Homemade sauerkraut recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

From kombucha to kimchi, fermented food is becoming increasingly popular, not least because the natural chemical process produces good-for-your-gut bacteria. Homemade sauerkraut is a great place to start– try it with cured meats, cheese, smoked fish or sausages

Abigail Spooner

Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)

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Ingredients

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Step by step

1. Reserve an outer cabbage leaf, then cut the whole cabbage into quarters. Finely shred crosswise until you have 800g, discarding the core once you’ve worked around it.
2. Place in a large bowl and, with clean hands, vigorously massage the salt into the cabbage for 5 minutes; this will start to draw out moisture, forming a brine. Set aside for 5 minutes then massage again. Rest and massage a couple more times until the cabbage volume has reduced significantly and a good puddle of brine has formed.
3. Stir in the caraway seeds. Pack into a wide-mouthed sterilised preserving jar, pressing the cabbage down and leaving a 3-4cm gap at the top.

   Kitchen tip

   Sterilise your jars for 5 minutes in a medium-hot oven

4. To make sure the cabbage stays fully submerged in brine (to ferment safely), cut the reserved leaf to fit in the top of the jar. Weigh this down with a heavy item (such as a smaller jar filled with water). Sit the preserving jar in a dish, cover loosely and keep at cool room temperature (18-22°C) for 5-7 days, out of direct sunlight. The mixture will get bubbly, fade in colour, and the brine level may rise and fall as fermentation progresses.
5. It will be ready to eat after this time, but for maximum flavour leave to ferment for 2-4 weeks, tasting regularly until you’re happy with the flavour. Remove the weight, seal the jar and store in the fridge.

   Make it your own

   Option 1: Swap the white cabbage for red cabbage and use 1 tbsp lightly bruised juniper berries instead of caraway seeds.

   Option 2: Add 250g grated carrots with the cabbage and use 21g salt to allow for the increased weight of veg. Stir in 2 tsp ground turmeric and 1 tbsp grated ginger instead of the caraway seeds.

6. Once sealed, store in the fridge. It keeps for up to 6 months, even once opened, as long as the sauerkraut stays submerged in brine.