Homemade Sauerkraut

I made sauerkraut! And I think I spelled it right, right?

Okay, so a couple weeks back I bought a fermentation book for beginners. I think I’ve mentinoned this before, but I’ve been listening to way too many health and fitness podcasts (lots are Paleo) and fermented foods come up quite a bit. After doing some research, I decided fermenting foods can’t be that hard…right? Say yes, please.

Well, sauerkraut was really pretty simple…although a had a few hiccups I’ll address in a little bit. Basically, I thought I screwed it up, but I didn’t. Yay! I love when that happens.

This recipe is very basic. Definitely a good place to start. The book goes into tons of fermented food recipes like Kombucha, kimchi, beer, sourdough bread, and lots more (I can’t wait to make sourdough bread).

The first thing I did was clean. I cleaned the daylights (I had a really difficult time finding a word that was not a cuss word here) out of my mason jars.

Next, I chopped up the green cabbage (just a medium green cabbage). I chopped it into pieces then put it through the food processor. I probably could have just chopped it because the cabbage kind of falls apart on its’ own. But, regardless, it was chopped/grated evenly at least. Next, I added caraway seeds and sea salt and mixed everything up.

Now the fun part (at least my two year old thought it was fun): squeezing time! We placed the cabbage mixture in a big bowl then squeezed it for about 10 minutes to release all the juices.

 

So, once I thought it was ready, I placed it in a mason jar. At first, I placed all the cabbage in 1 jar because it just looked like it fit better.

Then I changed my mind and split the mixture between two large jars.

After splitting it, I pressed the mixture down as much as I could with my knuckles to make sure the juices were well over the cabbage. The directions said to make sure the juices were an inch over the cabbage but I couldn’t get that much juice out. So, maybe I didn’t squeeze my cabbage as much as I should have? I will try it again…

Anyway, I split it into two jars, placed them in the pantry, and left them alone for about 5 days.

So, since I didn’t have an overabundance of juices, I assumed the fermentation process wouldn’t take place…but it totally did! We took the jars out after 5 days and took 1 bite (just in case it was going to make us sick ha). Well, it didn’t make us sick and it tasted exactly like sauerkraut should.

From what I read, the sauerkraut can stay in the fridge (after opening) for a couple of weeks. Does that sound right fermentation people? I’m constantly scared of making myself sick hah.

 

We had a fun weekend this past week! We took our two and a half year old to see a movie for the first time (Inside Out). It was really nice to have some one on one time with her. I’ve had some alone time with our baby girl but not as much with our older one.

It’s so easy to forget, by the way, how crazy the whole movie experience is in the theaters. Those screens are huge and the movie is SO loud. My daughter did great and watched the whole thing but sat on my lap the entire time.

The movie itself was cute! It had some pretty “deep” undertones so I think a lot of it went over Brooke’s head but I’m sure it entertained her enough.

I just can’t get over what a kid she is..ugh, so crazy. Everyone always says this but that’s because it’s true: it goes so fast. These kids grow so fast it’s nuts.

 

Anyway, my rant it over!

How was your weekend? Have you ever made any fermented foods?