Starting with fermented foods: Sauerkraut

One of the hallmarks that sets GAPS apart from other diets is the abundant and varied use of fermented foods to aid in repopulating the gut (colon) with beneficial bacteria, fungi, and yeast.

I have made just a few of these beneficial foods myself, but I hope to try out and teach others how to make them in the future. This last week I made homemade sauerkraut for the first time.

Let me tell you, it was easy and not so easy. Hehe. What makes it easy is that it only has two ingredients. Yes, two. A head of cabbage, either green or purple, and some sea salt. To make a quart-size jar of sauerkraut you will need a little over a 2-lb. head of cabbage and 4 teaspoons of sea salt. It is best to use unrefined sea salt that is unbleached with no added anti-caking agents or fillers.

What made it tricky was the mixing, massaging and breaking down part as you mix the chopped or sliced cabbage with the salt to create a salty brine for the cabbage to "bathe in" while it ferments. Being that Kansas has cold and very dry winters, my hands take quite the abuse. So with all the little cuts and abrasions on my hands from washing them often (Nursing 101) and the frigid air, I had to find some workable solutions for making this delectable brine.

So here is what you can do and what I did:

1) Find a quart-size plastic kitchen bag and slip it over your hand or one bag on each hand with which you plan to mix the cabbage.
2) Secure around your wrist with a large rubber band.
3) Use the plastic-covered hand to mash, massage, and mix your cabbage in the bowl with sea salt.

You could also use kitchen or food-service gloves for your hands as you mix the cabbage. The kind we had were powdered and I didn't want "glove powder" as part of the ingredients in my sauerkraut.

Here are some photos so you get an idea of how to mix your cabbage with the salt.

Cut the core out of the cabbage

Place the chopped cabbage and salt into a glass bowl

Use your hands, with or without gloves, to massage the cabbage with the salt until it produces a salty brine liquid

The key to a good sauerkraut is making lots of the brine solution to completely cover the cabbage in your fermentation jar. You do not want any of the cabbage exposed to the air above the liquid line as it will tend to mold or dry out. Beneficial yeasts are one thing for sauerkraut, but you don't want mold growing on it. That is not the type of fungus you want in the finished product.

Also, make sure you don't have your cabbage sitting in a place that is too warm. It is best in a dark, cool but not cold area of your kitchen like on the counter away from the oven or refrigerator. Once the sauerkraut has fermented to your desired sourness and length of time you can refrigerate it to stop the fermentation process. It will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Mine has only been fermenting a few days so I will update once it is complete and I have tasted it. Can't wait to try it out and start adding it to my GAPS plan! There is a method for making sauerkraut in the GAPS book, but you can find a recipe easily online or in many Paleo cookbooks. You can also add other herbs or vegetables like garlic, ginger, carrots, peppers, or onions. There are many variations from other cultures like kimchee from South Korea and beet kvass from Russia.

For this recipe I used the one from the book, Real Food Fermentation by Alex Lewin.

How do you like to make your sauerkraut and what is a "must-have" ingredient for your version?  Share in the comments with everyone.