How to prepare sauerkraut with honey for the winter is tasty and simple

Sauerkraut with honey is a recipe that will not leave anyone indifferent. Vigorous, crispy, juicy, with a spicy note of honey, cabbage will become a favorite snack on the table. The delicious aroma of the dish provokes an appetite even for little ones, and the sweetish pickle is used as a separate drink.

Pickled vegetables are a real storehouse of trace elements and vitamins, necessary to maintain health in the winter. Consider cooking options.

Selection and preparation of main ingredients

To ferment cabbage, choose late white cabbage varieties. The process of fermentation of a vegetable occurs due to the presence of lactic acid in it, which is rich in natural sugar. It is the late varieties that have a suitable composition.

The head of cabbage should be juicy, strong, not lethargic. Examine it from all sides to make sure there is no rot on the sheets.

Choose carrots, as the second most important ingredient, with the same care. Juicy, strong and sweet - such a root vegetable will be appropriate in a dish.

Why is honey in the recipe, what does it give

Honey is a natural preservative and antiseptic. If you add bee product to cabbage during fermentation, the finished dish will be be kept longer, while its beneficial properties will only increase.

Reference. Honey is rich in potassium, iron, copper, and other trace elements. They are treated for anemia, colds, cough.

How to cook sauerkraut with honey

To prepare blank according to the classic recipe, for a 3-liter jar you will need:

• medium cabbage - 1 pc .;
• medium carrots - 2 pcs.;
• filtered water - 1.5 l;
• table salt - 3.5 tbsp. l .;
• liquid honey - 1.5 tbsp. l.

Step by step instructions for cooking:

1. Peel the head of cabbage from external leaves, spoiled or too coarse. If there is rot, cut with a knife.
2. Rinse the vegetable under running water, dry with a paper towel.
3. Grind with a shredder knife. Transfer to a large enamel bowl free of chips and rust.
4. Peel the carrots, rinse, grate on a coarse grater.
5. Add it to the cabbage and stir.
6. Press down the vegetable mixture with a plate, on which you put a jar of water, so that the vegetables let the juice out and crumble. In this form, it is more convenient to transfer the slicing into the final container for fermentation.
7. Prepare brine: mix water and salt. Boil, cool. Then add honey. Mix the resulting liquid.
8. Fill the washed 3-liter jar tightly with vegetable slices, pour brine on top. Make sure that the brine drains to the very bottom of the jar.
9. Close the jar with a polyethylene lid, leaving a small gap for oxygen supply.
10. Place the container in a dark place at room temperature for a day.
11. After a day, open the jar and prick the mixture with a fork. So extra bitterness will leave her.
12. Close the lid and put away again for a day.
13. Try with a fork on readiness. If the dish is fermented, put it in the refrigerator for storage.

According to this recipe, cabbage is delicious as a separate dish and as an addition to borscht or vinaigrette.

Recipe variations

If you don't have much time or you want to try a new taste of a familiar dish, you should pay attention to different versions of the sauerkraut recipe.

Pickled with instant honey

The recipe will help housewives achieve the desired result in just a day.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 1 pc.;
• carrots - 1 pc.;
• salt - 2 tbsp. l .;
• honey - 1 tbsp. l .;
• water - 1.5 l.

How to cook:

1. Wash the vegetables and dry with a paper towel.
2. Chop vegetables on a special grater or with a knife. Stir, but do not crush.
3. Store tightly in a 3 liter jar almost to the very edge.
4. Boil water and cool.
5. Gradually pour in the vegetable mixture, waiting for the water to go down to the very bottom of the jar.
6. Put salt and honey on the cabbage.
7. Put the jar in a deep large plate or bowl (vegetables will begin to release juice, if the container is not deep enough, it will drain over the edge).
8. Leave in a dark place at room temperature.
9. In exactly one day, the dish will be ready to eat.

To improve the taste, add onions and sunflower oil before serving.

With honey and apples

Ingredients:

• white cabbage - 2 kg;
• fresh carrots - 200 g;
• sweet and sour apples - 200 g;
• honey - 2 tbsp. l .;
• salt - 4 tbsp. l.

To get a rich dish with a slight hint of sweet and sour taste, choose hard, not red apple varieties - the Simirenko variety is suitable.

Cooking algorithm:

1. Wash cabbage, carrots and apples. Remove the top damaged leaves from the head of cabbage, chop it into long strips. Grind the carrots.
2. Remove the core from the apples, but leave the peel. Cut the fruit into thin slices.
3. Put the cabbage in a deep bowl, add salt, honey and knead, not forgetting to crush well. She will secrete juice, the more liquid she gives, the better.
4. Add carrots to the slices, mix. Add apples and mix again, but very carefully, being careful not to damage the shape of the slices.
5. When the mixture has let in a sufficient amount of juice, install a press on the cabbage (you can use a jar filled with water). The vegetables should be completely covered in juice. Place the container in a dark place at room temperature.
6. Pierce food with a wooden stick up to 6 times daily to release excess gas and bitterness. If foam appears, remove.
7. After 3-4 days the dish will be ready - place it in the refrigerator for safekeeping.

Spicy with honey

Horseradish will add piquancy and pungency to the dish; such sauerkraut will suit lovers of fiery tastes.

Ingredients:

• white cabbage - 1.5 kg;
• horseradish root - 100 g;
• salt - 1 tbsp. l .;
• honey - 4 tbsp. l.

How to cook:

1. Wash and chop the head of cabbage. Wash horseradish, peel and grate on a fine grater. Then mix the chopped vegetables, add honey and salt. Knead gently so that the cabbage does not release juice.
2. Put the mixture in a dense layer in an enamel bowl, cover with clean gauze, place a weight on top in the form of a can of water.
3. Place the container in a warm, dark place, periodically to pierce contents with a wooden stick. In this position, it should be 3-4 days.
4. When the brine in the sauerkraut brightens, the dish can be transferred to a clean glass jar and stored in the refrigerator.

In honey marinade with salt

In this interpretation, the pickle and the cabbage itself are spicy.

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of cabbage;
• 2 pcs. medium carrots;
• salt - 2 tbsp. l .;
• honey - 1 tbsp. l .;
• cumin - 1 tbsp. l .;
• water - 1 l.

Recipe:

1. Wash, chop, mix vegetables. Place in an enamel bowl, but do not tamp too much.
2. Prepare the brine separately. Add salt and honey to warm boiled water. Pour brine over vegetables, add cumin. Caraway seeds can be replaced with dill seeds.
3. It is not worth pressing down with a load, the brine will not evaporate in two days. It is recommended to only occasionally pierce the cabbage with a stick to release gases and bitterness.
4. Leave the dishes with the mixture in a warm place out of the sun. After 2 days, the dish is ready - it is moved to a cold place.

With honey and vinegar

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 2 pcs. large or 5 pcs. shallow;
• vinegar 9% - 25 ml;
• salt - 1.5 tbsp. l .;
• honey - 3 tbsp. l .;
• water - 1.5 l.

Remove all soiled and spoiled leaves from the fork, wash and chop with a thin strip using a special shredder or an ordinary kitchen knife. Salt the chopped vegetable, mix, insist for 2 hours.

When the juice comes out, drain. Transfer the slices to an enamel bowl.

While the cabbage is infused, prepare the brine. Dissolve honey in water, add vinegar. Stir and pour into slices.

Press down the cabbage with a load and leave in a warm, dark place for 2 days. Pierce periodically, releasing gas.

When ready, transfer the product to a jar and place in the refrigerator.

Marinated with honey

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 1 pc.;
• carrots - 2-3 pcs.;
• bell peppers - 3 pcs.;
• salt - 2 tbsp. l .;
• honey - 3 tbsp. l .;
• apple cider vinegar 9% - 250 ml;
• seasonings to taste - bay leaf, nutmeg, black peppercorns.

Chop the cabbage, grate the carrots, cut the pepper into thin strips. Prepare the brine: boil water with salt and seasonings, add vinegar. Mix vegetables, put in a deep bowl, pour boiling brine. When the brine has cooled, add honey to the mixture.

Duration of cooking pickled cabbage with honey - 12 hours. Then transfer the finished dish to a jar and place in a cold place.

Terms and conditions of storage

Like all ready-made meals, sauerkraut has certain terms and conditions of storage:

1. If a prepare in wooden barrels for the winter - the product will be usable for at least 8 months.
2. Cabbage in a glass jar can be stored and consumed within 2 weeks of being ready.
3. If the product is stored not in the refrigerator, but on the balcony (the air temperature reaches + 10 ° C) - the maximum shelf life is no more than 5 days.
4. When storing the product in a bag in the refrigerator, the maximum period is 7 days.

Recommended storage temperature –1… + 4 ° C.

To extend the shelf life of the product in glass, pour 2 cm over the top of the dish with vegetable oil. Then bacteria will not be able to get inside.

Tips from experienced housewives

Recommendations from experienced chefs:

1. If you let the dish steep in the refrigerator for several days after cooking, the delicate bouquet of sauerkraut will really open up.
2. Carrots can be chopped on a coarse grater or cut into slices. In the first case, she will give the cabbage a little color, make it pale pink. In the second, the slices will remain white.
3. The addition of bay leaf and black peppercorns will give the dish a light pungency, aroma and piquant taste.
4. To keep honey's healing properties, do not add it to hot water. Otherwise, beneficial elements will be destroyed, and compounds hazardous to health will appear in the nectar.
5. It is recommended to pierce the mixture during the fermentation process with a wooden stick, so the acid will not react with the metal (in case the hostess decides to pierce the mixture with an ordinary fork).
6. Sour cabbage only in a whole enamel or glass container.

Reviews

The hostesses speak positively about the recipes for cabbage with honey and share their experience.

Maria, Moscow: “The whole family loves my recipe for sauerkraut. The secret of the preparation is to add a few sheets of lavrushka and black peppercorns. It would seem that seasonings are universal and often used in Russian cuisine. But it is thanks to them that the sweet taste of honey and cabbage sourness are emphasized. "

Klavdia Stepanovna, Perm: “I like to cook a lot at once, in large quantities. I use a wooden barrel for fermentation. She is one and my favorite. The taste of cabbage turns out to be breathtaking, real! I believe that such a container is the most correct and natural. "

Olga, Vladivostok: “Sugar is often recommended for fermentation. This is a classic recipe. But I use honey and I think that this is the most correct way. The cabbage turns out to be spicy, and what is most important - vitaminized. "

Conclusion

There are dozens of recipes for sauerkraut with honey.Can be cooked with apples or vinegar, in pure honey marinade, or pickled with honey and spices. Everything is limited only by the imagination of the hostess.

Be sure to try one of our proposed recipes: sauerkraut with honey - a dish that will not only delight you with excellent taste, but also support immunity in the autumn-winter period.