie.
- Use as a sandwich filling alongside your favourite filling.
- You could make some spicy veggie burgers or sweet potato burgers and add sauerkraut as a topping.
- Add to other salad ingredients such as this recipe for winter salad.
- Mix with grated carrots and finely chopped onions to make a variation on traditional coleslaw.
-
- Store the sauerkraut in the fridge where it will keep well for several months so long as the jars are clean.
Nutrition
Calories: 16kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.04gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 401mgPotassium: 122mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 558IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 0.4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!