I have 2 large heads of cabbage, a gallon-sized crock, and a small work space, so I chop only a portion, about 1/3 head, add it to my crock, sprinkle with sea salt, and begin kneading.

Only a few minutes’ kneading is required to get enough liquid to cover the cabbage. Once the first portion is done, I only add more cabbage, more sea salt, and knead again. When all the cabbage is in the crock and there is enough liquid to cover, I add the rest of my ingredients: 2 green onions, 3 shredded carrots, and several smashed garlic cloves. I mix them all in well, then I add a dried pepper that I bought at the farmer’s market a couple of years ago. I can’t recall what variety, but it adds a subtle smokey flavor to the finished sauerkraut. Yum! 

I press all the ingredients down under the liquid, add my weights to keep them down, then put the lid on the crock. Once I have found a cool fermenting spot, I add water to the well to create a seal. And the waiting game begins. I give it around 3 days before I begin tasting. Once the kraut tastes just the way I like it, I’ll transfer it to a jar with a lid and refrigerate it. If you don’t have a crock with weights and a lid, don’t sweat it. Any glass jar will do. There are lots of fermenting supplies that work well with standard wide-mouth canning jars. Click here to see a complete selection of fermenting equipment. Now get fermenting and let us know what you like to add to your sauerkraut!