Sour Sour Sauerkraut

I pulled a purple cabbage out of my fridge the other night, and as I started cutting it up and prepping it to make sauerkraut, I began to get excited for a day in the future when Harrison will help me with that task.

Oi, my kids are going to be so ... weird? The same type of weird as our little family, it's really all good, but I can kind of see it now ... the day Harrison realizes that his friends don't cut up cabbage and pour salt on it and squeeze and pound it until it is wilted and sitting in a self-made brine.

Hah, sorry buddy. But also not sorry.

It's actually because of Harrison that I'm even eating sauerkraut these days. I've never enjoyed the stuff, but real, raw, fermented sauerkraut is incredibly healthy- given the gut-enhancing properties of the beneficial bacteria and enzymes that form, and the vitamins that are already present in raw cabbage- and I wanted to set a good example for him, so I started making it and eating it. These days I find myself almost enjoying it, and Harrison willingly chomps down on it without making any faces. A success for now!

One wonderful thing about sauerkraut is that it is enormously nutritious while also very inexpensive. A three pound head of cabbage and about two tablespoons of good quality sea salt will yield almost two quarts of sauerkraut, with quick and easy preparation and then a waiting period to allow the beneficial bacteria to work its magic.

If I'm dreaming of my 10-month-old helping me with our household ferments in just a few short months, you have good reason to believe you can start some of your own today, and enjoy tangy, crunchy, healthy sauerkraut in just a few weeks!

Ingredients
•1 head of cabbage (3lbs or so)
•1-2 tablespoons of sea salt (I use coarse grey Celtic sea salt. Pink Himalayan also works well.)
•4 quart mixing bowl (or comparable)
•2 quart glass jar (I use two one-quart mason jars)
•glass weights (or comparable)

Method
1. Peel away any undesirable leaves from the cabbage, then cut off the end, slice in half, and remove the core. (If you're using a purple cabbage, take a moment to appreciate the beauty of it.)
2. Coarsely chop the cabbage to whatever size pieces you prefer. 1/2 inch wide ribbons or squares work well.
3. Layer the chopped cabbage and salt in the mixing bowl.
4. Put on a TV show or some good music and then get to work massaging the salt into the cabbage pieces, squeezing, pounding, pulling, whatever. Just play with it for a while.
5. After some time (10-15 minutes) you'll see the cabbage has become noticeably wilted and there will be some brine at the bottom of the bowl.
6. Tightly pack the cabbage into a jar and use glass weights, clean stones, or perfectly-sized cups, etc to push all of the cabbage under its brine.
7. Set the jar out of the way and once or twice a day be sure the cabbage is under the brine (it will form more brine, so don't worry if there's not enough the first day.)
8. Wait at least a week before removing the weights and putting a lid on the jar to transfer it to the fridge. You can wait months if you're patient enough; just eat when the flavor is right for you!

Please allow some poor quality iPhone photos solely for the purpose of illustrating the steps above.

marvel in the almost trippy beauty of purple cabbage

three pounds of cabbage, two tablespoons of salt, I promise it decreases in volume

finished product, with glass cups sitting on top to keep the cabbage below its brine

Happy fermenting!