We offer a recipe for sauerkraut for a 3-liter jar - the same volume that is enough for a family to enjoy a fresh, vitamin-rich dish without getting tired of it. With cranberries and beets, Korean style and Georgian style: the dish is easy to prepare every week and enjoy the variety. Let's discover the secrets of making delicious, spicy, crispy sauerkraut.
Sauerkraut is a traditional Russian dish. You won’t find it abroad, no matter how much you look in supermarkets. But in Russia it has been eaten for many centuries, and it was cabbage that remained the main source of vitamins in winter: when boiling and stewing, the “cabbage” nutrients are destroyed, but when fermented, on the contrary, they rapidly multiply. Yes, and it is stored perfectly.
For information: vitamin P (namely, it is considered the main protector of the human immune system) in sauerkraut becomes 20 times more than in raw cabbage. Let's move from words to action. Let's learn how to ferment cabbage so that it does not taste bitter and remains crisp for a long time.
Loose, porous heads of cabbage are not suitable for fermentation; the head of cabbage should be dense; It is preferable to choose late varieties: they have more sugar, which speeds up the fermentation process; cabbage should have dense, glossy leaves without thick veins.
For the starter (based on 2 liters) prepare:
First, let's chop the cabbage. Our task is to make it as thin as possible: thick pieces will take much longer to salt and the taste will be worse. You can make your work easier if you divide the head of cabbage into four parts with a sharp knife and cut each quarter separately. Grate the carrots. Add salt to cabbage. The calculation here is simple: for 1 kg of cabbage it is important to put one tbsp. l salt without a slide.
You need to buy plain salt for sourdough; It is important that it is large: extra will not work.
Now it is important to mash the cabbage with salt so that it releases some juice. Add carrots to cabbage. It is dangerous to put too many carrots. Not only will it add unnecessary sweetness, but it will also give the cabbage a bad “soapy” texture. Sprinkle the vegetables with cumin seeds, add pepper and bay leaves if you like them.
Wash the glass jar thoroughly, clean it with soda, and scald it with boiling water. Fill a glass jar with cabbage and tamp it down with force. The jar should be filled up to the shoulders, but there should be room for cabbage juice. Now we cover the jar with a lid (preferably a nylon one with holes) and leave it in the room for three days. Light bubbles that will appear on the surface and light foam will tell us that the process has started.
If the variety turns out to be low in juiciness, you can always add a little boiled salted water to the jar; It is important that the cabbage is completely immersed in the brine.
Every day we pierce it with a long stick (you can use one from sushi): this will allow bubbles of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide to come out. If you forget to pierce it, the cabbage will turn out bitter. Two or three days and it needs to be put in the refrigerator or on the balcony. The snack is ready!
This simple recipe is considered a classic. From time immemorial, mothers and grandmothers have cooked using it. It never fails, cabbage always turns out delicious. It is best served with onions, fragrant sunflower oil and boiled potatoes. This is such a delicious dish that no additions are required. And yes, don’t forget to cook sour cabbage soup with cabbage. A fabulous dish for winter!
Cabbage in a 3-liter jar can be cooked in brine: the recipe helps when there is no time to wait, but you really want cabbage. In this case, there is no need to press by hand, because the marinade will add moisture to the dish.
The ideal temperature for the fermentation process is 20-21 degrees; If the room temperature is lower, it will take longer to ferment, and if the room is too hot, the cabbage may become slimy.
We proceed in stages:
The last stage is to move everything onto the balcony and eat, pouring fragrant sunflower oil on it.
Making crispy cabbage with a slight horseradish flavor for the winter is simply elementary!
We chop the vegetable in the same way as in the classic recipe, but with the difference that we will grind the cabbage and carrots with our hands at the same time until the juice is abundant. Now fill a clean three-liter jar, compacting the vegetables tightly with your fist. The jar should be filled to the shoulders. Place a cabbage leaf of a size on top of the vegetables that covers the entire surface.
Sprinkle everything generously with coarse rock salt. Fill with boiled water so that the water covers the surface of the vegetables a little more than a finger thick. We put the jar on a plate: if the juice starts to run away during fermentation, the table will not get dirty. Leave on the table for two days. After 48 hours, foam will begin to appear and it is important to remove it.
We will also pierce the cabbage with a stick several times to the very bottom of the jar, freeing it from excess carbon dioxide. The finished cabbage has a pleasant sourness, and how crunchy it is! We enjoy the dish as a salad or a side dish for meat - it is simply ideal for any meat dish with pork, remaining a gastronomic classic.
Spicy cabbage is a favorite snack among males. And few people know: it is extremely popular in the East. Egyptian supermarkets sell specific cabbage, pickled in pieces or whole (it all depends on the size) in company with other vegetables: beets, green beans, carrots, chili peppers.
We will prepare a quick version. To do this, add one red hot pepper, cut into slices, to the mixture of shredded cabbage and carrots. It’s better to clean the seeds, otherwise the spiciness will literally go off scale and the cabbage will turn into an eye-catcher.
Pour a liter of boiled water into a jar, add a generous pinch of rock salt and leave it warm until the fermentation process begins. After this, we wait a couple more days and put the container in the cold.
Georgian cuisine is famous not only for khachapuri and kharcho. Georgians have a national snack that is known throughout the world, but it is easy to replicate. This is cabbage pickled with beets, spices and herbs.
Let's prepare a small forkful of cabbage, three beets, two carrots, hot chili, garlic (you can have a lot!), a bunch of cilantro or celery (or you can have both), salt, sugar, vinegar and drinking water. Useful spices include bay leaf, black and allspice peas, salt and sugar to taste.
Prepare the snack like this:
Every other day, transfer the snack to a jar and put it in the refrigerator. The result is a tasty, spicy dish, suitable for any feast, especially if served with hot potatoes.
Pickled cabbage with vinegar comes out spicy and tangy, somewhat reminiscent of the Korean version (read the recipe below). At the same time, you can really simplify the process significantly if you add a little vinegar essence diluted in water to the jar.
To prepare cabbage pickled with vinegar, fill a jar tightly, and then pour in one and a half liters of water with a teaspoon of acetic acid. Let it marinate for a day and take a sample. It is better to add a little sugar to this cabbage, then the taste will be harmonious and piquant.
Korean salads are a real hit on every table. They are the first to be eaten, and are especially wonderful when you prepare them yourself. Korean cabbage is easy to prepare from any type - white, cauliflower, Beijing and even red: the taste will be delicious every time. You can cut the cabbage however you like, be it slices or strips, there is only one secret - a special marinade.
Also for cooking we will need a pod of red hot pepper, garlic, and, ideally, a special set of spices (it is sold in supermarkets and shops with goods from Asia).
We proceed step by step:
The Korean snack, thanks to vinegar, does not spoil for a long time. If you prepare it at the end of January, the dish will be suitable for a treat on March 8th.
It is easy to ferment cabbage in its own juice if you do not add boiled water to the mixture of carrots and cabbage, but leave it to steep and wait until the component itself releases a lot of juice. The recipe is very simple and completely repeats the classic version, although in this case you will have to knead it harder with your hands. Mnead and repeat the sequence from the first recipe.
Cabbage juice from cabbage pickled in its own juice is an excellent skin whitening product; It also heals the gastric mucosa and can be safely drunk on an empty stomach.
Be careful: it is important to carefully monitor cabbage in its own juice, not allowing it to ferment. As soon as the fermentation process has begun, you need to wait a day and put it away in the cold, otherwise it will peroxidize.
Hot-pickled cabbage is a unique variation of winter salad. Its great advantage is the speed of preparation. Made it in the evening, and the next day serve it for dinner, for example, as an addition to pea or chicken soup. The appetizer perfectly complements the bland thick soups. And it can also become an excellent ally for stewed potatoes: sometimes you don’t need meat for such a feast.
There are no difficulties. We prepare everything as in the classic recipe. Just put a few cloves of garlic between the layers of cabbage. All that remains is to pour in hot brine.
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For the correct marinade, follow the proportions:
Boil water on the stove, season with salt, sugar, add vinegar and vegetable oil. Pour the hot brine into the jar with cabbage. Cover loosely with a nylon lid. We leave it on the kitchen table. After a few hours, we take a sample - you should like the spicy and pungent cabbage.
Crispy cabbage with cranberries used to be served all the time. This is a real vitamin bomb: both cranberries and cabbage are simply record holders for vitamin C content. We will need no more than 150 g of cranberries per 3-liter jar. By the way, it is quite possible to take frozen berries rather than fresh ones - the cabbage will not be damaged by this.
An important ingredient of the recipe is natural honey; it needs to be put in 3 tbsp. l; You will hardly notice any sweetness, but the taste of sauerkraut will become much richer.
It is not necessary to add bay leaves and peppercorns: the cabbage will already turn out amazingly tasty. It is eaten separately, as the snack is self-sufficient and does not need any additions. Cabbage is an ideal side dish for baked goose, duck and chicken.
Sauerkraut is a budget dish and can be prepared all year round. Some housewives are actively experimenting. There are fans of cabbage sauerkraut with sour apples (the Antonovka variety is ideal), and there are those who ferment cabbage with black and red currants. We are sure that every housewife has a signature recipe that she inherited from her grandmother. You too can experiment and pamper your loved ones with a tasty and healthy winter dish.
But I can’t stop and hope that I will still have time before the end of the harvesting season. I believe that sauerkraut is simply an indispensable attribute of autumn and winter. Juicy and crispy, with carrots, apples, cranberries or caraway seeds, sauerkraut beckons us to the table. Moreover, sauerkraut is healthier than fresh thanks to lactic acid bacteria that are formed during the fermentation process.
In apartment conditions, it is most convenient to prepare sauerkraut in glass jars. But if you are the happy owner of a cellar and you have a wooden barrel, then it would be simply a crime not to fill it with cabbage and ferment it for the joy of the whole family. And so that your efforts are not in vain, you need to carefully read the useful tips for sauerkraut.
To prepare delicious, crispy sauerkraut, I offer several simple classic recipes.
In order to make a 3-liter jar of sauerkraut, we will need forks of fresh cabbage weighing approximately 2.5 kg. The simplest, classic and no-nonsense recipe for sauerkraut.
2. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater and add to the cabbage.
3. Simply mix both of these ingredients with your hands. Moreover, the cabbage should not be squeezed, otherwise it may become soft.
4. Take a clean 3-liter jar and put the cabbage and carrots into it, lightly compacting it. Fill the entire jar. Add salt and sugar on top of the cabbage with a spoon.
5. Cabbage must be fermented in brine. Simply fill the cabbage with cold, unboiled water (not chlorinated) up to the very neck of the jar.
The brine must cover the entire cabbage. If the amount of brine decreases, simply add water
6. We pierce the cabbage in several places with a wooden stick so that the gases accumulated during fermentation escape. During fermentation, it is advisable to pierce the cabbage with a wooden stick at least once a day.
During fermentation, the amount of brine will increase and it will flow out of the jar, so be sure to place the jar of cabbage in a basin or any other container.
7. Cover the jar with cabbage with gauze and make sure that the brine covers all the cabbage. Cabbage should stand at room temperature for 2-3 days. After this, you can close it with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for storage.
Also a classic recipe, only here we will do without adding water. The ingredients are the same - cabbage and carrots, and we will also add salt in a 3-liter jar.
2. Mix salt and sugar in a glass; we will gradually add them to the cabbage.
3. In this recipe we will stir and rub the cabbage with our hands as if we were kneading dough. The cabbage should release its juice.
4. Gradually compact the cabbage into a 3-liter jar and sprinkle each layer with salt and sugar. Fill the jar to the very top.
5. Close the jar with a plastic lid and place a saucer or bowl underneath. Sauerkraut for 3 days at room temperature. Don’t forget to pierce the cabbage with a wooden or plastic stick 1-2 times a day.
6. After this, put the finished cabbage in the refrigerator for storage.
In order for the brine to constantly cover the cabbage, you need a load on top. To do this, place a plastic lid inside the jar, and place a 0.5 liter bottle of water on it.
This recipe is a little more complicated with the addition of different ingredients. The cabbage turns out simply delicious, cook it and see for yourself.
2. Place the ingredients in layers in a large container, such as a bucket. A layer of cabbage will go to the bottom, sprinkle with sweet pepper on top and lay out a layer of apples.
3. Place a layer of cabbage again, carrots on top, then chopped parsley and dill. Next add chopped garlic.
4. We repeat these layers again - cabbage, peppers, apples. Cabbage, carrots, herbs, garlic.
5. Prepare hot brine. The recipe is for 1 liter of water, you may need more water. Bring the water to a boil and add salt, add coriander and peppercorns to taste. Pour brine over cabbage. We pierce the cabbage in several places with a wooden stick. Let the cabbage ferment for 3 days at room temperature.
After 3 days, transfer the cabbage into clean jars and put them in the refrigerator. Delicious cabbage is ready.
Another recipe for sauerkraut, which uses not only traditional cabbage and carrots, but also bell peppers and even horseradish.
A unique recipe in which we will use a decoction of oak bark to obtain crispy cabbage. Well, there will be even more vitamins in cabbage when we add cranberries and rowan berries.
2. We choose sweet and sour varieties of apples such as Antonovka. Cut the apples into thin slices.
3. For the starter we will use a large enamel pan. Place cabbage leaves on the bottom of the pan and sprinkle peppercorns.
4. Lay cabbage and carrots in layers, then apples and generously sprinkle with cranberries and rowan berries. We repeat the layers in the same sequence and be sure to compact them with our hands.
To remove bitterness from rowan, pour boiling water over it.
5. To make the cabbage crispy, prepare a decoction of oak bark in advance. To do this, boil the washed bark in boiling water for 10 minutes and cool. Pour the cooled broth into the pan with cabbage.
6. When you have laid out all the cabbage, place a plate of the appropriate diameter and a heavy weight, for example, a jar of water, on top.
7. To allow gases to escape from the cabbage, insert wooden sticks into the cabbage.
8. The cabbage will ferment for 3 days, after which it can be put into jars and stored in a cold place.
You are convinced that there are many recipes for sauerkraut and I tried to introduce you to a variety of recipes for every taste. Now is the time to prepare sauerkraut. As I already wrote, it is very good to ferment cabbage after the New Moon, which will occur on the 19th in October 2017. So stock up on cabbage, save the recipes, and I wish you good luck in making healthy and tasty preparations.
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Did you know that sauerkraut for the winter is the best method for storing a tasty vegetable? Boiled cabbage no longer contains half the folic acid compared to fresh cabbage. When fermented, all useful microelements are preserved, the volume of which increases during the cooking process. To make it tasty and store it for a long time, you need to follow some rules of the recipe, otherwise you won’t get crispy cabbage...
Before starting the process, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the many subtleties of an easy task that will allow you to prepare delicious crispy and aromatic cabbage. There are a lot of discussions about when you can start pickling for winter storage, but there is no clear answer. 
Previously, cabbage began to be fermented when the first frosts began. It is the first frost that rids the heads of cabbage of the characteristic bitterness, which is why our grandmothers still use folk calendars. This method is well suited for those who harvested their crops on their own plot. This way you can be confident in the quality of the harvest.
Whether you ferment cabbage according to the lunar calendar or not, decide for yourself and take into account some recommendations. The most delicious cabbage comes out when fermentation occurs on day 5-6 after the onset of the new moon, on the waxing moon. If you salt it too late, the cabbage will be soft and sour.
It is believed that wooden barrels (tubs) for pickling are the best containers for pickling vegetables; it is in such containers that cabbage will be the most delicious and crunchy. Unfortunately, at home, especially in an apartment, you cannot place such a container, and not everyone can afford to buy a real tub specifically for pickles.
in the photo - a barrel for sauerkraut 
in the photo - the process of preparing for sauerkraut
At home, as a rule, housewives ferment cabbage in enamel pans, wide basins, three-liter or five-liter jars, buckets, and the taste is no worse. Before starting the process, you need to check that there are no various types of chips and detachments on the enamel.
Plastic containers and buckets are very popular and in demand because of their lightness and strength. True, in such a container the cabbage will not have a rich, juicy taste. You can salt cabbage in the winter in almost any household utensil, except aluminum products. The fact is that during the fermentation process, lactic acid is formed, which reacts with aluminum and oxidizes it. As a result, instead of crispy and fragrant, you get gray cabbage with a metallic taste.
For winter fermentation, not all varieties and hybrids are used; it is necessary to use only late and mid-late cabbage - Slava, Aros, Morozko, Arctic F1 and others. It is easy to distinguish late heads of cabbage; they are quite small in size and very dense, with fairly thick and rough leaves. Early cabbage is not suitable for pickling because of its tender, soft leaves, which will become even softer during fermentation. Housewives with experience advise taking larger heads of cabbage, there is much less waste and it is more convenient to chop.
in the photo - a head of cabbage for pickling
For pickling you will need white cabbage, carrots and regular rock salt (coarse), the proportions are as follows - for 5 kg of shredded vegetables take 100 grams of salt and 100-150 grams of carrots. This number of ingredients has been used since ancient times, so this recipe for sauerkraut is considered a classic. The resulting product is moderately sour and aromatic, not too salty.
To add a piquant taste, housewives add cranberries, lingonberries, apples, bell peppers, dill seeds or caraway seeds when fermenting. As a rule, additional ingredients are used to taste at your own discretion. Cabbage does not always turn out crispy, so experienced cooks resort to a little trick: add grated horseradish and oak bark purchased at the pharmacy in an amount of 5-8 g/kg, which will give strength and an excellent crunch.
Prepare the heads of cabbage, remove the top frayed leaves, remove the stalk. Measure out the required amount of coarse salt and other additives. Carrots are washed, peeled, cut into rings or strips, and grated. Grated carrots will give the finished cabbage an orange tint.
The head of cabbage is cut into two halves or more, based on the size and convenience of shredding in the future. You should chop into thin strips, placing the knife across the head of cabbage. For ease of slicing, use a chef's knife or a paring knife. The last kitchen tool should be used carefully; novice housewives need to be careful, as they can easily get hurt. Using a chopping knife, the product is obtained in fairly small chopped sizes. Do not chop the head of cabbage too thinly; narrow strips will subsequently not have a pleasant crunch and strength.
in the photo - cutting carrots for sauerkraut 
in the photo - cutting cabbage for pickling
Place the shredded cabbage in a large cup (the fermentation container will be separate) and add salt, add carrots, and mix with your hands until the juice comes out. Place in containers for fermentation (jars, buckets, basins, etc.) in small layers, carefully compacting by hand or with a wooden masher until juice forms. When one layer is laid, additional ingredients (cranberries, dill, lingonberries, etc.) are laid on top. Alternating layers, fill the container completely, to the very top.
On the laid cabbage we place clean leaves from the heads of cabbage that remained during cleaning, and place a weight on top. Use a wide plate or dish, turn it upside down, place a large stone or place a three-liter jar full of water. The juice released from the cabbage is not drained when installing the load. If you ferment in jars, do not cover them with lids, just place them on top of the neck. During the fermentation process, to collect excess juice, place suitable sized dishes under containers, jars, and basins.
The packed cabbage is left in a room at an air temperature of +19 ° ... + 22 ° C for 3-7 days, depending on the quantity and volume of the container. A lower temperature inhibits the fermentation process, as a result the product takes a long time to sour or the process stops altogether. A high temperature will soften the cabbage and make it very sour.
in the photo - the process of ripening cabbage
To find out whether the ripening process is underway, look at the surface; the resulting foam and bubbles indicate the correct course of the processes. Foam is removed as it forms. After fermentation begins, the cabbage must be pierced daily, using wooden spoons (with the back side) to remove the resulting gases. They pierce all the way to the bottom to rid the cabbage of bitterness.
After 3-4 days, the cabbage will settle, the amount of juice released will decrease, which means the product is ready. Don’t rush to put it away for storage, first try the taste, which should be pleasantly sour if everything was done correctly. The fresh cabbage should be left to ferment for a couple of days until fully cooked.
Sauerkraut should be stored at a temperature of 0°...+5°C. In the cellar, refrigerator, basement, on the balcony, loggia, you can store cabbage for the winter, if the conditions are appropriate. Another way to store it for a long period is to freeze sauerkraut. Pack into bags, place in the freezer and use as needed. Bon appetit!
Sauerkraut is one of the favorite dishes in every family, especially in winter. We often ask ourselves the question: how to make sauerkraut? Many people think that for this they will need a barrel or a trough, but, for sure, every housewife has a large saucepan - this is perfect.
Be sure to shred the cabbage thinly - this will only benefit the dish, and thoroughly grind it with salt - a man's hands will not interfere with you here.
When preparing sauerkraut according to a traditional recipe, the fermentation time is 3-5 days in a warm room, then the cabbage is exposed to the cold. If you want to try quick sauerkraut, then try the recipe with hot marinade. In this case, the cabbage will be ready to eat in a few hours.
The sauerkraut recipe is very easy and quick. I advise you to buy a shredder; this thing will always come in handy around the house, and not only for making sauerkraut, but for slicing any other vegetables.
Ingredients:
Preparation
Chop the cabbage and carrots or cut them into small strips. Grind with salt, add sugar. Place in a pan, preferably enameled, and place under pressure for 5 days. Every day, pierce in several places with a knife or a wooden stick to release accumulated gases and skim off the foam that bacteria produce on top. It is necessary to keep the pan in a warm place to speed up the fermentation process. After five days, the cabbage should be sweet, sour and crispy. Before serving, season with vegetable oil and finely chopped green onions.
Traditionally, cabbage is accompanied by various additives: carrots, cranberries, apples, beets. You can make sauerkraut with apples by adding 3-4 apples per 1.5 kg of cabbage when pickling. The apples will need to be pre-washed and, after peeling the seeds, cut into slices. The cabbage will turn out sweetish and will appeal not only to adults, but also to children.
When you add beets to sauerkraut, you will get a very beautiful pale pink salad. And if you add garlic, you will delight your family with a spicy and spicy snack.
Ingredients:
Preparation
We clean the cabbage from damaged leaves and cut into squares. Peel the beets and cut into thin slices. Mix cabbage with beets and prepare the marinade: 
Heat one liter of water in a saucepan, let it boil and add black pepper, salt, sugar, bay leaf. Boil over low heat for about 10 minutes. Then add vinegar and boil for another minute. Pour the marinade over the cabbage and beets, mix, and place under pressure. Let it stand in a warm place for 3-4 days, then transfer it to a bottle and put it in the refrigerator. You can serve it as a salad, pre-seasoned with vegetable oil.
As you can see, preparing sauerkraut is not difficult, a little patience and the vitamins in which this dish is so rich will appear on your table in winter. The benefits of sauerkraut are enormous: it has strengthening and anti-inflammatory properties, contains vitamin C, B, potassium, zinc, iron, lactic acid. In addition, sauerkraut is a low-calorie dish, and you can use it for cosmetic purposes if you make a face mask.
