4 best recipes for making sauerkraut without salt

Sauerkraut, canned without salt, is a tasty and healthy product that is easy to prepare yourself. It is a source of vitamin C, micro- and macroelements, enzymes and lactobacilli necessary for the normal functioning of the body. In the presence of salt, beneficial substances and bacteria are destroyed and die, so to maintain health it is more beneficial to eat vegetables that have been fermented without adding this component.

The subtleties of making sauerkraut without salt

To get a healthy and high-quality product that can be stored for a long time, you need to properly prepare the ingredients and containers.

How to select and prepare products

When choosing cabbage, preference should be given to winter varieties with thick white leaves. These vegetables contain large amounts of sugar. In this case, the finished product will be crispy and dense, and sugar will promote better fermentation.

Vegetables must be ripe, clean, strong, juicy, without signs of disease or rot, and not affected by pests. Before cooking, they must be washed and any damaged areas cut off. The carrots are peeled and the top leaves of the heads are removed. Vegetables are dried well after washing.

Rules for preparing containers

Glass jars with tight-fitting lids are used as storage containers. The product can be prepared in enamel or clay dishes.

You should not use aluminum containers - this material quickly oxidizes, and the product acquires a metallic taste, its shelf life is reduced.

Glass jars must be thoroughly washed with soda, scalded with boiling water and dried. Do the same with knives, enamel buckets, bowls and other utensils that are used in the cooking process.

How to make sauerkraut without salt at home

There are several recipes for making sauerkraut. All of them are quite simple and can be used at home.

Simple recipe

To prepare a dish according to the simplest recipe you will need to take:

• white cabbage – 0.5 heads;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• boiled water.

Cooking steps:

1. The cabbage is chopped, the carrots are grated on a coarse grater, placed in a large bowl and mixed, pressing with your hands, so that the juice is released from the cabbage.
2. The vegetables are transferred to a jar and filled with cool water. The water should completely cover the contents, but do not pour it to the top - during fermentation the volume of the liquid will double.
3. The vegetables are covered with a couple of whole cabbage leaves, compacted and placed under pressure.
4. The entire structure is covered with gauze or a lid so that air can flow. The jar is left for several days at room temperature (about 20 ° C) in a well-ventilated dark place.

Stir the vegetables 1-2 times a day and determine readiness to taste. When the product becomes crispy and sweet and sour in taste, the brine is poured into a separate jar, and the vegetables are moved to the refrigerator. The brine can be eaten and also used to ferment the next batch of vegetables.

Without salt and sugar

To prepare this recipe you will need:

• white cabbage – 1 head;
• water – 1 glass.

Cooking steps:

1. The cabbage is chopped and placed in a jar, compacted well.
2. It is filled with water on top.
3. Cover the jar and leave at room temperature for 3 days.
4. The finished product is placed in the refrigerator.

Without salt and water

For this recipe you will need:

• white cabbage – 3 kg;
• carrots – 0.5 kg.

Cooking steps:

1. The cabbage is chopped, the carrots are grated on a coarse grater, mixed, placed in a bucket or basin, compacted tightly and pressure is placed on top.
2. The pressure must be heavy so that as much juice as possible can be released from the cabbage.
3. When all the vegetables are covered with juice, the pressure is replaced with a lighter one.

After 1-2 days, the oppression is removed and the workpiece is moved into jars, which are put into the refrigerator for storage.

No salt with spices

To prepare this dish you need to take:

• white cabbage – 4.5 kg;
• dill seeds – 2 tbsp. l.;
• cumin seeds – 2 tbsp. l.;
• celery seeds – 2 tbsp. l.;
• crushed peppercorns - 2 tbsp. l.

Cooking steps:

1. The cabbage is chopped and mixed with spices.
2. 1/6 of the product is set aside and ground until the juice is released, and then transferred back to the main mass.
3. The vegetables are transferred to glass jars, compacted and pressed. The juice should completely cover the contents. If this does not happen, add water.

After 4-5 days, the product is put into the refrigerator for further storage.

How to properly store the finished product

The finished product easily spoils, so it should only be stored in a refrigerator, basement or cellar at a temperature of 0...+6 °C without access to sunlight. Air humidity should be about 70%.

Immediately after cooking, the product may not remain at room temperature for long. In this case, it becomes more acidic over time.

Sauerkraut prepared without adding water can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a week, and sauerkraut prepared with brine can be stored for no more than 5 days. To increase shelf life, the product can be frozen by packaging it in plastic bags.