We stopped by our local farmers market at Burlington County Ag Center yesterday. In addition to Jersey corn and fresh peaches and cherries, we picked up a whole head of cabbage and a bunch of spicy red radish to make homemade sauerkraut.
You will need 1 head of cabbage. The first time I made sauerkraut, I used a supermarket cabbage. It was good; but, this time I'm using an even fresher head of cabbage from our local farmer's market. I can already see a difference in the amount of brine. Fresh picked cabbage has more water.
Rinse and peel off any damaged leaves. Slice in half. Remove the core. Slice ribbons similar to coleslaw and put in a large bowl. I used a large stainless steel bowl and had it on a digital scale so I could weigh the cabbage. Our sliced cabbage weighed almost 4 lbs. Note: don't forget to tare the bowl on the scale first so you don't count the weight of the bowl.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of course salt (not iodized) per 2 lbs. of sliced cabbage. I used just under 2 tablespoons since the weight was just under 4 lbs. Massage the salt into the veggies. I wore food safe plastic gloves.
Place the prepared veggies loosely into your desired mason jars or crock. Tamp down with a wooden spoon and cover the jars. Brine will increase over time.
I debated on what to use to cover the jars. What do you use to cover your jars? I decided to use a paper towel under the screw caps. That way any natural gases that occur in the fermenting process can escape.
I still may end up covering the jars with the metal lids so the brine does not evaporate. The gases can still be released when I open the jar daily to tamp the cabbage down beneath the brine.
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