Having grown early cabbage, they wonder whether it can be fermented for the winter. Fermentation in the traditional way involves the use of late-ripening white cabbage. If you use other recipes, it is quite possible to ferment early vegetables for the winter on your own or with other vegetables for long-term storage.
Is it possible to ferment early cabbage for the winter?
In the summer, you can ferment early cabbage for the winter, but according to recipes that differ from those used to prepare late varieties of white cabbage.
Vegetable selection
When choosing white cabbage for pickling, pay attention to its appearance. A head of cabbage suitable for pickling is characterized by the absence of brown and black spots, aphids, larvae and other insects. The fork should be dense, elastic, with a slight sweetish smell.
Ingredients
The main ingredients for pickling white cabbage include the vegetable itself and salt. Carrots, bay leaves, black pepper and allspice are often used as an addition. Sugar, honey, beets, sour apples and other vegetables, fruits and berries are added less often.
Preparing containers
For pickling for the winter, it is better to choose three or ten liter jars. First, they are thoroughly washed, rinsed from soda and detergent, and sterilized. A microwave, oven, or steam from boiling water are suitable for this procedure. The lids are boiled.
How to ferment young cabbage at home
Recipes for making sauerkraut differ from recipes for pickled cabbage in the absence of vinegar. When fermenting early varieties, it is poured with brine, and not ground, like winter varieties, until the juice appears.
Thanks to this method, the future snack turns out tasty and crispy, and grated with salt it will turn into porridge, at best it will be soft, because the early vegetable has thin, tender leaves.
For a 3 liter jar
Sauerkraut made according to this recipe with a minimum amount of ingredients turns out tasty and can be stored for a long time.
You will need the following products:
- 2 kilograms of early cabbage;
- one large carrot;
- 2 tablespoons salt;
- 3 tablespoons sugar;
- 1.5 liters of water.
The forks are chopped, the carrots are grated. The vegetables are carefully mixed and placed tightly in the bottle. Fill with brine.To prepare it, boil water with salt and sugar and cool.
The bottle is covered with three layers of gauze, kept for three days in a warm room, then taken to the basement, covered with a lid, or placed in the refrigerator. During fermentation, the contents of the jar are pierced several times, starting from the second day. This is done to remove the resulting gases, otherwise the finished product may become bitter and even spoil.
For a 10 liter jar
Cabbage is fermented in pieces with beets.
Required:
- 8 kilograms of dense cabbage;
- 2 medium beets;
- large head of garlic;
- horseradish root;
- 6.5 tablespoons salt;
- 2 faceted glasses of sugar;
- 4 liters of water.
The heads of cabbage are cut into pieces, the beets and garlic are cut into slices, and the horseradish root is grated. The prepared products are laid out in layers in a jar. Fill should be up to the hanger or slightly higher so that the filling completely covers the contents of the container.
Boil water with salt and sugar for three minutes, cool to room temperature. Pour the resulting brine over the vegetables and take the preparation to the cellar. After a week, the snack is ready to eat.
For quick cooking, vegetables are left at room temperature, and only after ripening are taken to a cool room.
Preparing barrel cucumbers with sugar
Sauerkraut is a very healthy product, and prepared with cucumbers it is not only healthy, but also tasty.
For the snack you will need the following products:
- 5 kilograms of cabbage;
- 1.5 kilograms of cucumbers;
- 500 grams of young carrots;
- bunch of dill.
For filling:
- 0.5 liters of purified water;
- 100 grams of sugar;
- 25 grams of coarse salt.
Washed cucumbers are soaked in cold water for several hours. Finely chop the heads of cabbage and chop the greens.
Place a layer of cabbage and a row of cucumbers and herbs in a suitable bowl. This way the container is filled to the top. Afterwards, the filling is prepared - salt and sugar are dissolved in water and boiled. Then cool completely. The vegetable stock is filled with brine and a weight is placed on top.
Further storage
The shelf life of sauerkraut depends on the container and storage location.
- Vegetables pickled in a barrel can be stored in a cellar at a temperature of plus four degrees for eight months.
- Snacks prepared in glass containers can be eaten for three months.
- Pickled cabbage can be stored throughout the winter on the balcony in an enamel bucket. With the onset of severe frosts, it may freeze; it is not recommended to store the thawed product for more than three days.
- Pickled vegetables are stored in a plastic container at a temperature no higher than four degrees for only a week.
