Preserving sauerkraut »This is how you make sauerkraut yourself

Preserve the sauerkraut for the reserve

About 10 kg of white cabbage and 250 g of curing salt are required for six liter jars of sauerkraut. The glasses must be germ-free, especially when making sauerkraut, as otherwise the lactic acid fermentation will be impaired. If harmful bacteria are present, the herb will spoil. So sterilize your jars shortly before you use them by boiling them or heating them in the oven at 100 degrees for ten minutes.
In order for lactic acid fermentation to work well, divide the amount of cabbage into several smaller portions.

Prepare the herb

1. Clean the cabbage, cut off dead and damaged leaves.
2. Quarter the cabbage. If it is particularly large, it can also be eighths.
3. Now cut out the white stalk. The hard veins in the outer leaves are also removed.
4. Cut the cabbage pieces into fine strips. Use a sharp knife for this, it is easier with a plane.
5. Put the cabbage strips in a large colander and wash them thoroughly. Let everything drain well.
6. Then pour the sliced ​​cabbage into a large clay, glass or food-safe plastic bucket.

Do not use a metal container.

1. Mix the cabbage with the salt, about 3 tbsp to 2 kg cabbage. Mix well with your hands. You can also process the mixture with the potato masher. It is important that the cell walls in the vegetables break open and release the juice.
2. Squeeze the cabbage tightly in the container so that the juice collects over the cabbage.
3. If the cabbage snippets haven't produced enough juice, you can help by covering them with brine. The lye is made from 22.5 g of curing salt and 1 liter of water. Boil everything together until the salt has dissolved. Pour the cooled lye over the herb.
4. Squeeze the herb well again and then place a suitable plate or board on it and weigh the whole thing down with a clean stone or a large glass filled with water. It is important that the cabbage is pressed further and is covered with brine.
5. Cover the pot with a clean tea towel and put it in a cool place.

Fermentation starts after a short time. It lasts between three days and six weeks. This will cause bubbles to form in the pot. If no more bubbles form, fermentation is complete.
You can preserve the finished sauerkraut in smaller glasses after fermentation. Again, pay attention to extreme cleanliness. Wake up for half an hour in the automatic cooker at 90 degrees. Set 175 degrees in the oven. As soon as bubbles form in the glass it is switched off, the glasses remain in the oven for 30 minutes.