Sauerkraut 101

This is my first try at making sauerkraut and my first time playing with spontaneous fermentation. I've been interested in doing sauerkraut for awhile not only because I think it's delicious but also because I have a family history of home sauerkraut making. My mother's grandfather, a German immigrant, used to keep a huge weighted barrel in his basement filled with fermenting sauerkraut.

Sauerkraut seems like it is easy enough for just about anyone to try. At its core it only requires two ingredients, salt and cabbage and about 10 minutes to prepare. In the right ratio salt draws moisture out of the cabbage and protects the good lactic acid bacteria (including our friends Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus which are both used in the production of sour beers) from other microbes that want to invade. After the cabbage is salted you simply apply a weight to the top of the cabbage and wait a few weeks for the magic to happen.

Other spices (juniper, caraway), fruits (apples) and vegetables (onions) can be added to the sauerkraut for flavor or texture, but for this first try I'm going to stay basic.

I sliced up 2 heads of regular green cabbage (3 lbs, after removing the stem and outer leaves) and mixed with 34 grams of kosher salt (2.5% by weight). Then I pressed the salted cabbage into a large Tupperware container put the lid from a smaller container and used a water filled mason jar to weigh it down.

I used Iodophor on the container and lid, but only soap and water on the knife and cutting board. Sanitation is important in making sauerkraut, but it is not as crucial as when making beer because the cabbage is covered in natural yeast and bacteria anyway and the salt is there to protect the fermentation.

After 24 hours the liquid drawn out by the salt was only half way up the cabbage. So I poured a brine made of 2 tsp of kosher salt and 1 pint of water onto the cabbage.

After another 48 hours the mixture was putting off enough sulfur aroma to cause me to move it out of my room and into a cabinet in the kitchen. I wish I had a cellar.

After about a week the distinct smell of sauerkraut was apparent. I had to top off with more brine because it had started to evaporate. I suspect that my rig is getting caught and not efficiently putting pressure on the kraut.

After another week I took a look at the kraut and there were several small, blue colonies of mold floating on top of the brine. This is not a serious issue as they are simply on the surface. I took the weight (mason jar) out and skimmed off the mold, replaced the weight and put the rig back on its shelf.