Sauerkraut recipe

Eating fermented foods such as sauerkraut is a great way to increase and support the microflora in your digestive tract. Most of our immune system lives in our digestive tract and it's believed that around 90% of our bodies serotonin is made in our digestive tract with the help of the microflora that resides there. Fascinating right?! You may have heard of the gut-brain connection, which involves the vagus nerve and our digestive microflora. The wonderful thing about making your own fermented foods such as sauerkraut is that you become one with the microorganisms in your living environment and your immune system is strengthened as a result. How lovely! And homemade sauerkraut is also just really yummy.

Cabbage is a highly nutritious vegetable belonging to the Cruciferous family. Cruciferous vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and kale contain antioxidants and compounds called 'cruciferous indoles' or indole-3-carbinol, which are thought to decrease cancer cell proliferation and are protective against a range of cancers including those related to the female endocrine system. Indole-3-carbinol binds to oestrogen receptors therefore regulating the amount of oestrogen in the body and benefiting conditions such as pre-menstrual syndrome and endometriosis where there is an excess of this hormone.

So with this in mind and with garlic added to sauerkraut makes this a powerful immune food which can be added to savoury meals daily! It's also a great accompaniment to falafels as well.

You will need...

A large sturdy bowl, I use my crock pot for its size and sturdiness

One other large bowl

One whole cabbage sliced finely or grated. I use the purple ones due to the higher antioxidant content.

High quality fine sea salt; approx. 1 tbsp per cabbage. I use Celtic sea salt

Two carrots grated

One bulb of garlic crushed

You can also get creative and add fresh herbs such as coriander. Carraway seeds, fresh chilli, ginger and pepper are also lovely additions.

It's very important that everything that the ingredients come into contact with; your hands, the mixing bowl, the chopping board, knives etc and the jar's which you put the sauerkraut in are clean and sterilized. After washing these items, I suggest using boiling water to sterilize them (apart from your hands of course).

Place the cabbage (sliced or shredded) into a large bowl with the grated carrots, crushed garlic and herbs. Mix the ingredients through with your hands. Then, grab a few large handfuls of the mixture and put it in your crock pot (or other pot). Add around 1/2 tsp of salt to this and use your hands to squeeze and mash the mixture until liquid comes out of the vegetables. Add more of the mixture to the crock pot and add another 1/2 tsp of salt, once again squeezing and mashing the mixture. Repeat this process of layering, adding salt and mashing until liquid comes out. I recommend tasting your mixture before adding it to the jars to make sure the salt level is to your liking, it should taste salty as the salt is used to aid the fermentation process. It may take a few batches to get this just right.

Once the cabbage is soft and there is enough liquid transfer your kraut into jars leaving about 1 inch of headspace. I recommend using the flip top ones pictured as they keep firmly closed. Using a spoon push the cabbage down so that it's submerged in its liquid (this is important), close the lid and then store it in a cool dark place. I recommend checking your krauts each day and repeating the process of pushing the kraut down so it's submerged in liquid. If there isn't enough liquid covering your kraut you can add a small amount of lightly salted water (brine) to cover the cabbage.

If you see mould growing on the kraut remove it immediately and entirely, do not eat mouldy kraut. You can ferment the kraut for about 10 days or finish the process when the taste is to your liking (you can start tasting it on about day 5). The kraut will keep for 8 weeks in the fridge. Discard it if it smells off. Enjoy!

Do you struggle with hormonal imbalance or digestive system issues? You may want to consider booking an appointment with me.