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A square image showing the name of the recipe along with a square photo looking into a jar of red cabbage sauerkraut. It is sitting on a grey table with a yellow napkin.

Red Cabbage Sauerkraut

Rich in probiotic goodness and bursting with colour, red cabbage sauerkraut makes a valuable addition to your meals. Recipe video is above!
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Course: Condiment
Cuisine: German
Keyword: Fermentation, Fermented
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Fermentation Time: 7 days
Total Time: 7 days 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 100 servings
Calories: 10kcal
Author: Gabby Campbell

Equipment

  • 1 Crock or several large jars (capacity needed is 3 litre / 3 quarts total)

Ingredients

  • 2.5 kg red cabbage (this was 2 cabbages for me)
  • 2 large red apples, washed, cut into quarters and cored just before grating (about 350g)
  • A few fennel fronds, chopped (I had 4)
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 3 Tbsp sea salt (see recipe note below) (45g)

Instructions

  • Remove a few of the outer cabbage leaves that may look a little haggard. Keep these, as they'll come in handy when packing your jars. They won't be needed if you're using a crock.
  • Cut the cabbages into quarters, wash, remove the cores and weigh together with the apples (see note below on why I weigh my ingredients). If you have somewhere between 2.5 to 3kg (5.5 to 6.5 pounds) the 45g suggested here is fine.
  • Thinly slice the cabbage either by hand or with a mandolin, and place in a large bowl.
  • Sprinkle some salt over the cabbage after each quarter has been sliced, and massage it through briefly.
  • Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave to sit on the bench for up to an hour. This helps draw the water out of the cabbage, which creates the brine for your crock or jars.
  • Remove the cover from the bowl, then cut the apple into quarters, cut out the cores and grate into the bowl. Now add the chopped fennel fronds, fennel seeds, and grated ginger.
  • Massage everything together, squeezing the veg slightly as you do, until well combined and plenty of liquid is in the bottom of the bowl.
  • Pack the sauerkraut into a crock*, followed by any liquid left in the bowl. Wipe the rim with a clean cloth and place the weights inside. Put the lid on, then fill the moat with water.
  • If packing the sauerkraut into jars leave an inch (2.5cm) head room. Fold one of the discarded outer cabbage leaves and put it on top of the kraut, wipe the rims of the jars then put the lid on. The added leaf on top ensures the sauerkraut stays submerged under liquid while fermenting. Sit the jars on plates in case they bubble over in the coming days.
  • Leave to ferment on the bench for 7-10 days. If you've used jars - just remember to slowly release and then close the lid a couple of times a day to 'burp' them. This will stop any mishaps occurring from an extra lively ferment.
  • Taste your sauerkraut at day 7 and if you like it, it's ready. If you'd like it to be a little more sour leave it for a few more days.
  • Once fermented decant to jars if you used a crock, store in the fridge and enjoy!

Notes

*Don't overstuff your crocks or you won't be able to get the weights in, which is important to keep the sauerkraut submerged.
The suggested volume of salt when making vegetable ferments is generally 1.5 - 2% of the vegetable weight. So for example - I have 2.85kg (about 6 pounds) here with the combination of cabbage and apples, so I used ~43g (1.5 oz) of salt, which is 1.5% of 2.85kg.
With this simple calculation you can scale the recipe up or down as you need, which is super handy!

Nutrition

Serving: 20g | Calories: 10kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 173mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 281IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.2mg