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Cabbage is an inexpensive and healthy vegetable that is included in the daily menu of many people. It is rich in fibre, minerals and vitamins. But it’s summer. In winter, during storage, the content of vitamins gradually decreases. At home, it is very difficult to keep the crop of this vegetable fresh without loss. Special rooms with a constant low temperature and a certain humidity are required.
Our ancestors have long learned to keep a delicious vitamin product until spring. For this, it was fermented. At the same time, vitamins were not only not lost, but due to the fact that they turned into a form that the human body absorbed more easily, there was more benefit from such food. Oak barrels were used for pickling, as glass was not cheap. In them, fermentation in the underground was perfectly stored until spring.
Why is it better to choose jars for fermentation
Now the majority do not have an underground, and many simply do not need to harvest cabbage in large volumes. You can pickle it in an enameled bucket or large pot, but it is much more convenient to do it in a glass jar. Fermentation in such a container is easy to store in the refrigerator. If you ferment a new batch from time to time, then a tasty product will always be available. The process itself does not take much time, you can simply ferment cabbage in a jar, you will need a little food. You can choose any recipe for pickling.
How to choose cabbage for fermentation
Not all heads of cabbage are suitable for this. In order to always have the opportunity to enjoy a truly tasty and crispy preparation, cabbage must meet the following requirements:
- only varieties that ripen in the middle and late periods are suitable for fermentation. From early varieties, soft cabbage is obtained, which is poorly stored;
- varieties should be intended specifically for fermentation, and not for storage. Until now, the old and reliable ones are considered the best – Slava and Belorusskaya;
- heads of cabbage should be dense and resilient, have a white color under the outer leaves and contain sugar in an amount sufficient for the process of lactic acid fermentation;
- cabbages with signs of disease on the outer leaves are not suitable for sourdough, there will be a lot of waste from them, and the sourdough will be of poor quality.
How fermentation happens
To make fermentation tasty and crispy, just three ingredients are enough: cabbage, carrots and salt. Even without any additives, you can get a completely high-quality product from them. To succeed in this business, proportions are very important. Usually, the amount of carrots should be 1/10 of the weight of the heads, and about 20 g of salt per kilogram of cabbage is enough, which is about 2 teaspoons with a top or an incomplete tablespoon without a top. If you ferment cabbage in a jar, then a 3-liter bottle will require a head of cabbage weighing about 3 kg. To speed up the fermentation process, you can additionally add granulated sugar. For every kilogram of cabbage, it will take 10-20 g.
Fermentation is the process of lactic acid fermentation, during which the sugars contained in the heads are converted into lactic acid. It not only perfectly protects cabbage sauerkraut for the winter from spoilage, but is also beneficial for the body. With its help, many health problems can be solved, so sauerkraut should be consumed by everyone who has no contraindications to this.
The fermentation process takes place in two stages. Yeast is active on the first. It is because of their vital activity that foam appears on the cabbage brine, and gases are released.
To remove gases that can make sauerkraut bitter, it is pierced with a wooden stick to the very bottom. You need to do this all the time while gases are released.
After 2-3 days, lactic acid begins to accumulate. The fermentation process takes place at a temperature of at least 20 degrees. It is important not to miss the time and take the fermentation to the cold, then the fermentation will not go sour. Usually do it for 4-5 days.
Fermentation technology
Sauerkraut for the winter in a jar is made in almost the same way as in other dishes. But there are also some features. The load, which is necessarily placed on top of the cabbage, cannot be made large in such a dish. This is especially important if you ferment it in a small container, for example, in a liter jar. Therefore, it is necessary not only to tamp it well when laying, but also carefully rub it in the dishes in which it is cooked so that it can easily let the juice flow. For fermentation in another container, this is usually not done.
The acid, which is formed during fermentation, easily enters into a chemical reaction with the metal, resulting in the formation of harmful salts.
Fermentation without adding brine
How to ferment cabbage correctly? If you decide to ferment cabbage in a jar, you need to do it like this:
- clean the heads of integumentary leaves, removing damaged areas;
- peel and wash the carrot, grate it or cut into thin sticks;
- cut the heads of cabbage into large pieces, remove the stalk, chop into thin strips, adhering to the longitudinal direction. The use of a special grater-shredder facilitates the process and makes shredded cabbage the same shape and size, which will help it ferment more evenly.
- shift the cabbage with carrots into a basin or a wide pan, add salt according to the norm and, if you need sugar, rub it well with your hands, as in the photo;
- put the cabbage in jars – liter or other volume, tamping well, place each jar on a plate, cover the surface of the cabbage with a lid and press it with a load. A glass water bottle is best for this.
- with the beginning of fermentation, remove the foam and pierce several times to remove gases;
- transfer the finished fermentation to the cold after 3-5 days.
Sometimes there is not enough juice in cabbage heads. How to ferment such cabbage in a jar? We’ll have to make a brine for pouring.
Pickling with brine
The fermentation process for this recipe will be different.
- a brine is being prepared: it will require 1,5 liters of boiling water with salt dissolved in it (1,5 tablespoons) and sugar (1,5 tablespoons). If you like spicy cabbage, you can add the spices that you like to the brine. Most often it is peppercorns and bay leaf.
- to fill a three-liter jar according to this cabbage recipe, you will need less – about 2,5 kg, carrots need 200-250 g;
- we prepare products as in the previous case;
- mix shredded cabbage with grated carrots, sugar and salt have already been added to the brine. If the cabbage is fermented in brine for the winter in a jar, it is not necessary to grind it.
- we lay the fermentation on the banks freely, it is not worth ramming it;
- pour the prepared chilled brine so that it is above the fermentation level;
Next, proceed in accordance with the previous recipe. The main thing is to stop fermentation in time, for which purpose take out the cabbage in the cold. So that the cabbage does not seem sour, the lactic acid content should not be more than 1%. If the fermentation is over completely, its content increases to 2%.
Fermentation with honey
The next sauerkraut recipe for the winter is a cross between the previous two. For pouring, we will use boiled chilled water – 600-800 g, and add salt directly to the cabbage mixed with carrots. It will need only a tablespoon, honey is used instead. Cabbage should be taken a little less than 3 kg.
Shredded cabbage with grated carrots and salt is lightly ground and placed in a glass dish, a liter or larger. You don’t need to push it hard. It will be enough if it just fills the jar tightly.
On the second day after the start of fermentation, pour the brine into another bowl, squeeze the cabbage, put it back in a jar, changing the layers in places – top down, and bottom up. Dissolve honey in brine, a tablespoon is enough and pour it into cabbage. She needs to wander for another day. Then the jars need to be removed in the cold.
Fast fermentation
Such cabbage is fermented in brine. Adding vinegar speeds up the cooking process. But such cabbage is more pickled than sauerkraut.
Ingredients per 3L jar:
- head of cabbage weighing about 2 kg;
- from 0,5 to 0,8 kg of carrots;
- 6 art. tablespoons of vinegar, preferably apple cider vinegar;
- about 1 liter of boiled water;
- 3 bay leaf;
- 1 Art. spoon of sugar;
- 2 Art. spoons of salt.
We chop the cabbage, rub the carrots, mix, grind well to let the juice go. Add spices and put in a jar. Boil water and add all the ingredients for the brine to it. For quick fermentation, it must be poured hot. As soon as it cools down – we take it out to the cold, preferably in the refrigerator. You can eat within 24 hours.
It is no secret for experienced housewives that the taste of sauerkraut largely depends on the size and shape of cabbage pieces. There are recipes for sauerkraut in whole heads or halves. Of course, it is impossible to make such fermentation in a bank. But here there is a way out.
Cabbage spicy, pickled in pieces
Garlic and hot pepper will give the cabbage a sharpness, and cumin will give a pleasant taste and aroma.
With systematic use, they will help strengthen the immune system, cope with problems of the intestines and kidneys. Cumin is an antiseptic and will keep the cabbage from spoiling.
Ingredients:
- cabbage heads – 5 kg;
- carrots – 0,25 kg;
- salt – 200 g;
- sugar – 400 g;
- garlic – 2 heads;
- cumin – 1 teaspoon;
- water – 4,5 l;
- hot pepper – 1 pod.
We cut heads of cabbage in large checkers.
We place in a container for fermentation. Fill with water, with dissolved salt. We keep under pressure for 4 days. Three carrots, add together with cumin to the chopped heads of cabbage, we also send sharp ingredients there – garlic, pepper, pre-grind them. Mix and put into jars. The remaining brine must be filtered, boiled, dissolving sugar in it. Pour fermentation with warm brine. You need to keep it in the room for another three days.
We store pickled pieces in the cold.
Results
There are a lot of fermentation recipes, all of them are suitable for doing it in jars. The only exception is fermentation with whole heads of cabbage or halves. By the way, it is the most delicious. Most often, sweet peppers, apples, cranberries, lingonberries, garlic, onions, and beets are added during pickling. Each hostess chooses additives according to her taste and wishes of her family. Successful fermentation.