Delicious sauerkraut recipes without added sugar

Lack of sun, fresh vegetables, fruits and berries in winter often leads to vitamin deficiency. An easy way to provide the body with beneficial compounds - sauerkraut. It contains vitamins, macro- and microelements. There are several ways to prepare a nutritious snack.

In this article we will tell you about the best recipes sauerkraut without sugar.

Features of pickling cabbage

When pickling cabbage for the winter without sugar, lactic acid acts as a preservative. It is formed during fermentation. Lactic acid contributes to the preservation of crisp qualities and vitamins, and also saturates the cabbage with a sweet-sour piquant aroma.

There is no vinegar in the recipes, so the taste of the dishes is more delicate.

What are the benefits of a sugar-free starter culture

Often there is no salt in the sugar-free recipe... This type of starter has two main advantages.

1. First, sugar adds extra pounds. Its absence makes a delicious dietary snack.
2. Secondly, salt tends to retain fluid in the body. Thus, without these two ingredients, the beneficial properties of the vegetable are increased.

Subtleties of fermentation

To make the appetizer tasty and healthy, it is important to follow some simple rules:

1. Choose the right head of cabbage. Mid- and late-ripening varieties and hybrids are best suited for these purposes. For example, Slava, Atria-F1, Merchant's wife, Gift, Dobrovodskaya.
2. Do not use an aluminum container. Choose only enamel, wood or glassware.
3. Do not cut the cabbage into too thin slices.
4. If you decide to add salt to your ingredients, do not use iodized salt. Take coarse salt.
5. Do not freeze cabbage or sourdough more than once.

Selection and preparation of ingredients

Choose the right vegetable to keep its properties as long as possible.

1. Pay attention to the appearance: the cabbage should be fresh with tough white-green leaves.
2. Sluggish and unsightly vegetables with black, brown spots are not suitable for fermentation.
3. The head of cabbage should be heavy but compact.

Fresh, clean water is used for starter culture. A spring or well is ideal. If not, use bottled or filtered water.

Important! The fermentation processes and the shelf life of the snack directly depend on the quality of the water.

Tank preparation

Residents of private houses often ferment cabbage in large wooden barrels - such a snack will last until next year. City housewives prefer jars (three-liter) or enameled buckets.

Before the procedure, the selected container is thoroughly washed and sterilized.

Be sure to make sure that the container, be it a glass jar, a wooden barrel, an enamel bucket or a saucepan, have no cracks or chips - damage will significantly reduce the shelf life of the finished product.

Best Sugar Free Sourdough Recipes

There are several basic recipes for how to ferment cabbage without sugar.

In its own juice

This snack is recommended to be prepared in wooden barrels or tubs. The contents will be saturated with a woody scent and will become crisper. Barrels are stored in basements or cellars.

Ingredients:

• 800-900 g of cabbage;
• 200-250 g carrots.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Chop the head finely and remember with your hands.
2. Wash, peel and chop the carrots. Mix with kale and remember with your hands again.
3. Place the mixture in a deep container and tamp thoroughly. When the container is full, press down on the contents with a wooden spatula.
4. Leave for four days at room temperature, regularly piercing the ingredients with a wooden stick.
5. Cover with a nylon lid and place in the refrigerator.

Classic recipe

Salted cabbage is served slightly chilled. You can combine the dish with fried potatoes, vegetable garnish, pilaf or dumplings.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kg of fresh cabbage;
• 0.5 l of water;
• 300 g carrots.

Cooking method:

1. Grind the cabbage or cut into thin strips.
2. Chop the carrots and stir in the cabbage in a deep bowl.
3. Stir with your hands. The main thing is not to press hard, otherwise the vegetables will lose their juice and become soft.
4. Wash the jar and transfer the ingredients to it. Fill with cold water to the top.
5. Pierce the contents with a wooden stick in different places to release the gases.
6. Cover with a clean cloth or towel with a nylon lid on top.
7. Let it brew for 3 days, regularly (1-2 times a day) repeating the procedure with a wooden stick.
8. Close the jar tightly with a lid and store in the refrigerator.

With beets in brine without vinegar

A popular winter snack that retains its rich flavor and benefits all year round.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of cabbage;
• 180 ml of water;
• 350-400 g beets (variety Detroit or Marusya).

Cooking method:

1. Wash the head and remove the top leaves.
2. Chop the vegetable into 1 by 1 cm squares.
3. Wash, peel, and trim the beets. Rub it on a grater.
4. Place vegetables in an enamel bowl, cover with water and stir gently with your hands.
5. Leave the mass for two days at room temperature. Pierce the contents with a wooden stick once a day.
6. Place the ingredients in a pre-prepared glass jar and hold for a couple of days with a lid.
7. Close the container with a nylon lid and store it in the cellar or refrigerator.

With spices

For fermentation, a variety of spices are often used - it all depends on your personal preferences.

The standard recipe contains the following ingredients:

• 1.3 kg cabbage
• 400-500 g of carrots;
• 5 bay leaves;
• 30 g of cumin;
• 20-25 g of ground coriander;
• 5-6 peas of allspice;
• black pepper to taste.

Homemade sugar-free recipe:

1. Wash, peel the head of cabbage and remove the top leaves with the stalk. Chop finely.
2. Peel and grate the carrots. Mix with cabbage and add spices: pepper, cumin, coriander. Stir.
3. Place a few whole cabbage leaves on the bottom of a container (saucepan or enamel bucket).
4. Place the prepared mass on top and tamp it tightly. Place a weight on top so that the liquid comes out (for example, a basin).
5. Cover the container with a lid and store in a warm place for seven days.
6. Divide the mass into jars and store in the refrigerator.

Features of storage in a house or apartment

Sauerkraut is stored at temperatures ranging from 0 to + 4 ° C. If the indicators are higher, fermentation is more intense and the mass peroxides, less - the taste will be bland.

The starter culture is stored in a basement or cellar, where the air humidity does not exceed 85%. At home, cabbage is stored in the refrigerator.

Storage periods

The shelf life of a fermented snack is up to 12 months. If you have opened the can, it is recommended to eat the contents within a week.

Conclusion

Sauerkraut sugar-free is a healthy and dietary snack that is used both as a stand-alone salad and as an ingredient for other dishes. Cabbage, salted in a jar or fermented in an enamel container, keeps its benefits for up to a year.

This preparation has a bright, rich taste, makes up for the deficiency of vitamins and minerals in winter and early spring.