Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut was ‘a thing’ when my mama was young, and she disliked it. Though she remembers it jarred with ham chunks. So fairly understandable…
It is a fermented food, fermented foods help reinstate the gut flora after antibiotic & chemo treatments (it’s banned during chemo).
What to serve with Sauerkraut?
I have it quite regularly in fish tacos, and with my fathers Scandinavian dishes – mainly meatballs. But it’s good in a diverse salad where you can dip in and out of it. Keep it as a side.
If you don’t have the taste for this, similar benefits are in ‘live’, fermenting, Apple Cider Vinegar, which is just a bottle you to swig before a meal.
Why is Sauerkraut so good for you?
With the emphasis on health now being so geared towards maintaining a healthy microbiome, it is no wonder we are all being encouraged to eat fermented foods.
Sauerkraut is the number one in fermented foods but you do not gain the same levels of beneficial bacteria in shop bought products, so making it is the answer. Once you get into the habit of making it, it becomes very easy.
Fermented foods help reinstate the gut flora after antibiotic and chemo treatments. Sauerkraut is also especially healthy as it uses cabbage and cabbage is the no. 1 in healing foods, so it’s not just the fermenting process which will be so beneficial for the gut.
The addition of carrots and ginger give this sauerkraut an added nutritional boost, with ginger being one of the top anticancer foods. Caraway seeds can aid digestion.
You may also be interested in our diary post on Kombucha and All Things Fermented
RECIPE
SAUERKRAUT
Serves: 40
Time to create: 7 days
Time for personal effort: 15 mins
Notes: GF, DF, V, V, P, NF
INGREDIENTS
600g Shredded cabbage
4 Carrots
5cm Grated ginger
½ tsp Caraway seeds
2 tbsp Salt flakes
1 tsp Black pepper
EQUIPMENT
2 jam jars (350-500ml)
Grater
METHOD
- Sterilise your jars. The simplest way is to run them through a hot wash in your dishwasher or place them in the oven for 15 mins at 120c. Allow jars to cool.
- Trim the cabbage and peel away the outer leaves.
- Cut the cabbage into quarters, and very finely slice into a large bowl, the most easily, and best done on a mandolin.
- Peel and grate the carrots into a bowl.
- Peel the ginger and finely grate it into the bowl. Mix everything together.
- Add the salt, and massage by hand thoroughly into the vegetables, continue to do this 5-10mins, the cabbage will please moisture and soften; this is the salt working it’s magic.
- Add the caraway seeds and grind in the black pepper, and again massage it one more time.
- Fill two jars y hand, squashing down the cabbage mixture, and excluding the water. Then add just enough liquid from the mixing bowl to exclude air & seals with a lid.
- Store in a dark place in your kitchen for 7-10 days, checking frequently, after a few days you should see bubbles raising up to the surface, this is the start of your fermentation.
- The longer you ferment it for the more the flavour improves.
Per Serving | |
| | % Daily Value * |
| Total Fat | 0 g ( 0 % ) |
| – Saturated Fat | 0 g ( 0 % ) |
| – Monounsaturated Fat | 0 g |
| – Polyunsaturated Fat | 0 g |
| – Trans Fat | 0 g |
| – Cholesterol | 0 mg ( 0 % ) |
| Sodium | 355 mg ( 15 % ) |
| Potassium | 46 mg ( 1 % ) |
| Total Carbohydrate | 2 g ( 1 % ) |
| – Dietary Fiber | 1 g ( 2 % ) |
| – Sugars | 1 g |
| Protein | 0 g ( 1% ) |
| Vitamin A | 29 % |
| Vitamin C | 14 % |
| Calcium | 10 % |
| Iron | 1 % |
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