Healthy Eating: Sauerkraut (Fermented Cabbage)

Nothing is more important and essential than maintaining immunity and proper gut health. If you are seeking good immunity and gut health, you should definitely try this Sauerkraut recipe. While it originated in China over 2000 years back, it is very popular in Germany. It’s basically chopped cabbage that undergoes anaerobic fermentation and gives you major health benefits. It can be a side dish to your main meals or you can add it to your meats and sandwiches.  

What You Will Need: 

• Raw Cabbage – 1
• Mason Jar – 1 (750 ml to 1 L)
• Pink Salt or Normal Salt –  1-2 tbsp

How To Prepare:

1. Take a medium sized cabbage and remove the outer leaves and keep them aside. Cut the cabbage into 4-5 pieces and remove the white core.
2. Shred the cabbage or chop it in a food processor. We need it really thin and finely chopped.
3. Take a big mixing bowl, add the cabbage to it.
4. Add the salt. Salt will stop the breathing of any unhealthy micro-organism and will start the formation of lactobacillus bacteria which will help us in this fermentation.
5. Mix the cabbage and salt well with your hands for a few minutes and then keep it aside for 7-10 min to allow the brine to ooze out. Let it set in the bowl.
6. Pound the cabbage for a few minutes to allow any more liquid to ooze out, hit it well.
7. Take a glass jar which is clean, freshly washed and pack the cabbage very tightly.
8. Clean your hands and start keeping the cabbage in the jar. After adding some, take a wooden spatula or glass and push it in to avoid any air pockets between the cabbages. Repeat the process till the cabbage is over.
9. Now, take the outer cabbage leaf and tuck it over the cabbage kept in the jar just like you are covering it hard to not allow any air.
10. Next, add the brine we collected after mashing the cabbage, leave the top 1 inch of the jar free, do not pack it with brine tightly.
11. Close the lid of the Mason jar (it is okay to close the jar not very tight so that the cabbage can breathe) and keep it in a bowl, there are chances of liquid oozing out after fermentation starts.
12. Keep this for 3 days and then you can refrigerate and eat it. It should be a bit yellow and tangy.

Highlights of the Sauerkraut Recipe 

• Eat this with every meal to improve digestion and add in good microbes.
• It has a very long shelf life and a great way to boost immunity.
• 70-80 % of your immunity is located in your gut and hence, it is very important to keep an eye on what you are eating. This is the best probiotic, just like curd, to help you with it.
• Sauerkraut is enriched with nutrients, minerals and a lot of fiber. Apart from boosting immunity and digestion, it can aid weight loss, helps in stress reduction, improving brain health, may reduce risk of cancer and promote good heart health.

We hope you enjoy this Sauerkraut recipe. Do try it out and leave your thoughts in the comments below. Find more healthy recipes here. You can also get recipes customized to your health goals by speaking to a GOQii Coach. Download the app and subscribe to Personalised Health Coaching here to get started!  

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