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1
Wash everything well: your hands, the knife, the cutting board, a bowl and the container you intend to ferment the cabbage in (I recommend a large jar or bowl).
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2
Soap and hot water will do just fine you dont want a sterile environment; you want a clean environment.
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3
Rinse the cabbage.
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4
Remove and reserve the outer layer of leaves.
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5
Cut cabbage into quarters and remove the core.
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6
Slice each quarter in half so that you have eight wedges.
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7
Slice each wedge crosswise into thin strips.
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8
Transfer sliced cabbage and salt to your freshly cleaned bowl and massage and squeeze cabbage for about 8 to 10 minutes.
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9
After a few minutes the salt will start to break down the cell walls of the cabbage and it will become watery and limp.
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10
Ultimately the cabbage should give up a fair amount of liquid, almost enough to be fully submerged.
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11
Transfer cabbage and all liquid to the container you will ferment the cabbage in.
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12
Cover the sliced cabbage and liquid with the reserved cabbage leaves.
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13
Press the leaves down to compress and submerge the cabbage as much as possible.
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14
Cover your container.
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15
A clean lid or plastic wrap will work fine.
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16
For the duration of the ferment you want to keep it at room temperature (lets say between 55 and 75 degrees) and out of direct sunlight.
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17
For the first day press down on the cabbage leaves every few hours to help compress the cabbage and encourage it to release even more liquid.
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18
If, after 24 hours, the cabbage is not 100 percent completely submerged, you can help things along by adding in some salt water (1 cup water + 1 tsp salt).
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19
During the entire fermentation process, the single most important thing is to make sure that all the cabbage is completely submerged at all times.
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20
As long as you keep your cabbage submerged, lactic acid bacteria will continue to develop.
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21
Check your sauerkraut at least once a day, pressing down on the top layer of cabbage leaves each time.
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22
After a few days you should see some bubbles and foam.
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23
Thats a good sign it means your ferment is alive!
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24
If you see any scum on the surface of the cabbage, simply scrape it off.
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25
This is normal, and a natural by-product of the fermentation process.
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26
With a batch this small, you should have sauerkraut after 3 or 4 days!
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27
The cabbage is safe to eat at any time during the fermentation process, so you can continue to taste it and see how the flavor develops.
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28
I left mine on the counter for about 10 days to continue to allow the flavor to develop before I transferred it to the fridge.
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29
If you continue to ensure that all the cabbage is fully submerged, your kraut will keep for months in the fridge.
