Sauerkraut

also called kraut · sour cabbage · kapusta kiszona · kiszona kapusta · sauerkraut for reubens · fermented cabbage

The table

2 kg(4 1/2 lb; two large heads, cored, sliced as thin as a coin)green cabbageshred the cabbage, salt at 2%press 30 min until it runspack under its own brineferment 3 weeks at 65°F (18°C)refrigerate 2 days
40 g(2 1/2 Tbs Diamond Crystal)kosher salt
1 Tbscaraway seed
1 cup(240 mL)water
1 tspkosher salt
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.6 things to get out.

Pans and tools

1shred the cabbage, salt at 2%

3pack under its own brine

goes in with what step 2 made

Cooking it

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
at least 23 daystwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
none givenof the steps that give a time

2 of the 5 steps never say how long they take, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 23 days.

  1. shred the cabbage, salt at 2%

    not timedfrom the start

  2. press 30 min until it runs

    30 minwalk awayfrom the start

  3. pack under its own brine

    not timed30 min in

  4. ferment 3 weeks at 65°F (18°C)

    21 dayswalk away30 min in

  5. refrigerate 2 days

    2 dayswalk away21 days in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them.

You'll need half-gallon jar

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Sauerkraut
>> category: Toppings & Pickles
>> tags: cabbage, fermented, no-cook, condiment, deli
>> counters: Deli
>> aka: kraut, sour cabbage, kapusta kiszona, kiszona kapusta, sauerkraut for reubens, fermented cabbage
>> pairs-with: corned-beef, sour-dill-pickles, deli-rye-bread
>> servings: 12
>> time: 23 days 30 min
>> step.1: shred the cabbage, salt at 2%
>> step.2: press 30 min until it runs
>> step.3: pack under its own brine
>> step.4: ferment 3 weeks at 65°F (18°C)
>> step.5: refrigerate 2 days

Shred @green cabbage{2%kg}(4 1/2 lb; two large heads, cored, sliced as thin as a coin) and toss it hard with @kosher salt{40%g}(2 1/2 Tbs Diamond Crystal) and @caraway seed{1%Tbs}. Forty grams to two kilos is 2% by weight, and the percentage is the recipe: below about 1.5% it goes soft and slimy, above 3% the ferment stalls and you have salted cabbage.

Press @&(~1)salted cabbage{} down in the bowl with your fists or a weight and ~press{30%min}, until it has slumped by half and there is enough liquid standing in the bottom to cover it. If it will not give enough after half an hour, the cabbage was old — top up in the next step rather than adding more salt here.

Pack @&(~1)wilted cabbage{} into a #half-gallon jar{} a handful at a time, pressing each layer under the liquid, and top up if needed with @water{1%cup}(240 mL) mixed with @kosher salt{1%tsp}. Nothing may sit above the brine: what is submerged ferments and what is exposed goes mouldy, and that is the whole of the technique.

Weight @&(~1)packed jar{} so everything stays below the surface, cover it loosely so the gas can escape, and ~ferment{3%weeks} at 65°F (18°C), out of the sun. It clouds and fizzes in the first week, smells sharply of cabbage in the second, and turns pale gold and properly sour by the third. Skim any film off the top; a white film is harmless, fuzzy colours are not.

Refrigerate @&(~1)sauerkraut{} and ~chill{2%days} before eating, which settles the sourness. It keeps six months in the fridge, going slowly softer, and it goes on the corned beef with Swiss and Russian dressing between two slices of rye. Cooked kraut from a can and this are different foods: this one is still alive.