Making Sauerkraut In A Quart Jar

A few weeks ago my son in law took a business trip.  When he returned, he surprised me with a gift.  He knows I make kefir and believe in probiotics and fermented foods for a lot of reasons.  I have mentioned making sauerkraut for a long time, but I didn't want to mess with making large quantities in a crock.  He found a fun way to make sauerkraut in a wide mouth quart jar.

It is called the Kraut Source.  With this contraption, you can make sauerkraut in a week.  What you need to do is get a pound and a half head of cabbage.  Shred it as fine as you want your sauerkraut to be.  I used a fine shredder.  It was about the size you would use for coleslaw.  Then put it in a bowl and sprinkled with a tablespoon of sea salt.  At this point you mix it with your hands by massaging the cabbage until liquid starts to form.  Then you tightly pack it into the wide mouth jar.   Pack it tight with no air bubbles.  The liquid will rise to the top.  There should be about an inch of liquid covering the cabbage.  Most cabbage gives off enough liquid, but if a little more is needed you can add more brine made with salt and filtered water.

At this point you just assemble the kraut source lid according to the directions that come with it and secure it with the wide mouth ring.  Water is put in the top reservoir.  This specially designed top allows the carbon dioxide to escape as the cabbage ferments, but it doesn't let air into the jar which is what causes spoilage.  I waited ten days for the fermentation process to occur, but a week would be fine.

This is the finished product.  I think it will be excellent for Reuben sandwiches or whatever else a person uses sauerkraut for.  The benefits of fermented foods are so good that I will probably just eat a small amount plain everyday.  http://www.krautsource.com/blog/

There are also other videos on the kraut source page to see the actual process plus recipes for other things.

My next project will be to ferment veggies like carrots and cauliflower. I also want to try adding various herbs and spices to test out different flavors. I can't wait to see how that turns out.

Plain carrots waiting to ferment in a few days.

I didn't like the carrots.  There is something wrong with carrots that taste sour.  They actually went in compost pile.  I love making the sauerkraut and the Kraut Source is an awesome gadget.