How to prepare delicious sauerkraut for the winter

Pickling is the most ancient way of preserving vegetables. The main preservative in this process is lactic acid, which is formed during fermentation. The compound prevents the spread of pathogenic microflora, gives vegetables a specific smell and taste. Vegetables are fermented in their own juice or in salt solution.

Choosing cabbage for harvesting

Harvesting of sauerkraut takes place in the fall, when ripe heads of cabbage - tight, hard and heavy. Mid- and late-ripening varieties are suitable, which have more sugar and vitamin C than early-ripening ones:

• mid-season Rinda variety with dense yellowish-white heads of cabbage on the cut weighing up to 3.7 kg;
• high-yielding variety Gift with flat-rounded, dense heads of cabbage weighing 3.5 kg;
• Belarusian cabbage 455 is considered the best for pickling, heads of cabbage are dense, do not crack, weighing up to 4 kg;
• late-ripening Moscow late 15 gives dense, large heads of cabbage weighing up to 5 kg;
• German Turkiz is resistant to diseases, has dense, small, white heads of cabbage, weighing up to 3 kg;
• Salting Miracle F1 - mid-season hybrid from Holland, juicy heads of cabbage, with a high sugar content, weighing up to 4.5 kg.

Cabbage should be fresh, crispy and sweet in taste, with the top leaves uncut... You can use white or red cabbage. If the leaves on the purchased head of cabbage are cut off, the vegetable may have been frozen. The vegetable should not have rotted spots that indicate fungal infection. Damaged leaves indicate pests on the vegetable.

Preparation for cooking begins with washing and peeling vegetables, cutting out the cabbage stump. The salt is used as rock salt; from iodized salt the heads of cabbage become soft.

Important! If a bay leaf is used in a recipe, it is soaked in cold water for the first time for 30 minutes, the second time for 10 minutes, and then rinsed with clean water.

The container is washed, dried, glass jars are sterilized for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 100 ° C or over steam. To do this, put an overlay with a hole for a can on a pot of hot water. The jar is placed on the pad before the water boils, so that it warms up gradually, and sterilized for 5 minutes from the moment the water boils. The sterilized jar is taken with a clean kitchen towel and placed with the neck down on another towel to cool. Both towels are ironed in advance on both sides with a hot iron.

Preparations from other vegetables:

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How to cook delicious sauerkraut properly

A classic quick recipe requires a minimum of food.

Ingredients for a three-liter can:

• cabbage - 3.2 kg;
• carrots - 1 pc.;
• salt - 3 tbsp. l .;
• sugar - 2 tbsp. l .;
• bay leaf - 2-3 pcs.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Head of cabbage is chopped, carrots are rubbed on a coarse grater, mixed with cabbage in a large container.
2. The vegetables are gently crumpled with your hands so that the cabbage gives juice, but remains crispy, add salt and sugar.
3. Vegetables are put in a clean dry jar in small layers, shifting them with bay leaves, each layer is tamped tightly by hand. The neck of the jar should be filled with juice, which rises to the top as the jar is filled.
4. During fermentation, cabbage will give a lot of juice, so the jar is placed in a container with high edges, covered with gauze and left to ferment at room temperature for 3 days. In the morning and in the evening, the workpiece is pierced in several places to the bottom with a wooden stick to release carbon dioxide.
5. On the fourth day, the jar is closed with a lid and placed in the refrigerator for storage.

Choice of containers

Small amounts of vegetables can be fermented in a glass jar or in enameled dishes without chips, and if you need a lot of cabbage, the best container is a linden or oak barrel. For a long time in Russia, vegetables were fermented in barrels and stored in a cellar; they did not lose their taste and useful properties throughout the winter.

Before fermentation, the barrel is poured with water for several days, the tree swells and small gaps between the boards are closed. After that, the barrel is washed with a solution of 35 g of soda in 12 liters of water, then three times doused with boiling water.

You can also ferment cabbage in a plastic bucket... Before this, the bucket is washed with soda, soaked for a day in clean water, then rinsed and dried. Sauerkraut is fermented until cooked, then transferred to glass jars.

Attention! The bucket should only be for food made of white or colorless plastic.

You cannot ferment vegetables in metal dishes.: during fermentation, the acid reacts with the metal, vegetables lose their taste and, instead of good, can harm the body.

Recipe variations

The most delicious and popular recipes that allow you to try a new taste of a familiar dish every year.

Like grandma

Traditional way of leavening.

Ingredients:

• white cabbage - 5 kg;
• carrots - 1 kg;
• salt - 100 g.

How to cook:

1. Prepared forks are finely chopped, carrots are rubbed on a coarse grater, vegetables are mixed with salt, gently kneading with hands.
2. Vegetables are placed in a jar, thoroughly tamped to the top, from above they should be completely covered with juice.
3. The jar is placed in a container with high edges, covered with gauze and left to ferment at room temperature for two days.
4. In the morning and in the evening, the cabbage is pierced in several places to the bottom with a wooden stick to release carbon dioxide.
5. On the second day, the jar is closed with a lid and placed in the refrigerator for storage.

No salt and sugar

The taste of finished cabbage is sour; it can be eaten with onions and oil or added to salads.

Ingredients for a three-liter can:

• white cabbage - 1 head of cabbage;
• boiled or filtered water - 1 glass.

How to cook:

1. The prepared head of cabbage is chopped with straws, tightly placed in a three-liter jar, 10 cm from the top of the jar are left empty, water is poured here and covered with a lid or gauze.
2. The jar is placed in a container with high edges and left to ferment at room temperature for three days.
3. In the morning and in the evening, the cabbage is pierced in several places to the bottom with a wooden stick to release carbon dioxide.
4. After that, the jar is closed with a lid and placed in the refrigerator for storage.

In Georgian

Pepper and garlic add a pungent spice to the cabbage.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 3 kg;
• beets - 2 pcs.;
• hot pepper - 1 pc.;
• garlic - 1 head;
• salt, sugar - 75 g each;
• water - 1.5 l.

How to cook:

1. Cut cabbage and peppers into large pieces, beets and garlic into thin slices.
2. Cabbage is tightly folded into a jar, shifting with pepper, beets and garlic, poured with boiled and cooled to a warm brine made of salt, sugar and water.
3. The jar is placed in a container with high edges, where the brine will flow from the jar and left to ferment at room temperature for 5-7 days.
4. Then the jar is closed with a lid and placed in the refrigerator for storage.

Read also:

How to pickle watermelons in jars

Recipes for salting eggplant for the winter in jars

With cranberries

Cranberries add sourness to the preparation and extend its shelf life. Cranberries can be replaced with lingonberries.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 5 kg;
• carrots - 1.5 kg;
• cranberries - 300 g;
• salt, sugar - 6 tbsp each l.

How to cook:

1. Prepared head of cabbage is finely chopped, carrots are rubbed on a coarse grater, vegetables are mixed with salt and sugar, gently kneading with hands until juice appears.
2. Cabbage is placed in jars, shifting with cranberries, to the top; on top, the vegetables should be completely covered with juice.
3. The cabbage is lightly crushed, rather than tamped, so as not to damage the cranberries.
4. Banks are placed in a container with high edges, covered with gauze and left to ferment at room temperature for 7 days.
5. In the morning and evening, vegetables are pierced in several places to the bottom with a wooden stick.
6. On the eighth day, the jars are closed with a lid and placed in the refrigerator for storage.

With apples

Apples give a sweet and sour taste and a pleasant aroma.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 1 kg;
• carrots - 1 pc.;
• apples - 1 pc.;
• salt - 20 g;
• sugar - 5 g.

How to cook:

1. Prepared cabbage is finely chopped, carrots are grated, the apple is peeled and cut into slices.
2. Vegetables and an apple are mixed with salt and sugar until juice appears, transferred to a jar, carefully tamping. The vegetables should be completely covered with juice on top.
3. The jar is placed in a container with high edges, covered with gauze and left to ferment at room temperature.
4. In the morning and in the evening, the cabbage is pierced in several places to the bottom with a wooden stick to release carbon dioxide.
5. After 3-4 days, the jar is closed with a lid and placed in the refrigerator for storage.

With beets

Beets add vitamins to the preparation and color the cabbage in a bright color.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 2.5 kg;
• beets - 400 g;
• black pepper - 3-5 peas;
• salt, sugar - 30 g each;
• water - 1 l.

How to cook:

1. Cabbage is cut into large pieces, beets are cut into thin slices. Vegetables are mixed in a jar, pepper is added.
2. Salt and sugar are dissolved in cold boiled water, vegetables are poured with brine, the jar is placed in a container with high edges, where the brine will flow from the jar and left to ferment at room temperature for 5-7 days.
3. Slightly stir the cabbage with a knife or wooden stick to release the gas.
4. After that, the jar is closed with a lid and placed in the refrigerator for storage.

Terms and conditions of storage

The beneficial properties and taste of sauerkraut are preserved only when correct storage:

1. The storage temperature should be + 2 ... + 5 ° С. At higher temperatures, the workpiece may not be stored. Also, cabbage is stored in the freezer in portioned containers.
2. During storage, a fungus may appear in the workpiece - a white bloom on top. For prevention, the preparation is sprinkled on top with dry mustard, granulated sugar or grated horseradish root.
3. To prevent the top layer of cabbage from darkening, the brine should be above it. If the brine is not enough, you can add it by stirring 1 tbsp. l. salt with a slide in 1 liter of boiled and chilled water.
4. The shelf life depends on the container: cabbage is stored in a refrigerator in a plastic container for no more than 6 days, in a glass jar - up to 2 months, in a freezer - 7-8 months.

Tips from experienced housewives

there is a few secrets to help in cooking sauerkraut:

• heads of cabbage should be dense;
• if vegetables are fermented in a bowl with a wide neck, oppression is placed on it in the form of a jar of water;
• if there is a lot of cabbage, you can use a special shredder;
• to make the cabbage sour, it is fermented for 8-9 days;
• if you ferment vegetables in a large container and put a whole head of cabbage inside, in winter you can make cabbage rolls from sauerkraut leaves;
• bubbles and foam that appear on the brine should be removed.

Conclusion

Preparing delicious sauerkraut for the winter is easy. The main ingredients are cabbage, carrots and salt, you can add other vegetables, fruits, berries, spices to taste. Before placing the vegetables in a jar, gently knead them with your hands until the cabbage yields juice. Store cabbage at a temperature not higher than + 5 ° C.