Small-batch homemade sauerkraut: a simple recipe

All you need is one cabbage, some salt, a clean jar and a little patience. Homemade sauerkraut costs a few dollars, takes about 20 minutes of hands-on time, and gives you a tangy, crunchy condiment for eggs, grain bowls and winter dinners.

Here's a small-batch recipe, plus an honest look at what the research does and doesn't say about sauerkraut and your gut.

What the research says, briefly

Not all sauerkraut is "live." How many bacteria a fermented food contains depends on how it was made and processed, and on how long and under what conditions it was stored (Rezac et al., 2018). Shelf-stable jars and cans are typically heat-treated, and heat kills bacteria. Homemade sauerkraut that's never heated keeps its live microbes.

Does that matter for how you feel? A small pilot study in Norway gave 34 people with IBS either pasteurized or unpasteurized sauerkraut every day for 6 weeks. Symptom scores improved in both groups, with no significant difference between them. The researchers suggested the improvement may have come more from potential prebiotic compounds in sauerkraut than from its live bacteria, and they noted the study was underpowered (Nielsen et al., 2018). There was also no group that ate no sauerkraut, so a placebo effect can't be ruled out.

So think of sauerkraut as a flavorful fermented vegetable that may be a nice addition to your meals, not a replacement for a probiotic strain that has been studied for a specific symptom.

Ingredients

Makes about 1 quart.

• 1 medium green cabbage, about 2 pounds (900 g)
• Salt equal to 2% of the cabbage's weight, about 18 g for 900 g of cabbage. That's roughly 1 tablespoon of fine sea salt or pickling salt. Weigh it if you can, since salt grain sizes vary a lot.
• Optional: 1 teaspoon caraway seeds or 1 grated carrot

Equipment

• A 1-quart wide-mouth glass jar, washed in hot soapy water and rinsed well
• A large mixing bowl
• A kitchen scale (helpful, not essential)
• A weight that fits inside the jar: a small glass jar, a fermentation weight, or a zip-top bag with a little salt water in it
• A loose-fitting lid, a clean cloth and rubber band, or an airlock lid

Steps

1. Prep the cabbage. Pull off the outer leaves and set one clean leaf aside. Quarter the cabbage, cut out the core and slice it thinly.
2. Weigh and salt. Weigh the sliced cabbage, work out 2% for the salt, and sprinkle it over the cabbage in the bowl. Add caraway or carrot now if using.
3. Massage. Squeeze and scrunch the cabbage with clean hands for 5 to 10 minutes, until it softens and a pool of liquid collects in the bowl.
4. Pack the jar. Add the cabbage a handful at a time, pressing down firmly with your fist or a wooden spoon. Pour in all the liquid from the bowl. Leave about 2 inches of space at the top.
5. Submerge. Tuck the reserved leaf over the top and add your weight so the cabbage sits under the liquid. If it isn't covered after 24 hours, top it up with salt water made from 1 teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 cup of water.
6. Ferment. Cover loosely and set the jar on a plate, out of direct sunlight, somewhere around 64 to 72°F. Once a day, press the cabbage down with a clean spoon to release gas and keep it under the brine.
7. Taste and chill. Start tasting after 5 to 7 days with a clean fork. When it's as sour as you like, usually somewhere between 1 and 4 weeks, put on a regular lid and move it to the fridge.

Safety notes

• Keep the cabbage under the brine. Cabbage that's exposed to air is where problems usually start.
• Throw the batch out if you see fuzzy or colored mold, if the cabbage turns pink or slimy, or if it smells rotten rather than pleasantly sour.
• When in doubt, throw it out. A cabbage is cheap.
• If you're pregnant, immunocompromised or have been told to avoid unpasteurized foods, check with your doctor before eating homemade fermented vegetables.

How to eat it gently

• Start small. A tablespoon or two alongside a meal is plenty at first. Cabbage can be gassy for some people, so see how your gut responds before you eat more.
• Add it after cooking. Because heat kills live bacteria, stir sauerkraut in at the end or serve it on the side.
• Mind the salt. Sauerkraut is salty. If you've been told to limit sodium, keep portions small.
• Try it with: scrambled eggs, a baked potato, grain bowls, a turkey sandwich or a simple green salad.

Sources

1. Rezac S, Kok CR, Heermann M, Hutkins R. Fermented foods as a dietary source of live organisms. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:1785. PMID 30197628
2. Nielsen ES, Garnås E, Jensen KJ, et al. Lacto-fermented sauerkraut improves symptoms in IBS patients independent of product pasteurisation: a pilot study. Food Funct. 2018;9(10):5323-5335. PMID 30256365

This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. If you're pregnant, immunocompromised, on a sodium-restricted diet or managing a digestive condition, check with your healthcare provider before adding homemade fermented foods.