Sauerkraut - Day One

Sauerkraut - Day One (someone really needs to clean that light switch!)

I love sauerkraut.  For the longest time, I was alone in my love of sauerkraut in my house.  My husband can't stand the stuff (other than dill pickles, he doesn't like anything pickled/fermented/vinegary).  A year or so ago, I introduced my daughter to it, and she LOVED it.  So I started buying the stuff in the natural foods section at my local grocery store, because it has more probiotics and, in my opinion, tastes better than the other kinds.  However, it costs about $6 a jar.  I'm always on the lookout for things I can make at home with fairly little effort.  I've been making yogurt for a while now, so I decided to step up my game and try my own sauerkraut.

I bought the kit from Cultures for Health during their big sale after Christmas, picked up some two-quart jars at our local agriculture supply store (they always have a great selection of canning supplies!), and this morning I finally got started. 

I didn't measure.  I probably should have measured.  But we'll see what happens.

It was really easy and took all of about 10 minutes.  I just sliced my cabbage, salted it (a few giant pinches for a whole head of cabbage), pounded the heck out of it for a few minutes, and put it in my jar.  I dropped in the glass weight (I have no idea how I'm getting that thing out of there without breaking my jar), put on the special top (it burps itself!), and now it's sitting on my counter, doing its thing.

In three weeks, if all goes well, we'll have sauerkraut!  I'll keep you posted...