Old Country Home Made Sauerkraut
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 days before you intend to use it, clean off the top leaves
- of a healthy cabbage. Do not leave any bruised leaves. Save 1 leaf
- without slicing, in whole. Slice it thin and press it down into a
- preferably clay pot. But I've made it often in large Glass jars as
- well as Ceramics.
Instructions
Boil water until it comes to a very good rolling boil, then add 1 Tablespoon of Salt per Quart of water. Let it cool until luke warm. Cover the cabbage up to 3/4 way. Not all the way, with the salt brine. Cover the cabbage with 1 leaf of lettuce you have saved. Place a slice of Sourdough bread on the cabbage leaf. This will start it to ferment. No chemicals needed. Place a plate upside down over the cabbage. The plate should just fit and almost cover the opening. If it has a half inch or so gap around in the inside, it's no big deal. The idea is to put a weight on it to press the cabbage under the water and keep it there. For weight, I've used a brick, wrapped in aluminum foil, then placed in a plastic bag as well. We need to avoid contamination. Make sure you use an item heavy enough to press the cabbage down well and keep it under. Keep it in a warm place for 3 to 4 days. Top of refrigerator, where the warm air comes out, or any other place where it doesn't get cold and fermentation can take place. After you have waited the 3 to 4 days and you feel it is ready (by tasting, and smell), you want to refrigerate the cabbage for a day or half a day at least. I can never wait:)