Delicious sauerkraut will complement the daily menu in the form of a salad, side dish or dressing for cabbage soup. The pie prepared using it is especially tasty. The absence of heat treatment allows you to preserve the beneficial properties of vegetables.
Initially pickled cabbage in wooden barrels. Glass ones are also suitable for home fermentation. banks, plastic or enamel dishes are used less often. For the winter, pickling recipes are chosen taking into account the ingredients and sourdough time.
How to deliciously ferment cabbage
Simple recipe
Simplest sauerkraut recipe does not require preparation of brine. The appetizer turns out very tasty using a minimum set of ingredients and spices.
- Finely chop cabbage (3 kg) in any convenient way.
- Grate medium-sized carrots (2 pcs.).
- Place the vegetables in a large container so that the layer of carrots is on top.
- For fermentation, add salt (30 g).
- The layers of vegetables need to be compacted so that the juice appears. Its excess is collected in a separate container.
- The container is covered with gauze, and a flat plate with a weight is placed on top. The fermentation process occurs most quickly at a temperature of 17-25 degrees.
- Home fermentation takes a week.Periodically you need to remove foam from the surface of vegetables. To do this, the gauze is washed in cold water.
- When the vegetables are fermented, they can be placed in jars and filled with the remaining juice.
- Store the preparations in the refrigerator or cellar, where the temperature is maintained at +1 degree.
Pickling in a jar
It is most convenient to ferment in jars. The procedure does not require additional containers; it is enough to use a regular three-liter jar. To prepare the brine, you will need a regular iron or enamel pan.
For homemade sourdough, all components should be taken in a certain quantity to completely fill one jar. How to ferment cabbage in this way and how many vegetables you need can be found in the recipe with photos:
- 2.5 kg of cabbage cut into strips.
- I chop carrots (1 pc.) on a grater.
- I mix the vegetables and place them in a jar without compacting them.
- For the marinade, you need to boil 1.5 liters of water, add salt and sugar (2 tbsp each). The most delicious preparations always contain spices. Therefore, I add bay leaf and 3 peas of allspice to the marinade.
- When the brine has cooled to room temperature, fill the jar with it.
- I sauerkraut in a jar for 3 days. First you need to place a deep plate under it.
- After 3 days, you need to transfer the pickled vegetables to the balcony or other cooler place.
- It takes another 4 days for the cabbage to be completely ready.
Recipe with brine
Using a brine that requires spices allows you to get a delicious snack the very next day. Quick sauerkraut recipe preparation includes the following steps:
- Cabbage with a total weight of 2.5 kg is finely chopped.
- Carrots (2 pcs.) need to be grated on a coarse grater.
- Mix the prepared vegetables, add a few peas of allspice and 2 bay leaves.
- Then the vegetable mixture is placed in a jar or other container, but not compacted.
- To obtain brine, you need to boil 0.8 liters of water, add sugar and salt (1 tablespoon each).
- While the brine has not cooled, pour it into a container with vegetables.
- Place a deep plate under the jar and leave it in the kitchen.
- Vegetables are fermented within 24 hours, after which it can be used for food or left for the winter.
Recipe with apples
Very tasty sauerkraut for the winter is obtained by adding apples. It is prepared according to the following recipe:
- First, take cabbage (3 kg), which is chopped into strips.
- Add salt (1.5 tsp) and sugar (1 tbsp) to the container with cabbage.
- The vegetable mass must be mashed manually to release the juice.
- Two apples of the sweet and sour variety need to be peeled and cored.
- Grate carrots (1 pc.) on a coarse grater.
- All components are mixed and placed in a three-liter jar.
- The jar of vegetables is left to ferment for two days in a warm place.
- Then you can put the homemade cabbage in the refrigerator for permanent storage and use in the winter.
Recipe with beets
Sauerkraut goes well with many vegetables, including beets. As a result, the dish acquires a bright color and good taste. Fermentation with beets is often used for winter preparations.
- Cabbage weighing 3 kg is chopped in any suitable way.
- 2 pcs. beets and carrots are grated on a coarse grater. Vegetables can be cut into strips or cubes.
- The vegetable mass is placed in a jar in layers. First place the cabbage, then the beets and carrots.
- Then you need to chop the garlic (2 heads), which is also placed in a jar.
- For 1 liter of water prepare 100 ml of table vinegar, sugar (0.1 kg), salt (1 tbsp.l.) and vegetable oil (100 ml). After boiling, these components are added to hot water.
- Vegetables are poured with marinade, which is first cooled to room temperature.
- Pressure is placed on the vegetable mass.
- After 3 days, the delicious preparations can be put into jars for the winter.
Recipe with horseradish and pepper
The combination of horseradish root and hot pepper helps make the taste of the dish more spicy. You can get such a snack if you follow a certain recipe. The specified number of components will allow you to fill 2 jars with a capacity of 3 liters each.
- Cabbage (4 kg) should be finely chopped into medium-sized pieces.
- Then cut the beets into thin strips (0.15 kg).
- Garlic and horseradish root (50 g each) are crushed in a meat grinder or blender.
- Small hot pepper (1 pc.) is crushed separately.
- Finely chop the greens (parsley, dill, cilantro).
- The prepared components are mixed and placed in a starter container.
- Then they move on to preparing the brine. For it you need to boil 2 liters of water, to which salt and sugar (100 g each) are added.
- Pour the sliced vegetables with the brine that has not yet cooled down.
- The cabbage is fermented for 2-3 days, then moved to a cool place.
Recipe with cranberries
Cranberries have a high content of vitamins and minerals. This is one of the secret ingredients for making delicious homemade preparations. Cooking procedure cabbage sauerkraut with cranberries, given in the recipe:
- A head of cabbage weighing 2 kg is chopped in any convenient way.
- Two medium-sized carrots are cut into strips or grated.
- Mix the vegetables in one container, adding cumin, several bay leaves and allspice peas.
- Place the resulting mass into a jar or other container for the starter, lightly tamping it down with a wooden spoon.
- Cranberries (100 g) are placed on top.
- Then they prepare the brine. It is obtained by dissolving sugar and salt (1 tablespoon each) in 1 liter of boiling water.
- When the marinade has cooled a little, pour it over the vegetable mixture.
- It takes 3 days to ferment the cabbage, after which it is put into the cold for storage.
Recipe with vinegar
A delicious snack does not always require a long preparation process. Sometimes 3-4 hours are enough to serve it or make preparations for the winter. Instant sauerkraut is obtained by following a certain technology:
- A head of cabbage weighing 1.5 kg is cut into strips.
- Peel one carrot and grate it.
- Garlic (3 cloves) needs to be chopped with a knife or passed through a garlic press.
- Finely chop fresh dill (1 bunch).
- The components are mixed in one container.
- For quick fermentation, prepare a special brine. Its composition includes hot water (0.9 l), salt and sugar (1 tablespoon each), several bay leaves and allspice peas, olive oil (1/2 cup).
- While the brine has not cooled, pour it over the vegetables.
- A weight in the form of a stone or a jar filled with water is placed on the vegetable mass.
- After 4 hours, the sauerkraut is put into the cold for storage.
Recipe with vinegar and cumin
Homemade preparations become tastier with the addition of spices. Another recipe for quickly preparing sauerkraut is to use vinegar essence and caraway seeds:
- Cabbage (1 kg) is finely chopped, after which it must be placed in a container and crushed with your hands.
- You need to chop one carrot on a grater.
- Then peel one onion, which is cut into half rings.
- Add carrots and onions, a few black peppercorns, bay leaves (2 pcs.), caraway seeds (1/2 tsp), Provençal herbs or other seasoning to taste to the container with cabbage.
- The vegetable mixture is thoroughly mixed and placed in a jar.
- The preparation of the brine involves salt (2 tbsp) and sugar (1 tbsp), then add vinegar essence (1 tbsp). All components are placed in 1 liter of water.
- When the brine has cooled, pour it over the vegetables.
- The jar is closed with a nylon lid.
- We ferment the cabbage for 2-3 hours, after which we put it away for permanent storage.
Recipe with honey
The most delicious cabbage is obtained by using honey. Cabbage pickled in this way acquires a sweetish taste. Vegetables can be fermented immediately in glass jars according to the recipe:
- Shred cabbage with a total weight of 2 kg into strips.
- I grate the carrots (you can use any device to obtain Korean carrots).
- I mix the vegetables, crush them a little with my hands and fill a three-liter jar.
- I get a delicious snack with the help of an unusual marinade. Add honey (2.5 tbsp), salt (1 tbsp), bay leaf and 2 allspice peas to hot water (1 l).
- When the marinade has cooled a little, you need to pour it over the vegetables.
- I ferment vegetables for 3-4 days. At first you can leave it in the kitchen, but after a day it is recommended to move it to a cool place.
Spicy cabbage
One of the quick recipes is to prepare spicy cabbage. This tasty dish received its name due to the use of anise, caraway seeds and dill seeds.
- It is recommended to start preparing homemade preparations with a marinade. In a saucepan you need to boil water (1 liter), then add honey and salt (1.5 tsp each). The recipe does not require too much spices, ½ tsp is enough. dry anise, cumin and dill seeds.
- While the marinade is cooling, you can proceed to cutting cabbage (2 kg) and carrots (1 pc.).
- The vegetables are mixed, and you need to mash them with your hands.
- Then the ingredients are placed in a jar and poured with warm marinade.
- This is one of the fastest ways to get delicious sauerkraut. The time until final preparation is one day.
Conclusion
Homemade preparations are rarely complete without sauerkraut. Depending on the method of obtaining tasty preparations, spices, honey, cranberries, apples or beets are used.
You can prepare cabbage using a quick recipe, then the whole process will take no more than a day. For fermentation, wooden or glass containers are selected and the necessary conditions are created.