A small-batch sauerkraut we make every fall

We do not make twenty-pound crocks. We make one quart jar at a time and finish it before the next head of cabbage is ready. It works for us.

What you need

One head of green cabbage. One tablespoon of non-iodized salt. A clean quart jar. A small jar that fits inside the big one (as a weight). That is it.

How we do it

Shred the cabbage thin. Mix with salt in a big bowl. Scrunch it with clean hands for five minutes until it is wet and limp. Pack into the jar, push down hard until the brine covers the cabbage. Weight it down with the smaller jar. Cover with a cloth.

When it is done

Two weeks at room temperature, away from sun. Taste it at day ten. When the sourness is right, lid it and put it in the fridge. Keeps for months. Never lasts that long.

We eat it on everything. We eat it standing in the fridge with a fork.