When I was a child I basically liked all food, except for a very few things. One of those few things was, sauerkraut. In the Netherlands people make a potato dish with is, called ‘stamppot’. I did not like this at all. The sour taste, I just really didn’t enjoy it. Nowadays it’s the food I eat on daily basis. I didn’t eat it for years and years as I knew I didn’t like it, but about half a year ago I tried it again for the beneficial probiotics and I actually really liked it. Especially in a salad or as a topping on a nice sandwich. I now eat it almost every day. Which is super good for my gut. I always buy a big jar in the supermarket, but when I started to brew my own kombucha (for the same probiotic reasons), I wanted to also try making my own sauerkraut. This turned out to be super simple!! You only need 3 things actually: cabbage, salt and patience. If you would like to treat your gut as well. Here is how I make my own basic sauerkraut!

SAUERKRAUT

ingredients:
2 white/green cabbages
2-3 tbs sea salt

extra:
mixing bowl
big jar
cloth + rubber band

-Remove the first 2-3 leaves of the cabbage.
-Shred the cabbage. I used a simple grater for this, but you can also use a sharp kitchen knife or even carefully pulse it in a kitchen machine. (Don’t make it too small though, because you will end up with a cabbage smoothie. Not sure about that..)
-Mix the cabbage and the salt in a big mixing bowl, using your hand (clean hands obviously). It’s like kneading bread dough. Make sure that all the juices from the cabbage are released. Knead it for a full 5 minutes and then let it rest for 30-60 min.
-Knead it again for a full 5 minutes. The juices should be all released by now.
-Put it in a clean jar and push it down as much as you can, so all the cabbage is underneath the juice.
-Use a cloth and a rubber band as a lid or let a lid rest on the jar (don’t close it!).
-Put it away for 2 weeks, in about 18-21C, out of direct sunlight.
-Every other day push the cabbage underneath the juice again, as it tend to go up again throughout the process.
-After 2 weeks, put it in the fridge and enjoy!

It’s so fun to make your own fermented foods. It gives this amazing satisfying feeling. Have you ever tried it before? I would love to hear and see your experiences. You can do this by tagging me on Instragam with @freedomevermore. Thank you! X