If you’ve never eaten sauerkraut before, you may not like the taste or texture. But as with any new food, you can get used to it, especially if you use it in recipes rather than eating it plain. I especially like raw sauerkraut over the canned variety. It’s easy to make yourself and you can make a small batch or enough to preserve. All you need  is cabbage and salt (kosher or pickling). That’s it!

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS:

MAKING SAUERKRAUT
For every ten medium-sized heads of cabbage, measure two cups of salt. Cut the heads of cabbage into quarters and shred on a cabbage slicer, or cutter. Place several inches of the shredded cabbage in the bottom of a large crock, and over it sprinkle a layer of salt. Some add to the salt whole black peppers, cloves, garlic, and mace.

Stamp this down with a wooden potato masher or some other similar utensil. Then add another layer of cabbage and salt and stamp this down in the same way. Proceed in this manner until the crock is nearly full. Then place a clean cloth over the cabbage in the crock. On this cloth place a clean board as near the size of the crock as possible, and on the board place a large clean stone or some other weight. When thus filled and weighted down, place the crock in a cool place.

The cabbage will then begin to ferment, and it is this fermentation that changes the cabbage into sauerkraut. After a time, juice will form and gradually rise over the top of the board, and on top of this juice will form a scum. Remove this scum at once, and do not allow any to collect at any time after the fermentation of the cabbage ceases.

Occasionally, when a supply of sauerkraut is taken from the crock for cooking, replace the cloth by a clean one, but always be sure to put the board and the weight back in place. The kraut will be ready for use in six weeks and it must be kept in a very cool place.

PICKLED SAUERKRAUT
Take some full-grown hard cabbages of the closest texture, and cut them into slices about an inch thick, opening them a little, that they may receive the salt more effectually. Rub a good deal of salt amongst them, lay them into a large pan, and sprinkle more salt over them. Let them remain twenty-four hours, turning them over four or five times, that every part may be alike saturated.

Next day, put the cabbage into a tub or large jar, pressing it down well, and then pour over it a pickle made of a pint of salt to a quart of water. This pickle must be poured on boiling hot, and the cabbage entirely covered with it. Let it stand thus twenty-four hours longer, when it will have shrunk nearly a third.

Then take the cabbage out, and put it into a fresh tub or jar, pressing it down well as before, and pour over it a pickle made as follows: to one quart of the salt and water pickle which had been used the day before, put three quarts of vinegar, four ounces of allspice, and two ounces of caraway seeds. This must be poured on cold, so as to cover the cabbage completely. Let it stand one day loosely covered, and then stop it down quite close.

SAUERKRAUT WITH SPARERIBS (Sufficient to Serve Six)
One quart sauerkraut
Two pounds spareribs
One teaspoon salt
Three cups water
Put the sauerkraut and the spareribs into a kettle and add the salt and water. Allow to simmer slowly for two or more hours. If additional water is necessary, add it from time to time. Just before removing from the heat, allow the water to boil down so that what remains may be served with the hot sauerkraut.

BAKED SAUERKRAUT
In the cooking of sauerkraut for the table, pork in one form or another is generally added. In fact, one rarely thinks of sauerkraut except in combination with pork. While boiling is the method that is usually applied to this vegetable, many housewives prefer to bake it, for then the odor does not escape so easily and a flavor that most persons prefer is developed.

BAKED SAUERKRAUT  (Sufficient to Serve Six)
Two pounds fresh pork,
One quart sauerkraut
One tablespoon salt
Three cups water
Cut the pork into several large chunks, and put it with the sauerkraut into a baking dish that has a cover. Add the salt and water, cover the dish and place in the oven. Bake slowly for two or three hours. Serve hot.

SAUTEED SAUERKRAUT
If an entirely different way of cooking sauerkraut is desired, it may be saute  ed. When nicely browned and served with boiled frankfurters, it is very appetizing.

SAUTEED SAUERKRAUT (Sufficient to Serve Six)
One quart sauerkraut
Four tablespoons bacon or ham fat
Two teaspoons salt
Steam the sauerkraut over boiling water for about one hour. Then melt the fat in an iron frying pan, add the sauerkraut and sprinkle with the salt. Place a cover over the pan and allow the sauerkraut to sauté until it is slightly browned on the bottom. Stir and continue to cook until the entire amount is slightly browned. Serve hot.

photo credit

Learn How to Make Fermented Food available wherever you buy books online.

Even beginners can make their own fermented foods! This easy-to-follow comprehensive guide presents more than 120 recipes for fermenting 64 different vegetables and herbs. Learn the basics of making kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles, and then refine your technique as you expand your repertoire to include curried golden beets, pickled green coriander, and carrot kraut.

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The video below is from 18th Century Cooking With Jas. Townsend and Son

Learn How to Make Fermented Food available wherever you buy books online.

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