How to cook sauerkraut with rye flour properly

It would seem that it could be easier to prepare sauerkraut: chop vegetables, put in a jar and after a while enjoy a delicious snack. But to make the product really crispy and sharp, the cabbage is fermented in a special way recipeadding the secret ingredient - rye flour.

Selection and preparation of main ingredients

To get a tasty and healthy sauerkraut snack, you should take responsibility for the selection and preparation of the main ingredients. Many housewives advise to choose mid-season cabbage with white leaves and a high content of juice, as well as sucrose, fructose, glucose. It is the presence of a sufficient amount of sugars that starts the fermentation process and has a positive effect on the taste of the workpiece.

Attention! Not suitable for classic recipes early varieties with green upper leaves, as well as late ones, characterized by the presence of characteristic bitterness and hardness of leaf blades.

Heads of cabbage are selected of high quality, without traces of rot, leaf discoloration, visible damage and an unpleasant odor. Before cutting, they are washed under running water, left on the table for a while so that the glass is liquid, then shredded. Peeled and washed carrots are rubbed on a coarse grater.

Containers for fermentation are chosen glass, enameled, wooden. Any volume is suitable - the main thing is to observe the proportions of products and follow the recommendations for cooking.

Why is rye flour in the recipe, what does it give

In the old days, to speed up the fermentation process, pieces of rye bread were placed in tubs with chopped cabbage. Currently, housewives put in rye flour, and after 6-7 days they get the finished product. This additive makes the cabbage spicy, harsh in taste with unobtrusive sour notes.

How to make sauerkraut with rye flour - a classic recipe

For pickling, they take pre-harvested cabbage of their own harvest or forks of mid- and late-ripening varieties bought in a store (on the market).

The amount of the main ingredient in the recipe is changed at your discretion, maintaining the ratio with other products so as not to disturb the balanced taste.

For the preparation you will need:

• cabbage - 5 kg;
• carrots - 280-300 g;
• salt - 100-120 g;
• rye flour - 4-5 tbsp. l.

Many housewives share recipes for sauerkraut, where the exact amount of salt is not indicated and recommend salt "by eye". In order not to spoil the taste of pickled vegetables.

Attention! It is generally accepted that the optimal amount of salt is the ratio of 20 g per 1 kg of shredded cabbage.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. The top green leaves are removed from the cabbage, the head is washed, chopped and put into a deep wide dish.
2. Sprinkle with salt, rub with hands until the juice is released.
3. Carrots are peeled, washed, chopped on a coarse grater, sent to a bowl and mixed with cabbage.
4. Sprinkle the bottom of the container with 2 tbsp. l. rye flour.
5. Several whole cabbage leaves are placed on top, which will protect the cabbage mass from peroxidation and the formation of mucus and other unpleasant surprises.
6. Fill the container with chopped cabbage, tamping tightly. Having reached the middle, scatter another 1-2 tbsp on the surface of the chopped vegetables. l. flour.
7. Place the remaining vegetables in a container, not filling up to the top for a few centimeters. The place is left for the juice that is released during fermentation.
8. Sprinkle with rye flour on top, cover with several whole cabbage leaves.
9. Cover the cabbage with gauze, set the oppression, and leave at room temperature for fermentation.
10. A container is placed under the dishes so that the resulting juice does not spread.
11. After about a day, foam appears on the surface - this indicates the beginning of the fermentation process. From this moment and until the foam settles, the cabbage is pierced with a wooden stick in several places twice a day to release the resulting gas. Thus, the released juice will be evenly distributed over the container and the vegetables will be salted.
12. After three days from the beginning of fermentation, juice is poured into the cabbage, which flowed out during the fermentation process, the snack is removed to a cold place.
13. After 2-3 days the crispy, "harsh" cabbage is ready for use.

Recipe variations

There are many variations of recipes that provide an excellent appetizer with a spicy taste, which is suitable both as a standalone dish and as an ingredient for salads, first and second courses.

Crispy cabbage with flour

To make kale really crispy, there is one proven way - add mustard to the snack.

For cooking you will need:

• cabbage - 2.5 kg;
• carrots - 120-140 g;
• salt - 50 g;
• mustard powder - 50 g;
• rye flour - 2-3 tbsp. l.

Preparation method:

1. Shredded cabbage is placed in a large deep bowl, mixed with salt, and kneaded by hands.
2. While the cabbage mass is letting in the juice, grate the carrots on a coarse grater and send them to the cabbage in a bowl.
3. The bottom of the dishes is sprinkled with mustard powder in a thin layer, then the container is filled with cabbage, tamping well.
4. Having reached the middle, sprinkle the cabbage with a layer of flour, then apply the container to the top.
5. Sprinkle with rye flour on top, cover with a cloth dipped in water with mustard, set oppression.
6. Leave the container with vegetables at room temperature for 2-3 days, during which the cabbage mass is pierced with a wooden stick.
7. When foaming has decreased, the snack is stored in a cold storage area.

The mustard will prevent the build-up of putrefactive bacteria and make the snack tasty and crispy.

With caraway seeds and carrots

Carrots make the appetizer beautiful, bright, and caraway gives a special flavor.

• white cabbage - 3-4 kg;
• caraway seeds - 5-10 g;
• carrots - 2-3 pcs.;
• salt - 2.5-3 tbsp. l .;
• sugar - 50-60 g;
• rye flour - 2-3 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

1. The washed peeled head of cabbage is cut and put into a bowl.
2. Carrots are grated on a coarse grater and placed in a bowl with cabbage mass.
3. Sprinkle the mixture with sugar, salt, knead with your hands until the cabbage becomes softer and does not let out the juice.
4. Sprinkle vegetables with caraway seeds, stir well.
5. Several whole cabbage leaves are spread on the bottom of the dish, the cabbage mass is tamped, sprinkled with flour in the middle.
6. Put oppression on top, cover the container with gauze, put it in a bowl in case excess juice forms, leave it for fermentation at room temperature.
7. A day after fermentation starts, pierce the workpiece with a stick to release the gas. Repeat the procedure for 3-4 days until fermentation slows down.
8. When the fermentation process stops, the released juice is added to the container and sent to storage in a cold place.

Terms and conditions of storage

Cabbage is considered ready to eat after an average of six days, depending on the temperature at which it is fermented. Store the snack at a temperature not exceeding 5 ° C in a dark place.

Term storage is up to eight months. It is convenient for residents of city apartments to store a snack on the balcony from autumn until the onset of severe frosts. Even if the cabbage freezes, this does not impair its taste and does not reduce its beneficial properties.

For easy storage, the workpiece is packaged in packages and stored in a bucket or saucepan.

Tips from experienced housewives

Use the advice of experienced housewives so as not to spoil the taste of sauerkraut:

1. Do not fill the container to the very top - leave 5-10 cm for the released juice. If the cabbage turned out to be too juicy for the container, place a pallet. The juice leaked out during fermentation is poured into the snack jar before being removed to a cold place.
2. To tamp the cabbage mass well, use a potato crush or a small bottle of water. Place the cabbage as tightly as possible, as the air in the harvest will reduce the quality of fermentation and make the product soft.
3. During fermentation foam is formed - this is a normal process. Remove the foam with a clean spoon throughout the fermentation period, otherwise the product will become bitter.
4. The mold formed on the brine surface is removed, and the oppression, the cloth and the lid are washed with boiling water.
5. For cooking, heads of cabbage are chosen with a flattened shape, such leaves are thin, juicy and most suitable for harvesting for future use.
6. Whole cabbage leaves, laid on top of the shredded ones, help determine how well the fermentation process is proceeding and save the entire snack in case of browning.

Reviews

Experienced housewives and hosts share their impressions of cooking sauerkraut with rye flour.

Svetlana, Perm: «My grandmother taught me how to add rye flour when fermenting cabbage, I have been cooking in this way for many years and I advise everyone. The cabbage turns out to be really crispy, sweet and sour, and aromatic. It is eaten quickly, I add it to vinaigrette, salads, cabbage soup, and I just serve it with potatoes and mushrooms. "

Nikolay, Sergiev Posad: “Sour cabbage, adding rye flour and caraway seeds. This appetizer has not left anyone indifferent. It takes a little time to cook, but in the refrigerator there is always delicious, spicy, aromatic cabbage.

Angelina, Crimea: “At first I didn’t believe that flour could give crispy properties to cabbage until I tried it. Now I ferment only according to this recipe. "

Conclusion

Cabbage is fermented both in glass jars and in wooden tubs. The main thing is to choose quality products and a suitable variety. If the fermentation was carried out in compliance with all the rules, after only a week, delicious, sharp and crispy cabbage appears on the table.