Recipes / Vegetables

Ania’s sauerkraut

Homemade sauerkraut fermented in jars, following Anna’s recipe from AniaGotuje.pl.

Recipe author: Anna (AniaGotuje.pl) · AniaGotuje.pl

30 minutes prep + 7–14 days fermentingMakes: 5 × 500 ml jars
Jump to the stepsIngredients and their stories ↓Download printable PDF
Ania’s sauerkraut · Serving suggestion
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Instructions

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  1. Trim and shred

    Remove loose or damaged outer leaves. Wash the cabbage, quarter it and remove the core. Shred finely.

  2. Salt and massage

    Mix the cabbage with the salt. Massage for a few minutes, then leave for 30 minutes. Repeat until plenty of juice is released.

  3. Pack the jars

    Scald clean, undamaged jars and lids. Add the cabbage a little at a time, pressing down firmly. Fill each jar to 80% of its capacity and make sure the juice covers the cabbage. Screw on the lids loosely.

  4. Leave to ferment

    Keep away from bright light at no more than 19°C. If a lid bulges, release the gas and press the cabbage back down with a scalded spoon.

  5. Taste and chill

    Taste after a week. Ferment for 7–14 days in total; once the flavour is as sour as you like, move the jars to the fridge.

Tips

Storage

Keep refrigerated for up to 3 months. Use an opened jar within a week.

How to serve

Use in slaw, cabbage soup, bigos or pierogi fillings.

Ingredients / history / science

Discover the ingredients and their stories

What goes into the jar? Where does the flavour come from? Open a topic and explore its sources.

About the ingredientsWhy does cabbage release its juice?

White cabbage provides its own pickling liquid: salt and massaging help draw juice from the shredded leaves. Lactic acid bacteria use the sugars in that juice to produce acids. Measuring the salt, packing the cabbage firmly and keeping it submerged are all important in this recipe.

History on a plateAn autumn ritual and a recipe from 1885

Making sauerkraut was often a shared autumn task, accompanied by stories and singing. The entry for sauerkraut from Bobrowa on Poland’s List of Traditional Products also cites a recipe from the 1885 edition of Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa’s cookbook. Shredding, salting and tightly packing cabbage have a well-documented past.

A closer lookSalt, juice and lactic acid

Salt draws juice out of the shredded cabbage, creating its own brine. It also helps select the microorganisms that can grow. Lactic acid bacteria use sugars from the cabbage and produce acids, so the cabbage becomes sour without added vinegar.

Recipe sources

This recipe is based on the sources listed above.

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