Cabbage, salt, and a little patience are all you need for a crisp, tangy jar of sauerkraut. Start with the classic version, or add garlic, chile, juniper, or another flavor you enjoy. Keep the salt at 2.25% of the cabbage weight.
Recipe at a glance
- Makes: one small batch in a 1-quart wide-mouth jar
- Cabbage: 1 1/4 pounds, about 567 grams
- Salt: about 2 1/4 teaspoons canning or pickling salt (12.8 g; weigh it for the exact 2.25% ratio, or use 13 g on a whole-gram scale)
- Best fermentation range: 70 to 75 degrees F
- Typical time at 70 to 75 degrees F: about 1 to 2 weeks
- Typical time at 60 to 65 degrees F: about 2 to 3 weeks
- Storage: refrigerate when the sauerkraut is finished
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds mature, firm cabbage
- About 2 1/4 teaspoons canning or pickling salt (12.8 g; weigh it for the exact 2.25% ratio, or use 13 g on a whole-gram scale)
Red or green cabbage can be used. Mid- to late-season cabbage is preferred, but firm supermarket cabbage can be used year-round.
For sauerkraut, calculate the salt from the cabbage weight. The salt draws water from the cabbage, and that liquid becomes the brine around the shreds.
Make it yours
Keep the cabbage and salt at the same ratio, then make the flavor your own.
Experiment with
- a small amount of grated carrot, beet, turnip, kale, hot pepper, garlic, or juniper berries;
- batch size, as long as the cabbage and salt are weighed together at the same 2.25% ratio;
- how tart the kraut becomes within the appropriate fermentation window.
Keep steady
- the cabbage-to-salt relationship;
- submersion and low-oxygen conditions;
- temperature, time, and adequate acidification;
- any shelf-stable canning instructions.
Equipment
- 1 clean 1-quart wide-mouth Mason jar
- large mixing bowl
- kitchen scale
- sharp knife, mandoline, kraut cutter, or food processor
- suitable food-grade fermentation weight
- fermenting lid and screw band
- tamper, wooden mallet, or another appropriate packing tool
- clean plate or tray for beneath the jar
Wash the jar and tools in hot, sudsy water and rinse them well before use.
1. Prepare the cabbage
Remove the outer leaves. Rinse the cabbage under cold running water and let it drain.
Cut the head into halves or quarters. Remove the core and trim away damaged tissue. Weigh out 1 1/4 pounds, or about 567 grams, of cabbage before or after shredding.
2. Shred it thinly
Shred or slice the cabbage into long, thin pieces, about the thickness of a quarter.
Move the cabbage to the mixing bowl.
3. Add the measured salt
Sprinkle about 2 1/4 teaspoons of canning or pickling salt (12.8 g) evenly over the cabbage. Weigh the salt for the exact 2.25% ratio. If your scale reads only whole grams, use 13 g.
Mix thoroughly with clean hands. Keep mixing as the cabbage wilts and liquid begins to collect in the bowl. The cabbage should become juicy before you start packing the jar.
This is a 2.25% dry-salt formula: multiply the cabbage weight in grams by 0.0225 to calculate the salt. If the cabbage weight changes, recalculate the salt from the new cabbage weight.
See how we calculate the 2.25% sauerkraut salt ratio
4. Pack the jar firmly
Add the cabbage a handful at a time. Press each layer down firmly and evenly with your hand, a tamper, or another appropriate packing tool.
As the cabbage compacts, its liquid should rise around the shreds. Pour in any liquid left in the bowl.
Leave at least 3 to 4 inches between the packed cabbage and the top of the jar.
5. Keep the cabbage covered with liquid
The cabbage needs enough liquid to cover all the solids.
Place a suitable food-grade weight on top to help keep the cabbage beneath the liquid while it ferments. A food-grade glass disk, a food-contact stainless-steel spring made for the jar, or a small freezer-weight bag filled with compatible brine can perform that job.
If the cabbage has not produced enough liquid, make this compatible backup brine:
- About 1 1/4 teaspoons canning or pickling salt (6.8 g; weigh for precision)
- 1 cup hot water (240 g)
Dissolve the salt in the water, then let the brine cool before adding it. This backup brine is calculated separately from the dry salt because it is a salt-and-water mixture. Use only as much as needed to cover the cabbage. The same brine can be used inside a small freezer-weight bag if that is your weighting method.
If the cabbage needs more liquid, use the backup brine above. Plain water would dilute the salt around the cabbage.
Why fermented vegetables need to stay under the brine
6. Cover the jar
Wipe the jar rim clean. Put the fermenting lid and screw band in place according to the manufacturer's instructions.
If you are using a brine-filled bag as the weight, do not force a fermenting lid over it. Cover the vessel cleanly while allowing fermentation gas to escape.
Set the jar on a clean plate or tray to catch any overflow.
7. Ferment within the method's temperature range
Keep the jar at 70 to 75 degrees F. In that range, a small batch may be fully fermented in about 1 to 2 weeks.
At 60 to 65 degrees F, it may take 2 to 3 weeks. Below 60 degrees F, fermentation can slow substantially. Above 75 degrees F, the sauerkraut may soften.
Smaller containers can ferment faster. Check this quart jar every day. Confirm that the cabbage remains covered with liquid and that the jar stays within the intended temperature range.
8. Watch the whole batch, not one sign
The cabbage may settle. Gas may move through the liquid. The aroma and texture will change as raw salted cabbage becomes sauerkraut.
Bubbles and a sourer aroma can appear as the cabbage ferments, but do not use one bubble or one calendar date as the finish line. Check that the cabbage stays under brine, then judge the batch by its clean sour smell, tangy flavor, and firm texture.
Do not taste the batch if you see fuzzy mold, feel a slimy texture, or smell a rotten or putrid odor.
9. Decide when it is finished
Within the expected fermentation window, smell and taste the sauerkraut. It should smell and taste like kraut rather than raw salted cabbage, and it should remain firm rather than soft or slimy. It should not smell like wine.
When the cabbage tastes pleasantly tangy, smells clean and sour, and still has a firm bite, move the jar to the refrigerator.
10. Refrigerate the finished sauerkraut
Remove the fermentation lid and replace it with a clean storage lid. Keep the sauerkraut tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Fully fermented sauerkraut can keep refrigerated for several months. If you want to freeze or can it for longer storage, follow a separate research-based preservation method.
What each tool did
The wide-mouth jar
It held the one-quart batch and made the brine line and changes inside the jar easy to see. The same 2.25% cabbage-to-salt calculation can be used for a larger batch when the vessel, headspace, packing, and monitoring plan change with it.
The packing tool
It pressed the cabbage firmly into the jar and helped the cabbage's own liquid rise.
The fermentation weight
It helped keep the cabbage beneath the liquid as the contents shifted.
The fermenting lid
It covered the jar while fermentation produced gas. It did not replace the measured cabbage-to-salt relationship, temperature control, or daily checks.
What to make next
Continue with the under-the-brine guide for a closer look at salinity, submersion, packing, and weighting.
Understand the whole submersion system
Sources & technical references
We use 2.25% salt by cabbage weight for this recipe. Sources for the formula, fermentation guidance, and equipment are listed below.
