Fermented foods, including homemade sauerkraut or other fermented cabbage dishes, are the best way to get your daily dose of probiotics. Not only is it much cheaper than buying probiotic supplements but you also get so many more strains of beneficial bacteria than from a pill.

Red/purple cabbage is also loaded with antioxidants, iron, and vitamins A, C, and K.

Additionally, raw garlic is delicious and fantastic for your immune system and circulatory system while the carrots (also high in vitamins) add a hint of sweetness.

Fermenting is one of my favorite ways to preserve the garden harvest since it requires no electricity (a root cellar is cool enough) and often improves the nutrition and digestibility of the food. Also, if you’re on a healing diet like I am, fermented foods are indispensable.

Homemade Sauerkraut (Fermented Cabbage)

This recipe is a variation on the classic sauerkraut made with green cabbage. I chose red/purple cabbage for the added nutrients and color. I also added carrots for a hint of sweetness!

Ingredients:

• 1 head purple/red cabbage (about 3 lbs)
• 2-4 large carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 Tablespoons high-quality sea salt
• 1-quart wide-mouth mason jar
• 1 8 oz or smaller jelly jar
• Coffee filter & rubber band or white top

Instructions:

1. Shred the cabbage and carrots using a food processor attachment (or by hand). Some people also like to chop some of the shredded cabbage for a different texture, I like it shredded. Add cabbage and carrot to a large bowl.
2. Finely chop or mince the garlic. Add to the cabbage and carrot and toss to mix. Sprinkle sea salt over the mixture and let sit for a few minutes.
3. Then with a wooden spoon or cabbage tamper, mash and stir the cabbage. Keep squashing and mashing to get the juices out of the cabbage. This liquid will be the brine to ferment the sauerkraut in. 
4. Once you’ve got a lot of juices out of the cabbage you can pour the whole bowl into a quart mason jar. I used a canning funnel to get the cabbage mixture into the mason jar.
5. Smash the cabbage down as far into the jar as you can get it. You want all of the cabbage mixture to be under the brine. You can use a cabbage leaf to keep the mixture under the brine or just squish it down with the jelly jar. Leave the jelly jar in there to keep it weighed down while it ferments. You can also use a fermenting weight.
6. Put a coffee filter over the top of the jar and a rubber band to secure it. The coffee filter allows for the homemade sauerkraut to breathe without letting bugs or dust in. You can also cover it loosely with a white lid since they are more breathable than the metal lids. 
7. Let sit at room temperature for a few days to a week, tasting daily to decide if it’s fermented enough for you. Then store in a cool place (refrigerator or root cellar).

Notes: 

If you have an old cabbage, it may be too dry to get much liquid out of. In that case, you can add 2 tablespoons of salt to 1 quart of water and add that to cover the cabbage mixture.

Homemade Sauerkraut: Purple Cabbage and Carrot

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Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• 1 head purple/red cabbage (about 3 lbs)
• 2-4 large carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 Tablespoons high quality sea salt (I like this one)
• 1 quart wide mouth mason jar
• 1 8 oz or smaller jelly jar
• Coffee filter & rubber band or white top (like this one)

Instructions

1. Shred the cabbage and carrots using a food processor attachment (or by hand). Some people also like to chop some of the shredded cabbage for a different texture, I like it shredded. Add cabbage and carrot to a large bowl.
2. Finely chop or mince the garlic. Add to the cabbage and carrot and toss to mix. Sprinkle sea salt over the mixture and let sit for a few minutes.
3. Then with a wooden spoon or cabbage tamper, mash and stir the cabbage. Keep squashing and mashing to get the juices out of the cabbage. This liquid will be the brine to ferment the sauerkraut in. 
4. Once you’ve got a lot of juices out of the cabbage you can pour the whole bowl into a quart mason jar. I used a canning funnel to get the cabbage mixture into the mason jar.
5. Smash the cabbage down as far into the jar as you can get it. You want all of the cabbage mixture to be under the brine. You can use a cabbage leaf to keep the mixture under the brine or just squish it down with the jelly jar. Leave the jelly jar in there to keep it weighed down while it ferments. You can also use a fermenting weight.
6. Put a coffee filter over the top of the jar and a rubber band to secure it. The coffee filter allows for the homemade sauerkraut to breathe without letting bugs or dust in. You can also cover it loosely with a white lid since they are more breathable than the metal lids. 
7. Let sit at room temperature for a few days to a week, tasting daily to decide if it's fermented enough for you.
8. 
   

Notes

Notes: 

If you have an old cabbage, it may be too dry to get much liquid out of. In that case, you can add 2 tablespoons of salt to 1 quart of water and add that to cover the cabbage mixture.

How to Store Ferments

Fermented foods should be stored in a cool place. The cooler the temperatures slow down fermentation considerably. A Refrigerator or root cellar works well. Ferments last in a cool place for a year or more.

Have you ever made homemade sauerkraut or fermented cabbage? What’s your favorite way to make it?