The most delicious recipes for sauerkraut in a tub - lick your fingers!

Salted cabbage in wooden tubs is a snack for lovers of Russian cuisine. It is prepared according to a traditional recipe, garlic, cranberries or horseradish... The cabbage is crispy and flavorful and retains its benefits. The appetizer is served on the table with side dishes, soups and black bread.

In the article, we will consider in detail the popular recipes for sauerkraut in a tub and find out in which container it is better to ferment it.

Selection and preparation of cabbage for sourdough

For the starter culture, choose small healthy heads of cabbage with white leaves, firm and firm, without spots and dark stripes. When buying, the head of cabbage is inspected from all sides, checked for damage and defects. It is better to use mid-season varieties - they are stored for a long time and do not lose their nutritional properties. Housewives choose the varieties Gift, Slava, Dobrovodskaya, Megaton, Merchant.

Before sourdough, the vegetable is washed under cool running water, the top leaves are removed and the stump is removed. Experienced culinary experts do not throw away the leaves, but freeze them in the freezer and use them later to make stuffed cabbage rolls.

The head of cabbage is cut into several parts, each of which is chopped with a knife, chopped on a special grater for vegetables or processed through a food processor.

Container preparation

The shelf life of the product and its taste depend on the preparation of the container. Wooden tubs and barrels are poured with boiling water before sourdough and covered with a lid for 15 minutes. After that, they drain and fill in clean cold water for 20 days, changing it every 3 days. The water is drained, after drying, the barrel is fumigated with sulfur and washed thoroughly.

Important! It is recommended to use oak tubs. They are resistant to mold and mildew, moisture and spillage. The tree gives off a tannin that is beneficial to humans. Oak also gives cabbage a pleasant flavor and woody aroma. Compact tubs take up little space and decorate any storage room or basement.

How to ferment cabbage in a tub correctly - a classic recipe

This appetizer is served for a dinner table or a festive celebration.

Ingredient List:

• 5 kg of cabbage;
• 1 kg of carrots;
• 3 liters of water;
• 200 g stone salt;
• cumin to taste.

Cooking technology:

1. Peel the cabbage from the upper leaves, remove the stump. Rinse whole and healthy leaves under cool water and set aside. Cut the head of cabbage into several pieces and chop finely with a knife.
2. Rinse the carrots, remove the peel. Grind on a medium grater and mix with cabbage. Massage the vegetable mixture with your hands and transfer to a deep basin.
3. Put whole cabbage leaves on the bottom of the tub or barrel, put chopped vegetables on top. Season with salt and add cumin.
4. Prepare brine: mix water with salt and pour into a tub.
5. Cover with leaves and put under load for 3-4 days in a warm place. After a day, foam forms on the surface.
6. Poke a snack daily with a wooden spatula to release gases and the process salting passed more evenly.
7. Bring the open tub to the air for a couple of hours before use. The appetizer is ready.

Recipe variations

Pickles come in various varieties. Spicy lovers add horseradish and garlic to the dish. Fans of sweet and sour taste - spicy and colorful cranberries. To make the appetizer tasty and healthy, you must observe recipe preparation and time of sourdough.

In armenian

Beetroot is used for cooking - it saturates the dish with useful substances and creates an appetizing purple-red color. Armenian sauerkraut is good both as an addition to the main course and as an independent snack.

Ingredients:

• 3 kg of cabbage;
• 500 g of beets;
• 600 g carrots;
• fresh herbs to taste;
• 3 red peppers;
• 5 bay leaves;
• 60 g of salt;
• 5 g cinnamon;
• 1.5 liters of water;
• 100 g of cherry leaves.

How to cook:

1. Prepare the brine: add salt, cinnamon, aromatic spices and herbs to taste to the water. Stir and send to the stove. Bring to a boil, add bay leaf and cool.
2. Rinse the vegetables, wipe dry. Peel the carrots and beets, cut into thin slices.
3. Put whole cabbage leaves and cherry leaves scalded with boiling water at the bottom of the tub. Place large pieces of cabbage on top.
4. Place carrots and beets between the rows, add chopped red pepper pods and garlic to taste, fresh herbs.
5. Cover with cabbage leaves on top, pour with brine and remove under oppression for 5 days in a warm place.
6. Transfer the tub for another 2 days to a cold place. Armenian cabbage is ready.

With cranberries

Such a snack will strengthen the immune system in the autumn-winter time, protect against the flu virus and colds.

What is required for cooking:

• 2 kg of cabbage;
• 300 g carrots;
• 200 g frozen cranberries;
• 5 g cumin;
• 40 g of salt;
• 10 g Sahara.

How to ferment:

1. Rinse the cabbage, remove the upper leaves and stump. Cut into several parts, chop each finely.
2. Peel, rinse and chop carrots. Do not defrost cranberries.
3. Sprinkle chopped cabbage with salt and sugar, rub with your hands. Add salt and caraway seeds, stir again. Add cranberries and carrots.
4. Put cabbage leaves on the bottom of the barrel, then - cabbage-carrot mixture with cranberries.
5. Cover with a clean napkin and lid, and place under a press. Remove to a warm place for 1.5 weeks, periodically pierce with a wooden spatula. If there is a lot of juice, scoop it out and pour it out.
6. During the fermentation process, vegetables should always be covered with brine. Winter vegetable salad with cranberries is ready.

With horseradish and garlic

Harvesting with horseradish and garlic is universal, suitable for any dishes: side dishes, soups and salads. Differs in piquant taste and rich aroma. What you need:

• 1 kg of cabbage;
• 300 g carrots;
• 10 g horseradish;
• 6 cloves of garlic;
• 1.5 liters of water;
• 60 g of salt;
• 40 g sugar;
• 5 black peppercorns;
• 10 ml vinegar;
• 3 black currant leaves;
• 5 cherry leaves.

How to cook:

1. Rinse the cabbage, chop and mash with your hands.
2. Peel the carrots, chop together with the horseradish root on a medium grater. Pass the garlic through a press. Mix ingredients.
3. Add salt, black peppercorns, vinegar and sugar to the water, mix.
4. Scald the black currant and cherry leaves with boiling water. Put on the bottom of the tub, put a layer of cabbage on top, then add horseradish and garlic, then carrots. Repeat the sequence one more time.
5. Cover the cabbage with cherry leaves and pour over the brine. Cover with a cloth and put under pressure for 4 days.
6. Pierce daily with a wooden spatula and remove foam. The cabbage is ready.

Whole heads of cabbage

Cabbage with heads of cabbage has a crisp taste - the pieces are evenly saturated with brine. Small specimens are chosen - the approximate weight of a head of cabbage is about 1-2 kg. Ingredient List:

• 1 kg of cabbage;
• 700 ml of water;
• 5 cloves of garlic;
• 100 g of salt.

How to cook:

1. Peel the head of cabbage, rinse the upper leaves. Cut large heads of cabbage into two parts, salt small ones whole.
2. Put cabbage leaves at the bottom of the tub, head of cabbage on top. Pour brine (water + salt), add peeled garlic cloves to the tub.
3. Cover with a napkin and a load, leave at room temperature for 7 days.
4. The cabbage is ready to eat.

Whole cabbage is sauteed with the addition of mushrooms, parsnips, carrots, beets, bell peppers.

How and with what to serve such cabbage

Spicy sauerkraut with garlic and horseradish is served with meat dishes - barbecue, cutlets, goulash.An excellent appetizer goes well with the delicacies of Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Korean cuisines. If you do not want or do not have time to cook dinner, then you can just have a snack with black bread or lavash with such cabbage. It turns out delicious and nutritious.

The dish is served with potato, vegetable, buckwheat and rice side dishes. Cabbage with cranberries goes well with fish, especially if you sprinkle it with lemon juice. Mushroom lovers prepare holiday salads, adding spicy ingredients.

Attention! The cabbage is cooled in the refrigerator before serving. An appetizer decorated with pine nuts, fresh herbs or lingonberries looks beautiful.

Terms and conditions of storage

Bulky wooden barrels are stored in a cellar or basement - they take up a lot of space. Compact tubs are placed in the refrigerator. Recommended air temperature is from 0 ° С to -4 ° С, air humidity is about 85%. You can not store tubs near the battery or in the sun - because of the heat, the cabbage will ferment and quickly deteriorate.

Experienced housewives recommend regularly inspecting the workpieces: if the brine is cloudy, you need to add sugar. It acts as a natural preservative and slows down the deterioration process. The snack is stored in wooden tubs for up to six months.

Tips from experienced housewives

In order for the preparations for the winter to retain their taste and benefits, we recommend following the advice of experienced housewives:

1. Sauerkraut is fermented in the fall - after harvest. The first cabbage from the garden is the most delicious and juicy, it is stored for a long time.
2. A clean stone or a three-liter jar of water is used as oppression.
3. To prepare the brine, coarse rock salt is used, iodized salt is not suitable - it will make the vegetables soft.
4. When fermenting whole cabbage, a cross-shaped incision is made on the head of cabbage - so the vegetable is salted evenly.
5. To crunch the cabbage, soak it in cold water for 30 seconds before shredding.
6. To protect the blanks from mold, horseradish leaves scalded with boiling water are placed on the bottom of the barrel.

Conclusion

To make the blanks juicy and healthy, it is recommended to ferment them in an oak tub. The oak is strong and has antiseptic properties. Harvested as whole heads of cabbage, and finely chopped. For taste and color, carrots or beets, fresh herbs or red peppers, cranberries or lingonberries are added to the dishes.

Cabbage is fermented under pressure, for this they use a clean stone and a napkin. During fermentation, vegetables are pierced with a wooden spatula - this is how gases come out. Store wooden tubs and barrels in a cellar, basement or refrigerator. Serve on the table with any vegetable, fish or meat dishes. Decorate with herbs, pieces of ginger, sesame seeds.