Homemade Sauerkraut (Apple-Celery)

Описание: Stop buying sauerkraut! 🥬🍎 Let’s make it at home instead 🫙

INGREDIENTS:

1 small/medium head white cabbage
1/2 apple
2-3 celery stalks
sea salt

1. Start by making sure all your tools and hands are clean. Personally, I just use my dishwasher or hot water, dish soap + air-dry to clean everything thoroughly but you can also sterilize your equipment if it feels safer that way.
2. Remove the outer damaged/dirty leaves of your cabbage and slice the whole head thinly
3. Place a large bowl on top of a scale and weigh your cabbage. A medium head will weigh anywhere from 700-900g. Slice 2-3 stalks of celery very thinly and grate your apple, then add everything to the bowl to get the total weight.
4. It is crucial to stick to the correct salt ratio and not just eye ball amounts to make sure you create the right environment for good bacteria to thrive and bad bacteria to stay out. Your salt to veggie ratio should be anywhere between 3-5%. Assuming your combined weight for cabbage, celery and apple is 1000g and were taking a 4% salt to veggie ratio, we need 40g of salt.
5. Add the calculated salt amount to the veggies and massage with your hands for 5-8 minutes until it is swimming in its juices.
6. Add the contents (veggies + brine) to a glass jar, pressing everything down with a wooden spoon to make sure it’s tightly packed. The juice should be enough to fully cover all veggies. If lacking, create a brine with the same salt ratio (100g cold water + 4g salt) and pour on top.
7. Use a fermentation glass weight or similar tool to press down the veggies and make sure they stay submerged under water.
8. Close the jar and place in a dark spot at room temperature (ideally between 65–76°F / 18–24°C) for 1-4 weeks. The warmer the environment the faster the fermentation, so fermentation time varies.
9. The first few days will create lots of activity and potentially overflowing brine from the jar. Make sure to place a small plate underneath and ‘burp’ the jar if needed to release gasses.
10. Once you’re happy with the taste and fermentation time, move to the fridge to slow down fermentation. The sauerkraut will last up to 1 year in the fridge.