Sauerkraut isn’t exactly an Ecuadorian staple. That’s one of the great things about living overseas; it pushes me to make the foods I love but can’t easily buy.

A couple of years ago, I had tried to make sauerkraut at home and the attempt resulted in a moldy mess. It actually scared me a little and I decided that fermenting foods wasn’t for me. However, back then I could easily buy fresh sauerkraut at the local market. Unfortunately, there are no great sauerkraut makers in Ecuador… until now.

The Art of Fermentation 

Enter Sandor Ellix Katz and his book, The Art of Fermentation. Sandor taught me that mold on top of a fermentation is actually very normal. It’s what’s under that mold that matters.

The first time I tried fermenting cabbage, I had done so in a pottery crock. I could not see underneath the mold. And we all know that eating food that has gone moldy is a bad idea.

This time I around, I elected to ferment in a clear glass jar so that I could actually see the process. And it made me feel much better. I have pictures to share with you and can tell you that a six week fermented cabbage tastes lovely.

Ingredients

  • 1 large cabbage, shredded with the large outer leaves reserved whole
  • spices of choice; I used juniper berries
  • salt, the best quality you can find

Equipment

  • 1 large jar
  • weights; I used rocks
  • fabric cover the jar; you need air to be able to leave the crock

Instructions for Sauerkraut

Place your shredded cabbage in a large bowl. Liberally salt it. There is not right or wrong amount of salt. In fact, according to Sandor, you can ferment without salt. Nonetheless, I believe we’d would miss an essential flavor in the sauerkraut. Try to stay away from regular table salt and use a good quality sea salt. In memory of California, I used some of our special Monterey Sea Salt.

Sliced cabbage tossed with salt being placed in the pickling jar.

The cabbage will start to feel slick as it releases water. That’s what you want. You can massage your cabbage as much as you like to help it leach out water. The thinner you’ve sliced your cabbage, the easier this process will be.

Pack the Sauerkraut

Once it’s started to weep, start packing it into your jar. Pack and pack and pack. Press it on in as tight as you can. On top of all your shredded cabbage, lay down the outer leaves that you had saved. These guys are going to be your mold barrier. The mold will grow on top of the whole leaves and make it easy for you to remove that nasty layer that you would have preferred didn’t grow in the first place.

A fully packed jar full of cabbage, salt, and a few juniper berries.
Whole cabbage leaves on top of the future kraut. Pressing down helped push out more liquid from the cabbage.

Next, add your weights. I placed a few beach stones in plastic bags and used them. You can use a small plate that fits if you’ve used a wide-mouth crock. Or even a bag filled with water can be helpful. Anything to keep the cabbage weighted down. Then cover this with a thin layer of cheesecloth or other fabric that allows air to pass through but prevents anything else from getting in.

Weep Sauerkraut, Weep

Give your cabbage 24 hours to weep all it can. If you’re fortunate, the jar will be filled with water the next morning. All the way over the top of your cabbage. If it hasn’t and the jar only needs a small addition, use filtered water to top off your kraut (I had to add about 1/2 cup). You need to make sure all of the cabbage is submerged. I can’t imagine that the jar won’t be at least 3/4 full but if not, then make a brine from filtered water and salt and top off with that.

The rocks (in a plastic bag) added as a weight. Notice how much the cabbage has compressed.
The next day, the liquid has raised up over the amount of cabbage. It's ready to sit and ferment.

Time to Wait

Now you’re ready to let your sauerkraut sit.

I chose an out of the way cupboard where the temperature stays pretty consistent and the cabbage could remain in the dark, especially since I chose to use a jar instead of a crock.

At first, I would check on my kraut every few days. Until we went away. Unfortunately, I forgot about it. When I remembered, the sauerkraut had compressed to about half its size. The liquid had evaporated, allowing a layer of mold to grow.

 

A few weeks later. Notice the lower layers are the pale yellow, green of sauerkraut even though the upper layer is an ugly rotten brown green.

Delicious Sauerkraut Under The Mold

I was a little worried even though I could see the proper color of sauerkraut underneath the fuzzy layer. When I took out the rocks and removed the nasty layer of whole leaves, I found the most gorgeous sauerkraut underneath. It smelled slightly sour and salty, but fresh like the ocean. And it tasted perfect, not too sour and with a crunch that was pleasant. Not mushy at all.

I took out the quality sauerkraut and placed it and the liquid in two glass jars. They are sitting in my refrigerator, one of them already half empty. In some ways, it’s a shame I’m the only person in my house that likes sauerkraut. But who am I to complain if I get to eat it all myself?

The good sauerkraut, ready for my refrigerator.

This post was originally published on March 15, 2014. It has been reformatted and edited for clarity.