Step-by-step recipes for the winter: how to properly ferment cabbage in a bucket

Sauerkraut is one of the healthiest and most delicious snacks. Indeed, when fermented, the vegetable not only retains all vitamins, but also becomes even more useful. This winter preparation contains a lot of vitamin C and has a positive effect on digestion. It goes well with meat and main courses, and is used as an ingredient in soups and pies.

Many housewives try to ferment more cabbage, so that they can then use it as needed. Large portions are easier to cook in a bucket. Read on to learn how to salt cabbage in buckets for the winter.

Features of pickling cabbage in a bucket

Many housewives prefer to ferment cabbage according to the classic recipe in a bucket. This allows you to prepare a snack in large portions. In this case, the bucket takes up much less space than a basin or barrel. It is much more convenient to install oppression on the bucket.

Only enamel buckets are suitable for fermenting vegetables. They do not affect the taste of food in any way and do not emit harmful substances.

It is not recommended to ferment cabbage in plastic containers. The acid released during the cooking process of the vegetable reacts with polymers and causes chemical reactions. This leads to the release of compounds that negatively affect the body.

Containers made of stainless steel and other metals are also not used. Sour cabbage juice oxidizes the metal, which leads to a change in the taste of the snack for the worse.

In addition to the bucket, you will need oppression to ferment the cabbage. A stone or a water bottle will do. Weights and other metal objects should not be used, as juice that gets on them will lead to oxidation of the material.

It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of how much cabbage ferments in a bucket at room temperature. This process usually takes 4 to 8 days. It all depends on the products chosen and the recipe used for pickling.

To prepare delicious sauerkraut, consider some of the nuances:

1. Gases are formed during the fermentation of cabbage. They are released by piercing a mixture of chopped vegetables every day in different places to the full depth. If you do not do this, then the snack will turn out sour or bitter.
2. To understand that the fermentation process is proceeding correctly, they look closely at the surface of the salad. If foam or bubbles appear on top, then all cooking conditions have been met.
3. During the fermentation process, vegetables produce juice. The cooking process ends when practically no liquid is released.
4. Before stopping the sourdough process, the salad is tasted. If it is not acidic enough, then it is left in a warm place for another 1-2 days, even if the time for sourdough indicated in the recipe has expired.
5. The readiness of the cabbage is determined by its color. The fermented product has a yellowish or pale orange tint.
6. It is believed that the most delicious appetizer is fermented for the growing moon.
7. In the hot season, cabbage winter salad is not prepared. The best time is the first frost.

In a cool place, cabbage will also ferment, but then it will not turn out so crispy, and it will take more than 2 weeks to cook.

Preparation of ingredients

The quality of sauerkraut largely depends on the correct selection and preparation of the ingredients. Before fermentation, all vegetables and fruits are washed, cleaned of dirt and seeds.

Containers and oppression are also washed.Some housewives recommend pouring boiling water over the container.

Spoiled products are not used for salting. All ingredients must be strong, free from rot, mold and disease. For this dish, fruits with cut off spoiled parts are not suitable.

Choosing cabbage

The taste of sauerkraut in a bucket depends not only on the recipe, but also on the main ingredient. If you choose the wrong head of cabbage, then the appetizer will turn out to be soft and peroxide:

1. Colour. For pickling, choose white varieties of cabbage. The color should be as uniform as possible. Loose green heads will not work.
2. Grade. Late varieties of vegetables are best suited for pickling. Such heads of cabbage will turn out to be crispy and will be stored for a long time. Late cabbage leaves are coarse and tough, but when fermented they soften, becoming more tender without losing crunch. Mid-season varieties are also suitable, but they will be stored less and will turn out to be less crispy.
3. Dimensions. It is more profitable to choose large heads of cabbage, since the pith in the whole cabbage is about the same size. Large heads of cabbage will have much more leaves.
4. Quality. It is important that the cabbage is not frozen over. If the top leaves on the heads of cabbage have a greenish tint, then the vegetable is suitable for pickling. If they are snow-white, the top leaves were damaged, and the seller cut them off. The selected head of cabbage must be firm, free from damage, traces of disease, mold and rot.

Other additives

A number of other ingredients are used to ferment cabbage.

Salt to prepare a winter snack, it should be a regular dining room (coarse grinding). Iodized seasoning will soften the vegetables and make them crunchy. It is easy to oversalt the workpiece with fine salt.

To make the cabbage crispy, ingredients containing tannins are added to it. Usually use oak leaves or horseradish... These additives change the flavor of the snack (usually for the better).

In most cases, in addition to cabbage, carrots are added to the snack. It gives a pleasant sweetish taste and a beautiful light orange color.

Such a salad is combined with various fruits and berries... Often added to salads cranberry, apples, plums, lingonberries, pepper, dill.

Cooking recipes

There are many recipes for making sauerkraut. Some of them contain a minimum of ingredients and have a classic taste, while others contain unexpected additives and have an unusual aroma.

Classic recipe with cranberries

Sauerkraut for the winter in a bucket according to the classic recipe with cranberries turns out delicious and unusual. The sour taste of the salad goes well with the tart berry aroma. In addition, cranberries contain benzoic acid, which prolongs the shelf life of the product.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 5 kg;
• salt - 100 g;
• cranberries - 200 g;
• carrots - 200 g.

This amount of ingredients is enough for a 5L bucket. To ferment a 10 liter bucket of vegetables, the amount of food is doubled.

Here's how to ferment cabbage with cranberries for the winter in a bucket:

1. The cabbage is washed and the top leaves are removed. A stump is cut from a head of cabbage. After that, the cabbage leaves are chopped, cutting them into thin long cubes.
2. Peel, wash and grind carrots on a coarse grater.
3. Carrots, cabbage and salt are mixed in a separate container. While stirring, the vegetables are crumpled with your hands so that the juice stands out and the ingredients absorb the salt. The resulting mass is divided into 4 parts.
4. Clean cabbage leaves are placed at the bottom of the bucket. Then ¼ of the cabbage-carrot mixture is poured and tamped thoroughly.
5. Cranberries are washed, separated from the twigs. All rotten or dull berries are removed.
6. A third of the berries are poured into a bucket. ¼ the cabbage mixture is spread over the berries. This layer is also carefully tamped.
7. The ingredients are alternated in this way until they are all in the bucket. There should be a cabbage layer on top.
8. A wooden round stand or plate is placed on top of the vegetables, on which the load is placed.

In this recipe, cranberries can be replaced with lingonberries or viburnum.

With apples

This is an old Russian way of salting cabbage. Apples retain vitamins with this method of harvesting for the winter. Both ingredients have an unusual tart fruity flavor that goes well with any hot dish.

Ingredients:

• apples - 1 kg;
• salt - 6 tbsp. l .;
• cabbage - 5 kg;
• large carrots - 2 pcs.

Only green apples are suitable for this recipe. It is best to use Antonovka.

A step-by-step recipe for fermenting cabbage with apples:

1. The cabbage is washed and cut into strips. Peel and chop carrots on a coarse grater.
2. The vegetables are mixed on the table. Salt is added to them. The ingredients are crumpled with your hands to make the juice stand out.
3. The apples are cut into quarters. Peel off the tails, cut out the core.
4. Stir with cabbage in a separate container. The mixture is placed in a bucket and tamped.
5. Cover the salad with a lid and put oppression on top. The cabbage is left at room temperature for 48 hours.

Dry fermentation

The dry method of pickling cabbage is the most common. This cooking option does not involve the use of brine. This allows the salad to last longer.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 10 kg;
• carrots - 1 kg;
• salt - 10-12 tbsp. l.

Sour salad at room temperature.

How to salt cabbage in a simple dry way:

1. The cabbage is chopped into thin strips. Peel and chop carrots on a coarse grater.
2. The ingredients are mixed on the table. Salt is added to them. The vegetables are crumpled by hand, mixing them with salt until the juice comes out.
3. The salad is moved into a bucket by tamping. A lid is placed on top and oppression.

The denser the cabbage is tamped into the bucket, the more crisp the salad will be. Neglecting oppression will make the salad soft and without the characteristic crunch.

Advice! Some housewives grind carrots for Korean salads. This makes the appetizer look prettier.

Whole heads of cabbage

The most ancient method is considered to be pickling cabbage with whole heads of cabbage. Previously, it was so salted in a barrel, now a bucket is used for this.

Ingredients:

• cabbage heads - 10 kg;
• salt - 400 g;
• water - 10 liters.

For this recipe, small strong heads of cabbage without traces of mold, rot and other damage are suitable. It is important to know the origin of the vegetables, since in this recipe, the stalk, which often contains nitrates, is not removed.

Here's how to pickle whole cabbage with cabbage:

1. The forks are washed, peeled from the top green leaves. If desired, they are cut into halves or quarters.
2. The bottom of the bucket is covered with cabbage leaves. Then the heads of cabbage are laid. They are covered with leaves from above.
3. Prepare the brine. To do this, dissolve salt in warm water. Wait until the brine cools down, after which it is poured into a bucket with heads of cabbage.
4. Cover the cabbage with a lid or a round wooden support. Oppression is installed on top.

Some housewives add grated carrots or lingonberries with cranberries to a bucket of cabbages. An assortment of shredded and whole cabbage is prepared.

Important! When using this recipe, the heads of cabbage will have to stand indoors for at least 5 days.

Cold sourdough method with saline

Some housewives believe that it is easiest to ferment cabbage in brine. In this case, it turns out to be crisper, but it is stored less.

Ingredients:

• water - 5 l;
• cabbage - 10 kg;
• salt - 15 tbsp. l .;
• sugar - 10 tbsp. l .;
• allspice - 1 tbsp. l .;
• carrots - 4 pcs.;
• dill seeds - 1 tbsp. l.

Allspice and dill are added as desired. If the taste of these spices is unpleasant, do without them.

Cooking method:

1. The cabbage is thinly chopped. Peel and chop carrots on a coarse grater.
2. The vegetables are mixed in a large bowl. Allspice and dill seeds are added.
3. All ingredients are mixed and crumpled until juice is released from them.
4. Brine is prepared from warm water, sugar and salt. The mixture is stirred until complete dissolution.
5. After the brine has cooled, it is poured into the salad. The liquid should completely cover the vegetables.
6. A lid or circle is placed on the salad and oppressed.

The cabbage will be ready in 3 days. Store it in brine.

With horseradish root

The combination of cabbage and horseradish is unusual.It will appeal to lovers of spicy notes in classic dishes. Horseradish will keep the salad longer.

Ingredients:

• salt - 10 tbsp. l .;
• sugar - 400 g;
• water - 7.5 l;
• bay leaf - 15 pcs.;
• horseradish root - 0.5 kg;
• carrots - 1 kg;
• black peppercorns - 30 pcs.

This recipe involves fermenting vegetables in brine. The dry method is not suitable in this case.

Recipe for sauerkraut with horseradish:

1. Cabbage is peeled from the upper leaves and subtly chic. Peel, wash and grind carrots and horseradish.
2. The vegetables are mixed. Peppercorns and bay leaves are added to them.
3. Prepare the brine. To do this, add salt and sugar to the water. The brine is stirred until the salt is completely dissolved.
4. Salt is poured with sweet-salty brine. Cover the bucket with a lid.

The use of oppression is optional in this recipe. The appetizer will be ready in 3-4 days.

Pickled in brine

To taste sauerkraut, you don't have to wait a few days for it to cook. In hot brine, a popular crunchy snack is cooked in a few hours.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 10 kg;
• water - 10 l;
• carrots - 2 kg;
• garlic - 6 heads;
• salt - 20 tbsp. l .;
• sugar - 2 kg;
• vinegar - 800 ml.

This snack has a shelf life of several weeks. Housewives believe that the longer it stands, the tastier it becomes.

How to make hot brine cabbage appetizer:

1. The cabbage is thinly chopped. Carrots are washed, peeled and chopped on a coarse grater.
2. The cabbage and carrots are mixed. Finely chopped garlic is added to the vegetables.
3. Prepare the brine. To do this, add sugar and salt to the water. The mixture is brought to a boil, after which vinegar is poured into it.
4. The salad is allowed to stand on the table for 2 hours, after which it is put into the refrigerator. The salad will be ready the next day.

Sauerkraut with tomatoes, peppers and zucchini

The sauerkraut assortment turns out to be tasty and unusual. This is a real salad that does not need to be supplemented with other ingredients. It is enough to add oil to the appetizer and serve.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 7 kg;
• tomatoes - 1 kg;
• pepper - 1 kg;
• carrots - 4 kg;
• zucchini - 1 kg;
• greens - a bunch;
• garlic - 2 heads;
• water - 10 l;
• salt - 20 tbsp. l.

Those who don't like garlic can remove it from the recipe.

Method of preparing cabbage salad with peppers, tomatoes and zucchini:

1. The cabbage is thinly chopped. Chop the carrots on a coarse grater. Zucchini - grated for Korean carrots. Cut the pepper into thin strips. Tomatoes are peeled from seeds and cut into half rings.
2. The vegetables are mixed. Chopped herbs and garlic are added to them.
3. Dissolve salt in water. The resulting brine is poured over vegetables. They put oppression on top.

Workpiece storage rules

Sauerkraut is stored throughout the winter. It is placed in the basement or refrigerator. To avoid the appearance of mold, mustard plasters are placed on top.

It is not necessary to store the snack in the bucket in which it was fermented. For convenience, it is laid out in smaller glass or enameled containers. Salad cannot be stored in plastic.

Conclusion

Sauerkraut is an old Russian dish. It is incredibly healthy and is considered one of the main sources of vitamin C and other trace minerals.

Preparing such a snack is not difficult. The main thing is to follow all the rules and follow the recipe. Among the many options for a must, there is one that will suit your taste.