Raw Sauerkraut – makes 4 Quarts

I love this using this simple, healthy recipe to create sauerkraut right at home!  This recipe makes a delicious topping to any traditional summer meal fresh off the grill.  Simply add this amazing sauerkraut and a touch of spicy mustard to your bratwurst or all beef hot dog!  It’s delicious!!

Ingredients

16 cups cabbage, shredded

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp mustard seeds per jar

3 ½ tbsp Celtic or Mediterranean sea salt

5 cups water

4 Wide-Mouth Quart Jars

Instructions

In a bowl, mix cabbage with cumin and mustard seeds.  Using a potato masher or wooden kitchen mallet, pound/mash the cabbage and seeds for several minutes to release the juices from the cabbage.  Fill each quart by tightly packing the cabbage using the opposite end of a wooden spoon or an air bubble remover tool.  Give each jar a generous 1” headspace.

Mix water and salt until salt has dissolved.  Pour liquid mixture over the cabbage.  Using the air bubble remover tool, press the cabbage downward to remove excess air bubbles.  Add additional liquid mixture if necessary being sure to keep the generous 1” headspace.  Wipe rim of jar with a warm wash cloth dipped in vinegar.  Add sterilized lids and rings and hand tighten. 

Place jars on a dish towel on your countertop in your kitchen and keep at room temperature for 3 days (72 hours) to allow natural fermentation to take place.  After 72 hours has passed transfer to cold storage in your refrigerator.  The sauerkraut can be eaten immediately but improves with age.

Because the jar contents are active during the fermentation process, please note there may be some seepage from the jar prior to and during cold storage.  Simply wipe the jars and the surface in which they sit if this occurs.