How to make sauerkraut: recipe and everything about fermentation Category: Fermentation Making sauerkraut is one of the easiest things you can do in the kitchen. All you need is cabbage, salt, and a jar. But how much salt? How long does it take? And why does a white film sometimes appear on the surface? In this article you will learn how cabbage fermentation works, what to look out for, and at the end you will find a tried-and-tested recipe for making your own sauerkraut. How to make sauerkraut: how does fermentation work? White cabbage is naturally full of lactic acid bacteria and sugars. When you add salt and cut off the oxygen supply, those bacteria get to work: they convert sugars into lactic acid. This lactic acid lowers the pH of your cabbage to a level where spoilage and pathogenic bacteria can no longer survive. Your cabbage is preserved. It is one of the cleverest preservation methods humanity has ever come up with. But there is more to it than just preservation. The same bacteria also produce aromas, carbon dioxide, and dozens of other compounds that turn a fairly bland white cabbage into something entirely new (and delicious). Sauerkraut does not taste like cabbage with acid added to it. It tastes like sauerkraut. Those are two different things. The bacteria, the sugars, and the moisture: everything you need is already in your cabbage. You just need to give it the right conditions. Want to learn more about how vegetable fermentation works in general? Read our step-by-step guide for beginners. Making sauerkraut from white cabbage White cabbage is the classic choice, and for good reason. It contains enough water to submerge the sauerkraut in its own brine during fermentation. Slice it as thinly as possible: thin strips give more flavour and a better texture. A wooden vegetable slicer makes this job much quicker and more comfortable. Pointed cabbage (spitskool) is the perfect beginner’s vegetable. Contrary to what you might expect, pointed cabbage releases moisture very easily with just a little kneading or pounding. Its flavour is slightly milder and sweeter than that of white cabbage. Other varieties such as red cabbage or savoy cabbage ferment perfectly well too. Adding a small amount of red cabbage to white cabbage gives you a beautiful pink sauerkraut. Fermenting sauerkraut: the role of salt Salt is the most important ingredient after the cabbage itself, but not because it does the preserving. The acid does the actual preservation work. Salt gives the lactic acid bacteria a head start: they tolerate salt better than most other micro-organisms. By adding the right amount of salt, the unwanted guests (yeasts, moulds, spoilage and pathogenic bacteria) are suppressed, allowing the lactic acid bacteria to do their work undisturbed. The right amount is 2%, or 20 grams per kilogram of cabbage. That number is not arbitrary: below 2%, the inhibition is insufficient and [...]