Spicy Sauerkraut with Ginger and Garlic
This Spicy Sauerkraut with Ginger and Garlic is a delightfully zesty take on sauerkraut that is packed with antioxidants and beneficial bacteria for gut health.
Servings 16 servings
Ingredients
- 600 grams green cabbage shredded (approximately ½ medium cabbage head or 8 cups of shredded cabbage)
- 80 grams carrots shredded (approximately 1 medium-large carrot)
- 10 grams garlic minced (approximately 3 large garlic cloves or 2 teaspoons)
- 10 grams ginger grated (approximately 1" knob or 2 teaspoons)
- 17 grams sea salt approximately 2 ½ teaspoons
Instructions
- Discard outer leaves of the cabbage and rinse the cabbage under running water. Cut the cabbage in half, then in quarters and remove the core. Cut the quartered wedges in half, lengthwise creating 8 wedges. Cut thin ribbon-like strips across these wedges. Or run the wedges through a food processor using the grater attachment.
- Add 600 grams of shredded cabbage to your bowl. This will be approximately ½ medium cabbage head or 8 cups. (See notes on how to accurately weight your ingredients for accurate fermentation.)
- Using the kitchen processor or box grater, shred carrot on fine shredder and weigh out 80 grams. Mince garlic and ginger and weigh out 10 grams each. Add to bowl with cabbage. Sprinkle 17 grams of sea salt over the vegetables.
- Massage the salt into the cabbage and carrot mixture with your hands until it starts releasing liquid. For softer sauerkraut, massage cabbage vigorously. For crunchier kraut, massage just enough to dissolve the salt and combine well.
- Transfer the cabbage and carrot mixture and all released juices to a quart-size jar, packing it in very tightly. Place the fermentation weight on top, pushing the veggies down with the weight so it's fully submerged in the liquid. (See notes for further details on this.)
- Set the jar with sauerkraut over a shallow dish to collect overflow brine and place at room temperature away from direct sunlight for 21 days or until fermented to your liking. Afterwards, transfer to refrigerator. Burp the jar daily during the first week of fermentation.
Notes
- It's always best practice to sterilize your fermentation jar and weight before proceeding with recipe. To sterilize: fill the jar with boiling hot water and allow to to sit for 5 minutes before pouring the water out.
- Using weight measurements instead of volume will give consistent results. Cabbage weight will vary by seasons and freshness. I provide volume measurements for reference but kitchen scale will yield reliable results.
- To accurately weigh for sauerkraut: Turn on your kitchen scale and set it to weight in grams. Place your prep bowl on scale and zero/tare it out (this will subtract the weight of the bowl, giving you a 0.0 weight). Add cabbage until you reach 600 grams. Zero/tare out the scale again and add 80 grams of shredded carrots. Using the same method, weigh out 10 grams each of ginger and garlic and 17 grams of sea salt. Remove the bowl from the kitchen scale and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
- Additional notes on step 5: For the first few days of fermentation, you may have to physically push the weight down to keep the cabbage mixture submerged in liquid. As sauerkraut releases more liquid over time, the fermentation weight will easily be submerged in brine and it will be unnecessary to push it down.
- Recipe makes 1 quart or 16 servings. Serving size is ¼ cup.
Nutrition
Calories: 13kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.02g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 422mg | Potassium: 85mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 872IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 0.2mg