Danish-Inspired Red Kraut
Danish-Inspired Red Kraut
This kraut is great with salty meats like pork, on a cheese sandwich, over baked or creamy mashed potatoes (try it with crumbled feta), or in a salad.A follower is important because sometimes the vegetables float to the top when you want them to stay under the brine. Find a good system to hold them down, or shove the vegetables in so tightly that a simple grape leaf or folded cabbage leaf becomes a kind of barrier to hold them down. For a weight, another vegetable chunk cut to size is pretty lovely – carrots are perfect for this.—Sharon Flynn, author of Ferment for GoodPreparation time: 15–25 minutesFermentation time: 5+ daysEquipment: 2-liter (68-fluid-ounce) jar, pounder, follower (see below), weight
Servings
8
Ingredients
- 2 red cabbages, shredded
- about 1 3/4 ounces fine ground salt
- 1/2 ounce fennel seeds
Directions
- Weigh the cabbage and determine the salt measurement.
- The amount of salt you use should come to about 1.5-2.5 percent, but no more than 3 percent, of the cabbage weight.
- Transfer the cabbage to a large bowl or container, sprinkle over the salt and let sit.
- Pound or massage to get all of the juices out – ideally enough so that if you pick up a handful of cabbage you’ll have dripping water flowing from a clenched fist.
- Add the fennel seeds and mix thoroughly. Pack tightly into your jar or crock, add the follower, and weigh down.
- Seal with your preferred system. Wait. Check.
- It will keep in the fridge for up to 12 months.
- Recipe adapted from Ferment for Good by Sharon Flynn (Hardie Grant, 2017)