How to store sauerkraut at home

As the famous actor of sauerkraut used to say, “It’s not embarrassing to put on the table, and they will eat it — it’s not a pity!” Indeed, sauerkraut is an integral part of the Russian table in the winter. Along with pickles, pickled tomatoes, jams and compotes, sauerkraut occupies a worthy place on the table. It is added to the vinaigrette, bigus, cabbage soup, borscht, pies, and just eaten with onions and butter! Every self-respecting hostess considers it his duty to provide his family with crisp and tasty sauerkraut in the winter.

The benefits of sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is not only very tasty, but also incredibly healthy. It contains a huge amount of vitamin C, which strengthens the immune system and helps to survive the cold without colds. Pickled cabbage improves the digestive tract work - heals ulcers, fights parasites, helps to digest heavy meat dishes, and sauerkraut juice is drunk for constipation.

Sauerkraut improves the cardiovascular and nervous system, helps to lose weight. Doctors recommend this product to normalize blood sugar as a medicine against allergies. Cabbage improves appetite, cleanses the body, helps from nausea, beriberi and hangover. The juice of sauerkraut is used even in cosmetology - as a component for many rejuvenating face masks.

You need cabbage, especially in winter, when there are so few other vitamins. But how to prepare it so that all the nutritional value remains in it and the product is preserved throughout the winter?

How to ferment cabbage for long storage

Here is a simple recipe for tasty, crispy and healthy cabbage.

1. First you need to choose the cabbage for this important business. Early cabbage varieties are not suitable - they are too soft. It is better to take the autumn and winter cabbage. It is better to boil the product from September to November - at this time the vegetable is gaining juice and taste. If the cabbage grows in your garden, it is better to collect it after the first frost. Light frost turns hard starch into sugar, making the vegetable more crisp and tasty.Choose dense and light cabbages with thin veins and without damage and wormholes. Carefully pick the cabbage - one rotten head of cabbage can ruin your whole leaven.
2. At 10 kilograms of cabbage you need to take 0.5-1 kg of carrots and 200-300 grams of salt. From the cabbage, cut off the top green leaves, cut the stalks, and the vegetables themselves are shredded rather finely. Carrots are also minced. It can be wiped through a regular or Korean grater. Vegetables are poured into a clean container, mixed, sprinkled with salt and carefully frayed. For taste, you can add to the cabbage a couple of leaves of laurel and a little cumin.
3. Then you need to decide in which container cabbage will be sour. If you ferment only a couple of pounds of cabbage, use a glass jar for this. For large volumes fit a wooden barrel, tub, enamelled bucket or pan. It is best to immediately ferment the cabbage in the dishes in which you intend to store it.
4. Place the cabbage in the prepared container, cover with a yoke and leave at room temperature for fermentation. Usually it is about 20 degrees. Leave the cabbage near the heating devices or in the heat is not worth it - the product will turn sour.
5. Code bubbles will go - this means that the cabbage began to ferment. After 3-4 days, it must be shifted to cold to stop the fermentation process. Usually by this time the cabbage settles, becomes crispy, salty, the brine ceases to be cloudy.

The cabbage prepared in this way will be stored for up to six months. But how to save it?

Where to store sauerkraut

Cabbage is best kept at 0 degrees. At this temperature, it retains all its beneficial properties, does not deteriorate and becomes even tastier. If you have fermented no more than 5 kilograms, cabbage can be stored directly in the refrigerator. Put it in glass jars and cover with nylon covers.

If you have a large amount of fermented cabbage, it can be stored on the balcony, in the basement, in the garage. Of course, at low temperatures cabbage will freeze. From this, it will not lose its taste, but it is not worth re-thawing and freezing the cabbage. With repeated frosts, the product loses the lion's share of vitamin C. Therefore, the defrosted product remaining after dinner should not be taken out into the cold.

If you store cabbage in large tubs or enamelled containers, you probably had to pick out the right amount of sauerkraut in the cold to bring it into the house. This is not very convenient. To avoid this, you can use this method. Before you take out the cabbage in the cold, pack it in plastic bags, and put the bags themselves in a dry pan. In frost, just bring in the house one portion of the cabbage in the package and leave to defrost. This method will solve many problems.

How to increase the shelf life of cabbage

Here are some tips for storing sauerkraut, which can be useful.

1. Sauerkraut should be covered with juice all the time. After they have taken the right amount of cabbage, the rest of the product is leveled and covered with a yoke so that the vegetable is completely covered in brine.
2. For oppression, you can use a jar of water or cobblestones. Do not use limestone, sandbags or concrete chips.
3. To increase the shelf life of cabbage, it can sometimes be sprinkled on top of a small amount of sugar. Sugar in the process of fermentation is converted into vinegar, which protects the product from rotting and spoilage.
4. To keep the cabbage crisp and fresh for a long time, add a few lingonberries or cranberries to it.
5. Sometimes white mold appears on the surface of sauerkraut. If it is not removed, the cabbage becomes flabby and sour, ceases to crunch. To get rid of this yeast, sprinkle the cabbage on top with mustard powder. It will relieve the product from mold and give the cabbage even more flavor.
6. Cabbage can not be brewed in aluminum dishes. In such a container, cabbage is oxidized and acquires a metallic taste. Also, cabbage is not recommended to sour in plastic containers - sour brine can corrode plastic and its decay products will get into your food. If you sour the product in an enamel pot - pay attention to the fact that it should not have chips.
7. Cabbage, which is stored in a barrel, retains its freshness up to 8 months. Cabbage is stored in a glass container for about 2-3 months. To increase the shelf life of cabbage, you can pour it with vegetable oil.
8. If you cooked too much cabbage, and the weather makes you changeable, you can’t leave it on the balcony. It can be repeatedly frozen and thawed, which impairs its taste and quality. In this case, the cabbage must be packaged in packages and determined in the freezer.There she will persist much longer.

These are simple tips and advice that will help you keep sauerkraut for a long time.

In ancient times, there was such a sign - the cabbage must be sour in a good mood. If you ferment cabbage in a bad mood, you will certainly taste bitter. Therefore, gain positive and ferment cabbage, so that on your winter table there will always be this tasty and healthy snack.

Video: how to save sauerkraut