How to make Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is something new for me.  I have always seen it next to the condiments and only thought that much about it.  I certainly never used it or wanted to...until I found out about how good it is. Now it is becoming a staple in our home.  Sauerkraut is a Pro-biotic food.  I am sure you have seen the yogurt commercials for regulating your system.  Sauerkraut and yogurt are both Pro-biotic foods that kill off bad bacteria lurking in your digestion system, called Die off, and repopulate with good bacteria.  Fermented foods is fantastic for this.  Since different areas of your bowels have different bacteria you need to have varieties of fermented foods {Pro-biotic}.  I plan to introduce many varieties to my family and wanted to share my experience with each kind. 

Using organic cabbage and seal salt is all you need.  I decided to use purple and green for added flavor. Purple cabbage is a bit sweeter for a
I know you can add in other spices and sugar, I just want a simple, natural, and healthy food to offer my children. 

1 head of cabbage or half of each color.
1 tablespoon of salt, add more if needed.
Crock or glass toggle container.  

First shreds the cabbage as fine as you like.  Put in a large bowl with the salt and massage it by squeezing and mixing the salt in.  Let it sit in the salt for 5 minutes and press into your container.
Mine did fill my jar until I pressed it down.

 

 I used a potato masher to press it down.  You want the water from the cabbage to squeeze out to cover the top of the cabbage.  Set it in a dark cabinet to ferment.  

After one week open the lid, you may need to press it down again.  You want to have the top of cabbage covered or it may mold the top.  If you did not see any liquid at the top yo can add some salt water to your mixture.

After second week open the top and let the air out.  Close again.

Then open everyday to vent.  I waited for 3 weeks to use it.  The taste was developed and mild.  It can be used as little as 3 days and ferment for 3-4 weeks.  

How to introduce fermented foods to your family. 

 

 Adding in fermented foods should be graduate. If you have not had them regular it can cause a large die off and may make you  feel sick as the toxins exit your body.  This is called a healing crisis.   I have started adding a teaspoon of the sauerkraut juice to each meal.  It has gone undetected in my family.  I have even added it to my 6 month old foods {more on baby foods later}.   After a day or so I increase the amount of juice and then we started adding in the cabbage with the juice to top our meats.  I am surprised that I like it so much and it has greatly helped my kids with their tummy aches.   I have introduced other Pro-biotic foods that I will be showing in later posts.