Have you ever felt like Life was pointing a great big arrow at something, waiting for you to notice it? Well, it happened to me last winter. It seems that everywhere I looked I'd come across info about the health benefits of fermented vegetables. It sort of culminated with our neighbors giving us a big head of cabbage, as they were going away for a few weeks.
Having suffered from candida for years, one of my weaknesses has always been my digestive system. Needless to say I became very intrigued by cultured veggies' healing properties so I decided to 'pay attention' to what Life was trying to tell me and see for myself what the fuss was all about.
Fermenting For Health
Fermentation is a process by which foods are pre-digested by friendly enzymes, fungi, and good bacteria. As Mike Snyder pointed out in his March 2007 newsletter, this makes fermented or cultured foods "easier to digest, releases nutrients and increases the enzyme levels".
Some of the health benefits of fermented veggies include:
- strengthening the immune system
- having a soothing effect on the nervous system (They are known to be beneficial to children with autism and ADD.)
- alleviating intestinal disorders and creating a healthier digestive system by supplying beneficial flora and bacteria (also called probiotics). As Dr. Joseph Mercola puts it, fermented veggies form "a 'living shield' that covers the small intestine's inner lining". It is said that they also prevent bacteria and fungal overgrowths (albicans candida).
- helping to regulate weight and appetite by reducing cravings for sugar, soft drinks, bread and pasta.
Erica of SchoolOfRAWk has also written a great, very informative article explaining why "Fermented Foods Are Essential For Health". Check it out here.
Sauerkraut 101
There are a variety of fermented foods, many of which were traditionally part of our ancestors' diets. These include veggie-kraut, kimchi, kefir, yogurt or cheese made with nuts and seeds, rejuvelac, miso, Nama Shoyu (unpasteurized soy sauce), kombucha tea (which I recently started making too, but that's for another post!), and of course, the well-known pickles and sauerkraut.
The Quest For The Right Tools Having no special equipment, at first I resorted to using a large ceramic pot with a plate and a weight on top. When I read about how unfriendly bacterias can easily develop if sauerkraut isn't made under the right conditions, I decided not to take any chances and to throw that first batch away. That prompted me to start looking for proper equipment; if I was to give sauerkraut making a serious try, might as well do it right!
I knew of the traditional ceramic crock pots, but these are costly and therefore weren't a real option for me. Then I came across a post on Raw Food Talk recommending the Pickle, Sauerkraut and Kimchi Maker sold by Mike at his The Raw Diet Heath Store. It had a lot of great reviews and, best of all, was quite inexpensive (about $30 including shipping). My search was over!
(Note: RawVegan4Health has ingeniously come up with a home made version of the Sauerkraut and Kimchi maker for roughly $9. He has posted the instructions on our forum, Raw Freedom Community.)
Now, some 4 batches later, I'm by no means an expert at sauerkraut making, but I thought I'd share some of the valuable things I've learned along the way.
Preparing The Cabbage
I like using a mixture of green and red cabbage as the resulting color is just stunning. One of the things I most enjoy about this system is how, as you'll see, you can watch the cabbage change color from day to day, turning into a bright fuschia. Nature's artwork!
I've come across recipes suggesting that you need 5 lbs of cabbage total to fill up a gallon jar, but I always end up using about 9 lbs.
The first thing I do is clean all of my equipment really well. Scalding is a good idea to sterilize it and prevent potential problems during the fermentation process.
I then remove the outer leaves, chop the cabbage into medium chunks, then put these through my food processor, using the smallest slicing blade. Alternatively, you could shred the cabbage with a mandoline or a sharp knife. I end up with some nice, fine cabbage strips. (Well, for the most part anyways...)
I don't know if it's because my food processor isn't so hot, but it leaves some pretty coarse pieces as well, so I just pick these out and process them separately with the S blade.
I then put the chopped cabbage in large bowls and add sea salt; the usual ratio is 5 lbs cabbage/3 tbs sea salt. You want to make sure to use enough as I've lost a couple of batches due to them not being sufficiently salted. Major bummer after all that work! I have read that you can use seaweed as well, but have yet to try it.
I also recommend throwing in a few capsules of probiotics. (You can find these in most health food stores.) I usually mix in 3 caps per gallon jar, along with the salt. This considerably quickens the fermentation process by giving a boost in friendly bacteria. My last batch of sauerkraut was ready in 5 days instead of the usual several weeks!!! I think Gabriel Cousens uses miso in his recipes for the same purpose, plus it also acts as a salting agent.
Next, it's time to do a little work out! I massage the cabbage/salt/ probiotic mixture for a few minutes in order to help release the juices. There are all kinds of ways to achieve this; I've tried stepping on the cabbage with my bare feet (messy!!! lol), and I think Erica of SchoolOfRAWk uses a baseball bat to pound on the cabbage (he he), so you can be creative and see what method you like best.
For my part, I find that pressing down on the cabbage with another bowl works really well and is simple and quick.
Actually, as you can see, that's Don's job!
At this point, you can also mix in other veggies (carrots, greens, Brussels sprouts, celery, zucchini, turnips and beets), herbs and spices (caraway seeds, dill seeds, celery seeds, juniper berries, onion, garlic, hot pepper, turmeric, ginger or burdock root) or even fruits (usually apples). You can totally experiment. For my part, I'm quite happy with a few cloves of garlic.
I then pack the cabbage tightly in the jar, a little at a time, to make sure there are no air bubbles trapped in there.
I fill it right up to the bottom of the jar's neck so that once I insert the small cap upside down, the latter is level with the jar top. The reason for this is that the big cap will then press against it and keep the cabbage submerged in liquid which is key.
Here's the small inverted cap which I then fill with water to the very top. I know you can't see much but the water is in there!
Next, I remove the small rubber plug from the grommet and screw the big cap onto the jar. Water or brine should come out of the little hole. If it doesn't, simply pour in more water until it does. Then I fill the air lock with water to the line on the outside cylinder and insert the air lock into the cap grommet.
Finally, I set the jar in an non-obstructive corner of the kitchen counter. A lot of juice gets released during the fermentation process, so you definitely want to put a plate or a dish underneath the jar, and drain it as it fills up. Let the whole thing sit at room temperature (60 to 70 degrees).
This is the part that thrills my inner child! The kraut will soon start doing its thing. I just love watching the fermentation process; brine and bubbles coming out. After a couple of days, I start checking on the level of liquid inside the jar, adding some brine (ratio 1 cup water/1 tsp salt) as needed to ensure that the cabbage remains submerged.
The sauerkraut should be ready after 4 or 5 days, depending on the room temperature and provided you use the probiotics. Our house gets pretty cool at night in the wintertime so it has taken as long as 6 or 7 days. You can tell that it's ready when there are no longer any bubbles coming to the surface. You can also taste it; it should have a pleasant tartness and be crunchy. (If the sauerkraut is soft, do not consume it!)
Behold The Transformation
What follows is a series of photos to give you an idea of the different stages of the fermentation process. The pics were taken from a batch I made in the Spring.
End of Day 1
Day 2
Day 3 (Notice how the color is dramatically starting to brighten up!)
Day 4
Day 5
Tada! The best sauerkraut you've ever tasted!!! I sometimes need to add a little brine when I transfer to individual jars since liquid tends to 'shrink' when exposed to cooler temperatures .
If you have a sensitive digestive system, you may have to work up your tolerance by consuming 1 tablespoon of sauerkraut a day for a week or so. That's what I had to do initially, and now I'm eating lots pretty much every day (and LOVING it!) The kraut will keep in the fridge for months. In fact, you'll find that it will continue getting better and better. So yum!
Commercial fermented products found in supermarkets and stores are usually pasteurized. In other words, they are no longer 'alive', and the enzymes and beneficial bacteria have been destroyed. Not to mention all the salt, sugar and preservatives that they may contain! Yet another reason to start making your own!
If you would like to find out more about fermented veggies/sauerkraut making, there is loads of info available on the net. As I was mentioning earlier, Mike's site is awesome. You might also want to check out Chet Day's Health & Beyond for instructions on sauerkraut making. And there's of course the 'mecca' of fermented veggies: Sandor Ellix Katz's WildFermentation.com.
I'm going to be publishing my to-LIVE-for garlic-dill veggie kraut recipe soon. I had to develop it because I hate kraut, but it's sooo good for us!
WONDERFUL post!
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Excellent post. Wow, that kraut sure turned bright pink! I am so eagerly awaiting my first batches to be ready, and look forward to the recipe ideas. My first batch was just plain old sauerkraut.
__________________ Health is not simply the absence of sickness. - Hannah Green
Wow, your thread is very highly informative ... filled with helpful tips. Kudos to you, Carmella! At least, it gives me an idea of how I should prepare my batch of kimchi.
However, there is something that bothers me; that is, the amount of probiotics needed for kraut making. Mike Synder, for instance, mentioned 1 teaspoon of probiotic powder for each gallon of kraut along with 3 tablespoons of Celtic Sea Salt. This is based on approximately 5 pounds of cabbage, but you found out that 9 pounds would fill the gallon jar. Therefore, the amount of salt obviously needs to be somewhat doubled, but what about probiotics? I just don't want to overdo with probiotics if you get my drift. So did you use same amount recommended by Mike in spite of the fact that additional cabbage was needed to complete your last batch?
By the way, I realize that you were using probiotic capsules instead of powder, but the main question is whether we need to maintain the proportion of probiotics in relation to the amount of cabbage needed to complete the recipe.
Thanks for all the great information! Maybe I can venture out of my box and try it! Looks great, and I love the step by step directions. Love your site thanks for having it.
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Raw food Chef Level 1/Herbalist
Good point! I know, I was surprised as well at how much cabbage I ended up needing, but I think it might be because of the way I massage it before packing it in the jar. This part got me very confused the first time I made kraut as I was encountering different approaches. It seems that some people suggest to get the juices going first by massaging or whatever, while others just say to tightly pack the cabbage directly. All I know is that the way I've been doing it works well for me.
To answer your question re: amounts, I do adjust the salt but it seems that the probiotic is the same as what Mike is suggesting. Actually, I just sort of picked 3 caps randomly and, again, it's working fine. You could definitely try using a little extra. Perhaps I will for my next batch and see if it makes any difference. My guess is that it might quicken the process even more. Will have to see!
Just to satisfy my curiosity, I googled for the measurement comparision between teaspoon and capsule. It appears that, based on 3 capsules, you are only adding about 1/2 teaspoon of probiotics to your gallon of fermented vegetables. Of course, I realize that not all capsules are of the same size. In any rate, the enclosed excerpt is an an example of how many capsules are needed if you want one full teaspoon as recommended by Mike.
"I started taking one capsule of maca per day, feeling nothing, but a friend of mine recommended me to try one full teaspoon (equivalent to about 8 capsules) of MACA daily."
Maybe what we should do is to open as many capsules as possible in a separate dish until desired measurement is achieved. What do you think?
Thanks to you, I will stick with the recommended measurement (1 tsp) for probiotic powder no matter how much cabbage is needed to fill a gallon jar. The amount of Celtic Sea Salt, on the other hand, will be adjusted based on how much I need to complete the recipe. By the way, I got 12 pounds of napa cabbage this morning (49 cents/lb) -- need to get some extra just to be on the safe side.
I should be making my batch of kimchi either tonight or tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Cool! Thanks Wayne for looking into that. Now I will definitely try using more next time!
I know what you mean by preferring to have more than not enough cabbage. I used to not be able to tolerate raw cabbage as it would give me terrible gas and cramping so I didn't know what to do with the extra cabbage. But now, it seems that having sauerkraut on a regular basis has changed my digestive system and I no longer have difficulty with it! Don't you just love it when you see changes in your body/behavior like that!?!
Have fun making kimchi and please keep us posted! It's on my 'to-try' list!
Carmella, I have a question about your experience with making sauerkraut in these kinds of jars. I know you want to top them off if it looks like the brine has gone down. Well, I did not have to do this until last night, about 3 days after it started (I did not use probiotics). I packed the cabbage up to the neck of the jar, and then the neck has the cork disks that keep it all submerged. I first noticed air (gas I suppose) pockets in the top of the jar last night and the brine level had actually dropped about 1/2-inch below the top of the cabbage, even though water was still overflowing out the top of the airlock and the airlock was still blocking any air form coming in. I checked it for a couple minutes and saw gas continuing to bubble up frequently through the airlock as it is designed to do, the airlock has not been broken. So I filled the brine back up, and then this morning noticed it was back down again to the same level, so I topped it off again this morning. Now I just had to do the same again tonight. Is it common from your experiences to see this much brine loss this quickly, and have you ever had it drop down to a little below the top level of the cabbage? It still looks and smells like it is turning into kraut, but part of me keeps wondering if this is normal. It seems from just watching it for a few minutes that it is producing so much gas right now that perhaps the pressure is pushing brine out with the gas, and all the air at the top is the gas. Man, sure is gonna suck if this stuff is ruined.
__________________ Health is not simply the absence of sickness. - Hannah Green
Last edited by RawVegan4Health : 08-11-2007 at 07:30 PM.
I think your kraut is fine, RV4H. I had a similar thing happen to me the first time I used the kraut maker. Took me a while to notice the level of brine was actually down within the jar because, as you've stated, the airlock itself was still full. So much juice kept coming out that I, too, got worried, wondering if it was normal, so I wrote to Mike about it. He didn't address the issue of why it was 'juicing' so much directly but did say to top up with brine when the level goes down. In the end, I must have added, I don't know, maybe 10 cups of salt water! lol
Does the temp go down at night in your house? I'm asking cuz we've found there is a definite correlation between lower temps and lowering of the brine level. That time I mentioned about was in the winter, so I'd add brine in the morning. Then the temp would rise during the day which would push it back out again. The kraut turned out delish anyways!
I remember wondering at the time how come nobody seemed to mention the brine and that you needed to keep topping the jar up. Still don't know why, but sure wanted to let people know about it myself!
Yeah, the temp fluctuates here, and is coolest in the house overnight. I guess that is part of it. It was just so surprising to keep seeing it go down that much every 12 hours or so. The kimchi and a couple of the pickles ahve started doing pretty much the same thing, so it seems normal. I just keep checking them morning and night and topping off wherever I see any air.
__________________ Health is not simply the absence of sickness. - Hannah Green
, thanx
I am so eagerly awaiting my first batches to be ready, and look forward to the recipe ideas. My first batch was just plain old 
All I know is that the way I've been doing it works well for me. 
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