I had to make kraut.  Not only did it sound like a perfect summer food, tangy and fresh, but Rent’s Due Ranch (Stanwood, WA) at the University District Farmers’ Market was selling green cabbage for 80 cents a pound.  I bought about four and a half pounds.  I also bought some golden and chioggia beets, from Nash’s Produce and Let Us Farm respectively, to experiment with making beet kraut.

If you think you don’t like sauerkraut, give it at least one more try.  I thought I hated it, but what I was thinking of was the absolutely awful pre-jarred stuff that stank up my elementary school cafeteria on hot dog lunch day, the day I made it through lunchtime by holding my breath and waiting.

Homemade sauerkraut is different.  It’s crisp in parts and soft in others, tangy, and brightly flavored.  It tastes like its source, fresh cabbage, but with a flavorful twist only fermentation can provide.  It’s also one of the easiest things you can make and, with cabbage and salt being the only ingredients for the basic version, it’s really cheap.

You can improvise, too.  Add a little onion, a little hot pepper, some other vegetables.  Do what you like; it’s your fermentation.

For my sauerkraut, I decided to keep it pretty simple.  I added just a little onion for tang and flavor, and otherwise just stuck to cabbage and salt.  I also made a shredded beet kraut, with caraway seeds.  That one also came out well, if you like strong beet and caraway flavors, which I do.

Sauerkraut (adapted from Wild Fermentation)

4-5 pounds of cabbage, finely shredded (with a knife is fine)

3 tablespoons sea salt or kosher salt

1 medium or small onion

1 large glass or ceramic jar or crock (or use several smaller)

1 object you can weight down in the opening of said jar or vat, like a plate that fits into a vat or another jar or bottle that fits in the opening of a large jar.

Cloth or cheesecloth

Shred your cabbage as thin or thick as you like.  I like to make some cuts thinner and some very slightly thicker.  As you shred, toss it into a bowl and sprinkle with some of your salt.  It will slowly start to release water.  By the end, you should have all your salt added.  Mix the cabbage and salt together with your hands.

Pack the salted cabbage fistful at a time into your large jar(s) or crock(s).  Pack it down tightly.

Weigh down the kraut through the top of each jar or crock with something that fits well inside the opening.  In a large jar, use a smaller jar or a bottle, filled with water to keep it heavy.  In a crock, use a plate with something heavy on top to weight it down, like a jar of water.

Cover with cheese cloth or regular cloth and leave it out of the way.  Check back after 24 hours; the cabbage should have released enough liquid to reach above the height of the cabbage being weighed down by the jar or plate.  If there is not enough liquid, you can add a little, at the ratio of 1 cup water to 1 tablespoon salt.

Ferment for 1-3 weeks, depending how strong you like it.  Occasionally check it for taste and water level, and remove any scum that might appear at the surface (it’s okay).  Store in the fridge once it’s fermented to your taste.

Beet kraut (adapted from Wild Fermentation)

Follow instructions for sauerkraut above, but use beets and 2 tablespoons of caraway seeds.   I used golden and chioggia for their milder flavor and color.

Shred beets finely.

Two things to know about making beet kraut:  One, the beets will release their (very dark) liquid much faster than cabbage, almost instantly.  Two, beet fermentation liquid gets really thick from the beets’ natural sugars.  I found that a little unappetizing.  I remedied this by adding a little more salt water when I noticed it, and draining the beets well before I ate them.  If you really don’t like that, just rinse of the beets immediately before eating.