13 best recipes for making sauerkraut at home

For many centuries, it has been impossible to imagine Russian cuisine without cabbage dishes. After all, this vegetable is available all year round. There is a good old tradition - to cook cabbage in the fall, sauerkraut according to various recipes. This preparation method is probably the best. After all, when fermented, acid appears in the product. It serves as the best natural preservative, which suppresses the growth of bacteria and prevents the vegetable from spoiling.

Features of preparing sauerkraut for the winter

To ensure that the finished product is tasty and can be stored for a long time, you need to know the following recommendations:

1. Use only rock salt; iodized salt causes the cabbage to soften.
2. For 1 kilogram of vegetables, 1 level tablespoon of salt is enough.
3. After all the products are placed in the container, you need to put a plate or lid on them that matches the diameter of the container. Place a weight weighing 3-4 kilograms on top.
4. The workpiece is placed in a warm place for fermentation. The time it takes to complete depends on the temperature in the room where the container is located. If it’s warm, the product will ferment in 3 days, if it’s cool – in 5-6 days.
5. The next day after cooking, you need to remove the pressure and make punctures in the cabbage all the way to the bottom with a narrow wooden spatula. Gas will begin to escape through the holes. You need to release it every laziness. If you do not perform such actions, the product will turn sour. After the procedure, the oppression is placed in place.

The readiness of the snack is indicated by the absence of bubbles and the clarification of the brine. In this case, it’s time to seal it and put it in the cold.

Selection and preparation of main ingredients

Vegetables also have certain requirements:

• take late varieties of cabbage;
• choose dense heads of cabbage without damage;
• the top green leaves must be removed;
• cabbage is chopped with a sharp knife or using a special grater;
• carrots are thoroughly washed, peeled and grated on a grater with large holes.

If the dish contains other vegetables, herbs, and fruits, then they are also washed and chopped.

How to properly prepare the container?

The best containers for storing the finished product are glass jars, wooden barrels, and enamel dishes (without chips). Containers, lids, and pressure are thoroughly washed and dried.

Before cooking, the bottom of the container is covered with whole cabbage leaves.

Cooking recipes

At home, you can prepare a vegetable dish according to different recipes, with the addition of various ingredients.

Classic method with carrots

You can ferment using the classic recipe. Place the cabbage and carrots in a deep bowl and rub them with your hands for several minutes until the juice begins to release. Add salt and mix thoroughly. Place it in a container, compacting it with a wooden masher. This process works better if applied in small portions. After filling the entire container, place it in a warm place.

With cumin in a saucepan

Or you can make a vegetable dish with wine vinegar. Place shredded cabbage and cumin with salt in layers in a saucepan. And pour water with vinegar and a small amount of granulated sugar on top. Cover with a lid and place on medium heat. When the mass boils, simply shake the pan.

Perform these steps for approximately 1 hour. After this time, a delicious dish with cumin is obtained. The resulting product is placed in a container and sealed.

With beets without sugar

There is a recipe for preparing savory vegetables. Beets, hot peppers, garlic, and cabbage are placed in a container in layers. Lay out the vegetables very tightly so that there is no free space left. Fill with hot saline solution.

With cranberries in a bucket

Add salt and white sugar to the shredded cabbage, rub everything with your hands to release the juice. Season with your favorite spices, fresh or frozen cranberries. The mass is mixed and placed in a bucket.

With apples and lingonberries

The vegetable turns out sweet if it is fermented with apples and lingonberries. Whole fruits are mixed with cabbage, grated with salt, and fresh berries are added. The mass is placed in a container for ripening.

With honey

With natural honey, the preparation turns out very tasty. Cabbage and carrots are placed in a basin and rubbed with your hands. The mixture is placed in a container, compacted and filled with brine - a mixture of water, salt and honey. After fermentation, vegetables acquire a sweetish taste.

Quick method in a 3 liter jar

There is a quick way to make sauerkraut. Cabbage and carrots are tightly placed in a 3-liter jar and filled with saline solution (2.5 level tablespoons per 1 liter of water).

With apples and peppers

The result is a tasty preparation if, instead of carrots, you add apples and sweet bell peppers to the cabbage.

With bell pepper and horseradish

You can prepare a snack that will please the eye with its appearance. Mix cabbage, sweet bell peppers of different colors, allspice peas, carrots, celery. Fill with water and salt.

With apples, cranberries and rowan berries

Grind the cabbage with salt, add carrots. Place bay leaf, black peppercorns, coriander and cumin at the bottom of the container. Vegetables, pieces of winter apples, rowan berries, and cranberries are placed in layers. Pour in a decoction of oak bark. Experienced housewives recommend doing it in this ratio - 1 teaspoon of bark per 100 milliliters of water.

With apples and pears

You can ferment vegetables with fruits.Place cabbage, apples, and pears in layers in a container and pour in sugar syrup (200 grams of white sugar per liter of water). There is no need to add salt.

With horseradish, beets and garlic

Mix cabbage, horseradish, garlic, beets, place tightly in a container and fill with brine (1/2 cup granulated sugar, 200 grams of salt per 1.5 liters of water).

Crispy sauerkraut in a barrel

To make the vegetable crispy, it must be cooked in a barrel. Natural wood reacts with the fermented product, giving it an amazing taste.

How to properly store workpieces?

Store the finished product in the cellar or refrigerator. Do not allow it to heat up or freeze.

The vegetable dish prepares quickly enough and is ideal with boiled or fried potatoes.