Homemade Sauerkraut and Curtido Recipe

Nov 26

One of the highest-value food items that you can make at home with supplies you already have in your kitchen, that keeps in the fridge for months, goes with nearly every dish, and adds billions of beneficial microbes for your gut in every teaspoon? It may sound too good to be true, but trust me. Homemade sauerkraut and all its delicious variations is all that and more. It’s hard not to notice how fermented foods have taken off in the market, as the Human Microbiome Project decodes what’s going on with the little bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and more that call our bodies home. More producers are putting out their own versions of fermented cabbage as seen from the store shelves, and more people are benefitting from addressing the living component of their food. Few things exemplify just how powerfully healing and yet delicious and gentle to the digestive system nourishing foods can be like sauerkraut.

*Savoy cabbage, grown organically by us at Winterspring Farm!*

The best part is that making your own kraut is easy once you understand some simple guidelines:

Always use freshly harvested produce. Whether you use a base of cabbage, kohlrabi, bok choy, or any other variation, it’s important that they are as fresh as possible because once these vegetables sit around in a refrigerator for days or weeks they start to dry out. We will need these juices to keep all the good stuff submerged in during fermentation.
If possible, use organically grown. Not much is known yet about the effects of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides on the microbes that grow naturally on plants, but it’s tough to imagine that they don’t have some effect. The method we are using is called wild fermentation since we aren’t using a starter. We are relying on the naturally occurring microbes already on the plants to begin the process, so we want them intact as much as possible.
Always include a source of sugar. The lactobacillus bacteria we are selecting for in the fermentation process need to eat in order to thrive, and they like to eat sugar. Some good examples include carrots or applesauce. Once the fermentation is complete, it will taste sour because of the lactic acid produced after these microbes have eaten up the sugar content. This is why vegetables fermented in this way are referred to as lacto-fermented. Note: Due to its antimicrobial content, don’t use honey for this purpose!
Salt and taste as you go. Rather than exact measurements, which would be difficult given the wide variety of size and types of ingredients, check to make sure that you are salting the chopped vegetables enough that they taste like sea water. This rule of thumb has never failed me!
Massage, pound, and squeeze as you pack your jar. You want to release the juices, prevent air bubbles from getting trapped, and in the process you are also helping to inoculate your sauerkraut with native microbes from your hands. This is what truly makes it your own. As long as you practice good handwashing and hygiene, those microbes that come from you and your environment are only going to add to the diversity of the cultured food you are creating.

As long as you observe these 5 guidelines, you can mix and match ingredients to your heart’s desire. But to get you started, here is a loose recipe for what has become my favorite version of fermented cabbage: curtido. Authentic curtido is a Salvadorian dish that resembles a kind of slaw using vinegar. Because vinegar has antimicrobial properties, and my purposes are more about encouraging microbes, this version of curtido is made more like a traditional sauerkraut but with the flavor profile of curtido.

Curtido Kraut Recipe

Ingredients

What You'll Need

1 large stonehead or savoy cabbage
1 large red onion
1 lb carrots
3-4 jalapeno chiles
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
4-5 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons dried oregano
Generous amount of salt. I like to have some in a small dish that I can grab as needed.
Equipment: sharp chef’s knife, cutting board, mixing bowls, half-gallon widemouth jar, wooden spoon

Instructions

Method

Rinse your carrots, cabbage, and peppers. There’s no need to use soap if organic.
Prep your carrots, onions, and peppers by finely dicing them. You want to maximize their surface area here. If you have a ninja or other blender that works without adding moisture, coarsely chop each of the ingredients and add separately to a blender. Either way, you should end up with a separate mixing bowl of each, as pictured above.
Next, start chopping your cabbage. Make it as thin as you can. Once your cutting board is full of chopped cabbage, begin salting and massaging/squeezing it. Taste before you add more salt, and keep going until it resembles the saltiness of sea water. Then clear the cutting board by adding it to the half-gallon jar.
Sprinkle each the carrots, onions, jalapenos, cumin seeds, and dried oregano over the cabbage, and pound it down with the wooden spoon. Repeat in successive layers until the jar is full, making sure to pack it in tight and remove air bubbles as you go.
Once the jar is full, put it into a clean mixing bowl. This will catch any of the juices that may flow out during fermentation. Add a weight that fits into the mouth of the jar. I like to use a smaller, 8 oz jar with some water in it. Just make sure whatever it is is food-safe.
Set the bow, with the jar, and the weight out of direct sunlight on the counter where you can watch it. Label it with the contents and the date.
Over the next 1-3 days, you will see bubbles appear at the top. This is evidence that your fermentation is working! Feel free to taste test it at different amounts of time, as it will be sourer the longer you leave it. I usually wait 2-3 days, as leaving it longer can make the texture mushier than I like.
When ready, simply screw a lid on the jar and stick it in the fridge. Use as desired for almost anything, but I love it on scrambled eggs, sandwiches, tacos, potato salad, and more!