Getting the Stuff Ready
Alright, so I figured hey, why not try making sauerkraut? Looks easy enough. Headed straight to the store cause my kitchen was looking pretty bare.
Grabbed a big, firm head of green cabbage – no fancy purple stuff, kept it simple. Salt was next – big bag of plain salt, nothing with added iodine because apparently that messes up the whole fermentation magic. Then I realized I needed jars. Found some used big jars in the back of my cupboard. Gave ’em a hot soapy bath to kill any germs, rinsed like crazy. Done.
The Chop, Salt, and Squish Phase
Chopped the cabbage right down the middle and got rid of the tough core. Sliced the rest into thin strips. Messy. Big time messy. Had shreds flying all over the counter. Dumped all the shredded stuff into my biggest mixing bowl.
Here’s the biggie: the salt. Sprinkled it over the cabbage slowly – I measured kinda roughly, around 1.5 tablespoons for that whole head. Then I just started squishing. Grabbed handfuls and squeezed hard, over and over. Just massaged that cabbage like dough for a good ten minutes. Felt weird at first, but then – holy cow! Water started pooling like crazy. Lot of liquid bubbling out. That’s the brine, the good stuff.
Forgot to mention, I spilt a ton of water trying to drain something else earlier. Wasted about a cup of that precious cabbage water. Idiot move. Managed to save the rest though.
Jar Time and Patience Testing
Stuffed every single bit of that wet, salty cabbage mess into one big, clean jar. Pushed down real hard with my fists to pack it tight. All the cabbage had to be underwater in its own brine. Not a shred peeking out. Used a small spice jar filled with water as a weight to hold it all down under the liquid. Wiped the rim super clean, screwed the lid on gently – not tight!
Shoved that jar into a dark kitchen cabinet. Just left it sitting there. Forget about it? Impossible! I peeked every single day like a kid before Christmas. By day three, bubbles started popping up – little fizzies. So cool! After about 7 days I cracked it open for a sniff test. Hmm. Soured pickle smell, kinda yuck but promising? My jars still smelled faintly like pickles from last year, maybe that wasn’t ideal. Oh well.
Skimmed off some white film twice – freaked out thinking it was mold. Turns out it was just harmless yeast. Had to be careful. Checked again two weeks in. More bubbles!
Total waiting time: Roughly 3.5 weeks. Got tired of waiting.
Victory Tasting
Opened it up for real this time. Strong sour smell hit me, lots of bubbles still popping. Took out the weight. Grabbed a forkful. Crunched like crispy chips. Tangy and salty, with that deep sour kick real sauerkraut has. Pretty dang proud right there. Didn’t die, tasted amazing. Big win.
My Messy Thoughts:
- Salt amounts? Guestimating felt scary but worked.
- Spilling that cabbage water early – avoid that. That brine is liquid gold.
- White gunk floating – skim it off fast.
- Peeling every day is tempting. Don’t. Seriously, just try.
- Old pickle smell in jars? Maybe wash with baking soda next time.
- This stuff takes foreverrrr. Worth the brutal wait though.
