Sauerkraut is truly a wonderful fermented and very healthy food.

Sauerkraut, German for sour cabbage, also represents a generic term for fermented vegetables. During the time of Captain James Cook, sauerkraut was a important for the prevention of scurvy by European seafarers. William Duffy, author of the Sugar Blues, says that sauerkraut was able to counteract the anti-nutrient properties of dietary refined sugar. Dufty’s contends that that scurvy was not necessarily caused by the absence of fresh foods rich in vitamin C, but by the consumption of a diet high in refined sugar which depleted the body of vitamins and minerals and thereby contributed to the condition.

In the book, The Hidden Drug: Dietary Phosphate by Hertha Hafer, the author makes a very telling point when she writes that, “A spoonful of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water before bed may ameliorate the symptoms of ADHD”. She further notes that before the 1900’s, those people living on a traditional diet did not suffer from ADHD. Fermented vegetables produce lactic acid and if the acetobacter microorganisms are present then it seems likely that some acetic acid will also be produced.

It is also worth noting that a number of Traditional Chinese Medicine remedies utilize fermented vegetables and fruits, such as Umboshi plums. Whereas raw cabbage, also known as coleslaw that is served at salad bars and fast food outlets, may lead to a depressed thyroid functioning if eaten in large quantities, whereas, fermented cabbage and other vegetables provide many health benefits and should not be under estimated for their healing powers.

Good Bacteria: Just as scientists are belatedly recognizing that cholesterol can be good, so have they recognized that bacteria can be friendly. According to an article in Newsweek (3/26/01), “It’s hard to imagine microbes as our allies. But mounting evidence suggests that these friendly flora aid digestion, ward off pathogens and help us process folic acid and other critical nutrients.” The friendly bacteria are the hundreds of strains of lactobacilli, which formerly were in our diets when we ate natural lacto-fermented foods such as sauerkraut and yogurt. Actually, the medical profession used to understand this principle. At the Civil War Cemetery and Pest House in Lynchburg, VA, visitors learn that Dr. John Hay Terrill was able to reduce the death rate from small pox from 90 percent to 5 percent by giving his patients sauerkraut. As humans develop more and more resistance to antibiotics, health practitioners will return to nature’s natural antibiotics—the friendly flora in lacto-fermented foods. Reprinted with kind permission from the Weston A. Price Foundation website.

Timeframe: 1-4 weeks (more or less)

Equipment Needed:

A large crock, glass or enamel container, one gallon or more (sterilized with boiling water)
A sterile plate that fits inside the crock or jar
One-gallon jug filled with water, or a clean and boiled large rock, or an air-lock kit (see below)
Cloth cover (like a kitchen cloth, or towel)
Sterile Wooden spoon (never use aluminum utensils)

Be sure everything is sterile by either running it through the dishwasher or you can simply scald them by pouring boiling water into the container and swishing around for no less than 30 seconds.

Ingredients (for 1 gallon):

Minimum of 5 pounds of cabbage
3 Tbsp Celtic Sea salt

Directions:

1. To prepare the cabbage, remove and discard the outer leaves. Wash and drain, then chop or grate cabbage, finely or coarsely; you can use a food processor for speed and ease. If you shred by hand, make sure the shreds are consistent. It’s fun to mix green and red cabbage and end up with bright pink sauerkraut.
2. Place the cabbage in a large bowl as you chop it and sprinkle salt on the cabbage. The salt helps to create the brine by pulling water out of the cabbage (osmosis), which encourages the cabbage to ferment and sour without rotting. It also helps to keep the cabbage crunchy, by inhibiting organisms and enzymes that will soften it. Use at least 3  tablespoons of salt for 5 pounds of cabbage. When all the cabbage is in the bowl, massage/press the cabbage really well to encourage it to release the juices.
3. You can add other vegetables like grated carrots, chopped onions, garlic, greens, bok choy, brussel sprouts, turnips, beets, and burdock roots. I’ve heard of also adding fruits (apples, whole or sliced, are good), and herbs and spices (caraway seeds, dill seeds, celery seeds, and juniper berries, don’t be afraid to experiment.)
4. Mix all the ingredients together well with wooden spoon, or your hands. Each time you add the cabbage to the crock or jar, press it down hard each time with a potato masher, or your hands. This helps to pack the cabbage into the jar tightly, and press the water out and up, helping with juice fomentation. Fill the crock or jar no closer than 5 inches from the top, but be sure that the juice covers the cabbage completely. Garden fresh cabbage works best!

There are many different methods of sealing the jar. There is an air-lock kit that you can buy that fits inside a drilled hole on top of a plastic lid. I’ve looked at some of these air-locks online and they are less than a dollar, look at http://www.homebrewit.com/aisle/3040 or if you can get them at a local wine or beer making store.

Other methods include covering the cabbage with a clean, sterile plate that fits inside, and then placing a weight over the top, like a glass jug filled with water, or a clean but heavy rock. This helps to force water out of the cabbage as well as keep it submerged in the brine. Then cover and seal the whole thing with a plastic bag, this is important so that no air can get in and contaminate the sauerkraut with unwanted yeasts or molds! On top of that, place a heavy towel over it, and secure it with a rubber band. Leave this on until fermenting is finished!

Place in an area where the temperature will not be above 75 degrees. Fermentation begins within the first day, but it depends on the room temperature.

If your room temperature is 75 degrees, then it will take 3 weeks for fermentation. For room temperature that is 70 degrees, it will take 4 weeks. 5 weeks to fermentation if the temperature is 65 degrees, and 6 weeks if the temperature is 60 degrees.

NOTE: You can add three capsule of a good quality probiotics and the fermentation process usually only takes 5 - 7 days!