In cellars, sauerkraut can be stored for 2 years. And at the same time it does not become slimy, it does not have a bad smell, it is tasty and good for any holiday.
And all because you need to know the ancient secrets of natural fermentation.
Why does your cabbage, instead of the fermentation process, start to spoil quickly, and how to ensure that it always turns out tasty and crispy, with a light sweet and sour pickle?
Secret number 1 - cabbage variety
Now everything is bought at the market or in the store. Even for preparations for the winter. It is ideal to use only homemade cabbage for pickling so that you know exactly its variety and ripeness.
Important! For pickling, ripe white cabbage of winter and rather late varieties is needed.
The heads of cabbage should be very tight and heavy, dense and sonorous, like a good watermelon.
Secret number 2 - salt
A very important indicator and ingredient for high-quality sauerkraut is salt. Nothing complicated. You need regular salt. Let both be the simplest, largest and most cooked.
No additives, spices or iodine! Calculate the amount of salt for cabbage correctly. The more salt there is, the crisper the cabbage will be.
Important! Too much salt is bad for cabbage - it will be dry, tough and of course salty.
Therefore, it is imperative to adhere to the original proportions indicated in the recipe.
For an average cabbage forks (2.5-3 kg), you need 2-2.5 tablespoons of salt.
If there is not enough salt, then the cabbage will not let the juice out - namely, the fermentation process starts in the juice.
Secret number 3 - slicing
In the old days, cabbage was chopped in a wooden trough with an ordinary bayonet shovel (clean, of course). Then there were huge hatchet-choppers and then large graters for a whole head of cabbage, which were installed in the same troughs.
Today there are a lot of different devices for shredding cabbage on sale. There are also special knives with 2-3 blades.
Yes, it's good to chop cabbage for cabbage soup or borscht, as well as for salad. But for fermentation, this is not a very useful contraption - the straw is too thin.
We'll have to learn how to shred cabbage with an ordinary knife - the best and optimal option, in which the cabbage turns out to be different and from this it ferments better.
The paradox is that a cabbage head cut into 4 parts will ferment well and turn out to be very tasty, in contrast to chopped thin and neat cabbage strips.
Secret number 4 - carrots
In the old days, carrots were not added at all when fermented. It is too sweet, colors the cabbage and makes it soft. As a result, such a blank is poorly stored.
If you still cannot imagine pickling without carrots, then you should remember the rule: for 2 kg of cabbage, a maximum of 1-2 medium carrots.
Secret number 5 - dishes
How to ferment cabbage? Of course, the ideal option is in a wooden tub. If there is an old one - super! Or you can buy a small keg specifically for this purpose.
No tub? A large, tall enamel pot, tank, or bucket will do.
Important! Just do not use plastic buckets, cisterns and flasks for fermentation. The taste of the product from them, you know, will be so-so.
And some more useful tips:
- cabbage grated with salt must be tamped very tightly into a fermentation dish
- you need to start fermentation first at room temperature for 2-4 days, then take out to a cool place
- keep the oppression on the cabbage for the first 2 days, then remove, mix and put again
- be sure to pierce the cabbage in the tank several times a day to the very bottom so that gases from fermentation come out
- Transfer the ready-made sauerkraut to sterile glass jars, tamping and pouring the juice from above, but first everything must be mixed in a common container
- store sauerkraut only under a plastic lid in a cool place - refrigerator, cellar, basement
Good luck to you!
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