Health & Beauty Health Nutrition

Sauerkraut

Cabbage, especially sauerkraut, has been considered a national dish in Russia since ancient times: there would be bread, and cabbage to it, and hunger is not terrible - and this is not just a folding proverb. In sauerkraut, there are much more useful and nutrients than in fresh: it is enough to eat it 200 g per day to avoid a deficiency of vitamins and minerals, to maintain activity, vigor and efficiency.

However, with all due respect to the wisdom of our ancestors, it is worth remembering that the Chinese and Koreans also know how to ferment cabbage, and they learned this much earlier than the Russians: even during the construction of the Great Wall of China, the Chinese supported their health with dishes from sauerkraut different kinds, but they used white wine for leaven; in our country, the monks owned the secret of sourdough cabbage - in monasteries they knew how to cook it, like nowhere else, but then they learned this among the people, and today every housewife has many recipes for cooking delicious sauerkraut- not a single table, both everyday and festive, can do without it in Russia.

Interestingly, in Germany sauerkraut They also love it, and they also consider it a national snack - just like in Russia: the Germans really like to cook it with pork.

If other vegetables are fermented together with cabbage, then all useful substances, vitamins and minerals are better preserved and concentrated in them. It is good to ferment apples, carrots, bell peppers, cranberries and lingonberries with cabbage - these berries contain natural benzoic acid, which has pronounced bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties; caraway seeds and anise, when fermented with cabbage, also produce many substances that improve digestion and destroy pathogenic microbes.

Sauerkraut composition

There are very few calories in sauerkraut - only 23-27 kcal per 100 grams, so that it is successfully used in fasting diets; it also has almost no fat and few carbohydrates, slightly more protein, dietary fiber and organic acids. The main vitamin is C; other vitamins - A, E, PP, groups B, K; minerals - sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, iodine, manganese, cobalt, copper, fluorine, molybdenum, zinc. Sauerkraut juice is rich in vitamin U - S-methylmethionine, which is also called a vitamin-like substance and an anti-ulcer factor - with its shortage and deficiency, a person becomes prone to stomach and duodenal ulcers.

The benefits and properties of sauerkraut

Fresh cabbage turns into sauerkraut under the influence of lactic acid bacteria- many of its medicinal properties are associated with this. When these bacteria, together with cabbage, enter our intestines, they quickly improve its work, suppressing the development and reproduction of pathogenic flora, and they help the beneficial flora to multiply, creating a favorable environment for it. With regular use of sauerkraut, healthy intestinal microflora returns to normal, dysbacteriosis recedes, and immunity is strengthened - that is why doctors recommend eating as much of it as possible in winter and early spring, during epidemics and colds.

With chronic gastritis sauerkraut it is used as a remedy: to avoid seizures, it is necessary to eat a little daily for 2-3 weeks sauerkraut half an hour before meals, before each meal. In the same way, it can and should be eaten with diabetes mellitus: regular use sauerkraut reduces the amount of sugar in the blood.

Sauerkraut in medicine

In folk medicine it is believed that sauerkraut perfectly supports and strengthens male sexual power: those who regularly eat it are not threatened with impotence. In order to be convinced of this, it is enough to look back at our national history: the life of our people has never been easy, but many children were born, and they (those who survived, of course) grew strong and strong.

It was not difficult to grow cabbage, so it was inexpensive, and it is also very simple to cook it, however, it did not become "food for commoners": the Russian princes had special areas for growing cabbage, and they fed their warriors with cabbage so that they were strong and strong, and their families too, in order to preserve their health and protect them from ailments.

Russian travelers and discoverers, setting off to explore new seas and lands, also took cabbage with them: they fermented it right on the ships, and this saved from scurvy - a dangerous disease, which at that time was a real scourge for many brave sailors and pioneers. People ate cabbage and drank pickle, and this helped them to stay alive; cabbage brine also contains a lot of useful things, and heads of cabbage, fermented in halves or in whole, retain several times more vitamins than shredded cabbage. If you ferment the cabbage correctly, and keep it in a cool and ventilated place, then it will retain its properties for more than six months.

Recently it became known that the substances that are rich in sauerkraut, normalize the level of cholesterol in the blood, and also prevent the development of cancer. Finnish scientists conducted experiments on hamsters: first they were inoculated with cancer cells, and then fed sauerkraut, and their cancer stopped developing. In Germany, scientists also conducted experiments, and found that it is enough to eat sauerkraut at least 2-3 times a week to significantly reduce the risk of bowel cancer. Effective sauerkraut also for the prevention of lung and breast cancer.

Not everyone knows that sauerkraut can be used as a pain reliever - for example, if you have a headache, do not rush to swallow pills, but eat a plate of sauerkraut with onions and vegetable oil - it often helps.

With a tendency to dental diseases, when the oral mucosa is susceptible to infections, it will also help sauerkraut: diseases are caused by bacteria, and the lactic acid contained in cabbage destroys them, freshens breath, heals cracks and sores.

Cabbage pickle

A little about cabbage brine. It is believed that alcohol lovers know best about its usefulness: it removes hangover syndrome perfectly, however, at the table, during festive libations, it helps to stay sober longer.

There is a very simple folk recipe for a medicine that is effective for liver diseases: you need to mix cabbage brine 1: 1 with tomato juice, and drink this mixture 3 times a day, for several months in a row.

Sauerkraut diet

You can also talk about the cabbage diet: it is known that fresh cabbage perfectly helps to lose weight, but sauerkraut is also used with success for these purposes - even movie stars are talking about this.

For 3 days of a diet on sauerkraut, you can get rid of 3 kg of excess weight, and at the same time you will not feel particularly hungry, and the body will receive many useful substances.

In the morning, you can eat 200-300 g of fruit, oatmeal porridge, a slice of black grain bread with soy meat (tofu), a few sprigs of parsley or celery, and drink a glass of cabbage brine.

Sauerkraut for weight loss

For the 2nd breakfast, you are allowed to eat sauerkraut - as much as you like. For lunch - salad: sauerkraut, grated carrots and grated apple; soup: sauerkraut, grated boiled potatoes, parsley and meat broth; sauerkraut and potato pancakes with a small slice of ham. For dinner: stewed sauerkraut with red beets and baked fish fillet (200 g).

This menu can be repeated every day - sauerkraut does not get bored, and it is easy to see that the dishes are quite nutritious, although not too high in calories. If you just regularly eat sauerkraut, at least 2 tablespoons each. per day, weight will also decrease: cabbage contains tartronic acid, which is called magic - in the body, it does not allow carbohydrates to turn into fat.

Contraindications for sauerkraut

Sauerkraut can not be used for stones in the gallbladder, exacerbations of pancreatitis, stomach and duodenal ulcers. With kidney diseases, especially those accompanied by edema, and with hypertension, you should not eat too salty sauerkraut: you need to rinse it before using it, or cook cabbage for yourself with a small amount of salt - there will be no less useful vitamins in it, but you will have to store it in the refrigerator ...

Return to the beginning of the Healthy body section
Return to the beginning of the section Beauty and Health

Many of us have heard that cabbage is an amazing vegetable that is simply created in order to help us lose extra pounds. At the same time, it is known that sauerkraut for weight loss is an ideal product, which, not only due to its rich taste, will not leave anyone hungry, but also so low in calories that you can eat any portions you want without harming your figure.

How does sauerkraut help you lose weight?

The secret of sauerkraut is that, contrary to the laws of logic, it turns out to be several times more useful than a fresh head of cabbage. The fact is that during the fermentation process, a special lactic acid is released, which reliably fixes all the useful components and makes the cabbage just amazingly useful. One serving of this salad a day - and your body gets the daily norm of B vitamins, immune-boosting vitamin C and rare vitamin K.

However, this is just an additional effect for those who wish to lose those extra pounds. Sauerkraut helps to lose weight because it is a negative calorie product. This expression should be understood not literally, but figuratively: this product contains only 19 calories per 100 grams, and the body spends more energy on its digestion than it receives from it.

That is why there is nothing easier than losing weight on sauerkraut. Of all the diet options, it is the mono-diet (that is, diets during which only one product is allowed, and in this case, sauerkraut) that give the fastest results. However, these results are short-term, and the pounds lost have a chance to return with interest once you return to your normal diet. Long-term results are yielded by long-term diets with a balanced diet, where sauerkraut is only one of the components (of course, the main one).

What is sauerkraut useful for?

It has much more benefits than fresh cabbage. It's all about the bacteria of lactic acid, which are released during fermentation - it is they who "preserve" all the trace elements in the vegetable. One spoonful of sauerkraut contains a daily serving of vitamin K, which is required for blood clotting. Cabbage is rich in vitamin C, which strengthens the immune system, and B vitamins, which are essential for the nervous system.

How many calories are in sauerkraut?

There are only 19 kcal in 100 g of cabbage salad, and in one serving seasoned with vegetable oil - 50 kcal. This is a product with a so-called negative calorie content - the body spends more calories than it receives to digest sauerkraut.

How effective is sauerkraut for weight loss?

The cabbage diet belongs to the category of mono-diets, so its effectiveness (as well as the effectiveness of all monocomponent diets) raises serious doubts among nutritionists. The lost pounds will still return, but not alone, but with serious health problems.

- Monocomponent diets are a short-term solution to the problem. The body lacks nutrients, and due to this, weight loss occurs. As soon as you stop losing weight, the excess weight will instantly return. The only benefit of the cabbage diet is that people are starting to eat more vegetables, says nutritionist Connie Dieckman, former president of the American Dietetic Association.

A diet based on sauerkraut is low in calories, which leads to a significant slowdown in metabolism: the body tries to store calories in reserve. After stopping the diet, a slow metabolism persists for some time - the body simply does not have time to rebuild, and problems arise with food processing. Calories do not have time to "burn", so most of them are processed into fat.

Connie Dickman urges those who are losing weight to adhere to diets and not forget about exercise. If you still want to try sauerkraut for weight loss, then consult your doctor.

Sauerkraut is contraindicated for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, diabetes mellitus and kidney problems.

Sauerkraut: a single food diet

If you want to urgently bring your figure back to normal after the holidays, arrange for yourself a little unloading on sauerkraut. The duration of such a diet cannot exceed 3-4 days. If you have any diseases of the digestive system, this method of losing weight is contraindicated for you! So, let's consider the main provisions:

It is allowed to eat 4-5 times a day and drink 2 liters of water. Meals should be distributed evenly throughout the day. Each meal consists of sauerkraut with half a teaspoon of olive oil (even less is better), white, red or onions can be chopped into cabbage for taste. A thin slice of black or bran bread is allowed for each portion. The last meal is 3-4 hours before bedtime.

After 3-4 days, you will lose 2-4 kilograms. This is a great way to get your figure back on track after the holidays.

Sauerkraut diet

Sauerkraut helps you lose weight, even if the diet is very good and includes very satisfying foods.

The first day: Breakfast: a pack of low-fat cottage cheese and a slice of cereal bread. Dinner: 100 grams of boiled pork and a serving of sauerkraut. Dinner: salad of fresh cucumber and sauerkraut, season with yogurt. Second day: Breakfast: a banana, a glass of low-fat yogurt with a little flakes. Dinner: sauerkraut stewed with bell pepper. Dinner: a slice of fish garnished with cabbage. Day three: Breakfast: salad of orange and fat-free cottage cheese. Dinner: fish with sauerkraut. Dinner: potato pancakes (3 pcs) with sauerkraut. Day four: Breakfast: sandwich with cheese and apple. Dinner: beef stew with bell pepper. Cabbage (sauerkraut) for garnish. Dinner: salad of tomatoes and sauerkraut.

Such a diet is designed for 4 days and helps to lose up to 4 kilograms without unnecessary agony. The main thing is to strictly observe the menu!

Sauerkraut is one of the favorite dishes in every family, especially in winter. Often we ask ourselves the question: how to make sauerkraut? Many people think that for this you need a barrel or a trough, but, for sure, every housewife has a large saucepan - this one is perfect.

Be sure to thinly chop the cabbage - the dish will only benefit from this, and grind it thoroughly with salt - here you will not be disturbed by men's hands.

How much to ferment cabbage?

When preparing sauerkraut according to the traditional recipe, the fermentation time is 3-5 days in a warm room, then the cabbage is exposed to the cold. For quick sauerkraut, try the hot marinade recipe. In this case, the cabbage will be ready to eat in a few hours.

How to cook sauerkraut?

Sauerkraut recipe is very easy and quick. I advise you to buy a shredder, the thing will always come in handy on the farm, and not only for cooking sauerkraut, but for cutting any other vegetables.

Ingredients:

• white cabbage - 1.5 kg;
• carrots - 1 pc.;
• salt - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• sugar - 30 g

Preparation

Chop cabbage and carrots or cut into small strips. Grind with salt, add sugar. Place in a saucepan, best of all enameled, and put under pressure for 5 days. Pierce in several places daily with a knife or wooden stick to escape any accumulated gases, and scoop off any foam that bacteria release from the top. Keep the pan in a warm place to speed up the fermentation process. After five days, the cabbage should be sweet and sour and crispy. Season with vegetable oil and finely chopped green onions before serving.

Sauerkraut with apples

Traditionally, various additives go to cabbage: carrots, cranberries, apples, beets. You can make sauerkraut with apples by adding 3-4 apples per 1.5 kg of cabbage when salting. The apples will need to be pre-washed and cut into slices after removing the seeds. The cabbage will turn out to be sweetish and will please not only adults, but also children.

Sauerkraut with beets

When you add beets to sauerkraut, you will get a very beautiful salad of pale pink color. And if you add garlic, then you will delight the family with a spicy and savory snack.

Ingredients:

• white cabbage - 3 kg;
• beets - 1 kg;
• salt - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• boiled water - 1 l;
• black peppercorns - 5 pcs.;
• vinegar - 1 tbsp.;
• sugar - 1 tbsp.;
• bay leaf - 3 pcs.

Preparation

We clean the cabbage from damaged leaves and cut into squares. Peel the beets and cut them into thin plates. Mix the cabbage with the beets and prepare the marinade: We heat one liter of water in a saucepan, let it boil and add black pepper, salt, sugar, bay leaf. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. Then add vinegar and boil for another minute. Pour cabbage with beet marinade, mix, put under oppression. We stand in a warm place for 3-4 days, then transfer to bottles and send to the refrigerator. Serve as a salad, pre-seasoned with vegetable oil.

As you can see, cooking sauerkraut is easy, a little patience and vitamins will appear on your table in winter, which this dish is so rich in. The benefits of sauerkraut are enormous: it has firming and anti-inflammatory properties, contains vitamin C, B, potassium, zinc, iron, lactic acid. In addition, sauerkraut is a low-calorie dish, and you can use it for cosmetic purposes if you make a face mask.

It is difficult to imagine a more affordable, cheap and delicious dish than sauerkraut, which is indispensable in winter. This material will help you choose the right variety, ferment correctly and preserve the finished product, observing all the rules and technology.

Which cabbage is better to choose

Sauerkraut is fermented in almost every home, regardless of whether there is a private garden or vegetables are purchased on the market. But not every cabbage is suitable for pickling. In order not to be disappointed with the result of labor and the taste of the final product, you should carefully choose a vegetable. For pickling and pickling, varieties with medium and late ripening periods are suitable, which have sufficient dry matter and a denser leaf mass. Early varieties do not meet these criteria and are not suitable for fermentation.

Important! If you choose between benefits and taste, then it is better to eat fresh cabbage.

Heads of cabbage should be chosen large, dense, and not friable (the tighter the set of forks, the whiter and softer the leaves inside), white in the cut (this indicates the presence of a larger amount of sugar, which affects the fermentation process during fermentation), the taste of the head in fresh should be sweet and crunchy. The stump should also be firm and juicy. When choosing cabbage in late autumn, you need to make sure that it is not frozen.

Mid-season varieties for fermentation:

Late varieties for fermentation:

Hybrid varieties are also popular when choosing for fermentation, the selection of varieties is aimed at obtaining larger heads of cabbage:

What time is better to ferment

It is advised to ferment cabbage in two terms - in autumn and winter.

Did you know? If, when tying a head of cabbage, put a cucumber on the ovary between the leaves inside, then it will grow and remain fresh until spring.

In autumn

As soon as the harvesting of mid-season and mid-late varieties of vegetables begins in the fields, the first stage of cabbage fermentation begins. Medium ripening varieties can be fermented from September, but the finished product should be stored in a cold room. At the first frost, medium-late varieties can be fermented. By this time, the amount of sugars in them will increase, which improves the quality of fermentation and the taste of the product.

In winter

Late varieties are suitable for long-term fresh storage. But heads of cabbage that are not intended for storage are recommended to be processed 2-3 months after harvest - in November or December. During this time, sugar accumulates in the leaves, and they become more juicy. If such varieties are fermented earlier, the finished product will acquire an unpleasant odor and bitter taste.

Features of the starter culture

There are two types of cabbage leaven:

1. Salting- fill with brine at room temperature. This method is simpler and salting is faster.
2. Pickling- passes without salt or with a minimum content.

Did you know? To enhance the fermentation of cabbage, put a slice of rye bread on the bottom of the container, covering it with leaves.

Preparation of vegetables for fermentation occurs in the following order:

1. Cleaning- remove the top green leaves and cut out the stump, which can be used if the cabbage is grown on your site without the use of chemicals.
2. Shredder- chopping with a knife or shredder. The shavings should not be very thin, otherwise the product will be soft.
- load the chopped mass into the selected and prepared container not to the top, so that in the first days of fermentation, the juice does not flow out. Loss of juice leads to a deterioration in the quality of the finished product.
3. Rammer- the cabbage packed in a container is slightly compacted until the juice appears.
4. Adding salt- each layer of cabbage is salted with coarse salt, evenly distributing its amount by the number of intended layers.
5. Installing oppression- at the end of the bookmark in the container, the top layer is covered with large cabbage leaves, a clean cloth napkin and oppression is set.

There are several types of sauerkraut:

• shredded- shavings no more than 5 mm;
• chopped- shavings no more than 12 mm;
• whole-head- whole forks are poured shredded or chopped, and a cruciform incision on the stump will allow the head of cabbage to be salted faster.

The main ingredient in cabbage pickling is carrots. It can be grated or cut into strips. Grated carrots will color the cabbage orange, while chopped carrots will leave it white. Additional components will add a pleasant color and a unique aroma to the finished product: red cabbage, beets, sweet bell peppers, chopped apples, dill and caraway seeds, bay leaves. Adding horseradish root will make the cabbage crisp.

Important! Vegetables should be prepared as quickly as possible, since even short storage of peeled forks will degrade the sugars and vitamin C on the surface leaves.

Which container is better for fermentation?

Before fermentation, you need to carefully prepare the container. At home, glass jars, enameled buckets and pots (without damaging the enamel), ceramic and wooden containers are useful for salting. The ideal wooden container is oak, birch, linden, worse - spruce. Do not use plastic containers, stainless steel and aluminum containers.

How long should it ferment

The first signs of fermentation are gas bubbles and foam on the surface. They must be removed. This technique should not be neglected, since otherwise the taste of the finished product will deteriorate. To remove gases from the inner layers, it is necessary to make punctures twice a day with a smooth wooden skewer to the bottom of the container. The punctures are carried out until the unpleasant odor disappears.

Vigorous fermentation takes place within 5-6 days at a temperature of + 18 ... + 21 ° С. This temperature regime contributes to the preservation of vitamin C and the suppression of microbial processes by the rapid formation of acid. After the end of this period, the containers must be moved to a cool room in order to slow down the fermentation processes.
Cabbage, fermented at a temperature of + 21 ° C, has the best taste. Already by the fifth day, it acquires the optimal ratio of acid and sugar, which gives it a pleasant salty-wine taste. With further fermentation, the cabbage acquires a sharper taste, which can be described as sour and salty.

At temperatures below + 18 ° C, the fermentation process slows down and lasts up to 1–2 months. At high temperatures (about + 30 ° C), fermentation in heat will end in a week, but the quality of the resulting product in color and taste will be inferior to the product of long-term fermentation.

Important! Vitamin C content increases from the outer leaves towards the center of the fork and reaches the highest value in the stalk.

When to put oppression

Bending is a special object of a given weight, which is placed on top of fermented vegetables as a load. Cabbage must be fermented under pressure. The weight of the load must be such that the contents of the container are completely covered with brine. The amount of pressure can be adjusted depending on the amount of juice released.
At the beginning of fermentation, the load can be large for better juicing. Then the load can be reduced. Jars filled with water or clean pebble stone (in no case limestone) are suitable as oppression. Metal objects cannot be used as oppression.

Where can you store

To preserve the quality and taste, the optimal storage temperature must be maintained at the level of 0 ... + 2 ° С, while maintaining the chemical composition at the level of the end of fermentation. A cool basement or cellar can provide this temperature. If there are no such conditions, then you can store it in the refrigerator or on a glassed-in balcony, or ferment the cabbage in small portions in order to eat it faster. At elevated storage temperatures, the acidity of the cabbage decreases and it loses its elasticity.

Important! As the shelf life increases, the quality of the product deteriorates. So, the amount of vitamin C after 7 months of storage is halved from the original content.

How to determine readiness

As soon as the release of gas and foam on the surface has ended, and the juice has changed from cloudy to transparent and light, we can assume that the cabbage is ready. You can verify this by tasting the product. The crisp sour-salty refreshing taste speaks of readiness.

How long can you eat sauerkraut

Looking at the containers where fermentation is taking place, the question arises when you can try the product. If the fermentation process takes place in a large container, then it takes 6 days until ready. In a three-liter jar, this process will be 2 times faster.

During the initial fermentation, the cabbage has not yet acquired the taste and aroma of the final product. In addition, the nitrates contained in it are converted into nitrites, so the taste of such cabbage will not bring either pleasure or health benefits.

Possible problems with fermentation

To get the perfect fermentation product, you need to know about possible errors and how to fix them:

1. The appearance of foam- a natural process at the beginning of fermentation, requires only timely removal.
2. Bitter taste- when preparing the raw material, green leaves were left, the protruding foam was not removed.
3. Dark and light layers- uneven distribution of salt when the layers are salted; in places with a large amount of salt, cabbage becomes dark.
4. Flabbiness- insufficient amount of salt. The best proportion is 200 g of salt per 10 kg of prepared raw materials.
5. Slime- violation of the temperature regime of fermentation, the addition of iodized salt, excess sugar or carrots, chemicals in vegetables.
6. Pink color- excess salt, loose tamping, the product acquires a musty taste.
7. Film on the surface- low storage temperature. It is necessary to remove and rinse the cloth and oppression.
8. Mold- on the surface, under the influence of oxygen, molds and yeasts develop. The top layer must be removed and discarded. Horseradish leaves laid on the surface will help to avoid the appearance of mold.
9. Tough cabbage- badly dented, excess salt, slight oppression.

I sauerkraut at home all the time, almost all year round.

I use a 3 liter glass jar. The technology has been worked out almost to perfection (at the bottom of the can - a crust of black bread, tightly tamp the cabbage mixed with carrots and salt, pierce twice a day, add juice back to the can). And my cabbage is always ready on the third day after cooking.
To find out if the cabbage is ready, just taste it - there should be enough acid.

Three days after cooking, I put the jar of cabbage in the refrigerator, where it is safely stored (but not for long - everything is eaten within the next 4-5 days).

★★★★★★★★★★

Comments (1)

Everything is correct. Only I would like without black bread.

What do you dislike about black bread? Are you a theorist or a practitioner? The crust of black bread speeds up the fermentation process required for sourdough. In addition, the question was not asked by you)) (this is about "I would like it without .....") In the author's question there is nothing at all about black bread, but only about the terms of fermentation. About my personal experience - I ask in a "personal".

In general, you can do as you want (and without black bread). Your right)) After that, please write how your sauerkraut will turn out, and how you made it. Thank you for your reply))

Cabbage is fermented for 5 days.

It is chopped, salted and crushed with hands so that the juice begins to stand out. Carrots and beets are also added to the cabbage.
Portions of cabbage are loaded into a large container (tank or tub).
When the container is full, a circle is placed on top of it and crushed with a load.
The container is left in the house for several days. At this time, it should sour and ferment.
Every day the cabbage should be pierced with a wooden stake in order to release the gas.
While the cabbage is fermenting, a sour smell will come out.
This is how the smell stops, then the cabbage is considered fermented.

After that, the cabbage is transferred to jars and lowered into the basement for storage.
Finally, cabbage becomes edible in a month.

Now, when the heating is on, cabbage will sour faster.

You can get a great product in 2-3 days.

Shred, salt, stir with or without carrots - it does not really affect the taste. (It is believed that it adds a little sweetness, and with it the cabbage becomes somehow more beautiful and "more fun." To prevent the top layer from winding and darkening in the air, a large sheet or a clean cloth is placed on top. On it - a "circle", a large plate or a lid with a load. After 2 days, if cabbage is fermented in a heated room, just try it. If it coincides with your ideas about sauerkraut, remove the load and poke a few holes in the cabbage to the very bottom, "so that the bitterness comes out."

After another day, you can pack and put in the refrigerator.

Peroxidized cabbage, and even more so, fermented, believe me, is worse than under-oxidized cabbage - it will "reach" in a container, it will definitely take its toll. And, here the peroxide will fit only for cabbage soup and for hodgepodge.

It should not smell like sour and not alcohol (all the more, not rotten!), But exude a special spirit that stirs up the appetite. And it should crunch on your teeth.

A lot of juice comes out, especially when you crush the cabbage. He will go to work. When the cabbage is under the yoke, the container with it is placed in another container, where the juice will be collected.

You can add a little juice to the packaged cabbage if it seems dry. Do not pour out the rest! This is an excellent vitamin balm that helps, moreover, from a number of ailments. Store it in a jar in the refrigerator.

So in a warm room, all cycles are shortened. Keep this in mind.

★★★★★★★★★★

Earlier, when we salted cabbage, it was ready on the third day. But in the past two years, more time has been spent on salting, although the temperature in the apartment has not changed.

I think the variety of cabbage still plays a role. Before that, cabbage was salted from its site - Podarok, Slava and Gribovskaya late. Now there is no plot, you have to buy it. But what kinds of it we do not know.

Salt the cabbage as usual: chop finely, add grated carrots, salt only with coarse (rock) salt. If there are dill seeds, add it, as well as bay leaves. We knead each row tightly. After that, cover with a napkin and put oppression.

When the cabbage starts to bubble well, we pierce it twice so that the gases come out. If it has become softer, then it is ready. We put them in bags and in the freezer or on the balcony if the temperature is below zero.

If any of us are asked to name the five first garden plants that come to mind, then cabbage will certainly be among them. This vegetable plant can be safely attributed to the most important in the human diet.

Therefore, it is not surprising that many housewives are thinking about how to cook sauerkraut.

Cabbage was introduced to cultural agriculture in prehistoric times. Archaeologists confirm that cabbage has been used since the Stone and Bronze Ages. At the time when the ancient Egyptians looked after cabbage, the Romans and Greeks, there were only up to ten varieties. In the nineteenth century, this number increased to three dozen. Now all over the world hundreds of varieties of cabbage are cultivated, grown, used for food!
The South Slavic tribes adopted the experience of growing cabbage from the colonists who inhabited the Black Sea regions. After a while, we learned about cabbage in Russia.

The distribution area of ​​cabbage is very extensive. This plant is grown by gardeners in all corners of the world with a fairly temperate climate. The exceptions are areas of permafrost and deserts.
Such popularity of cabbage, as well as its value in human food, is determined by its composition. The main valuable substances that cabbage contains are vitamins and fiber, carotene and polysaccharides, nitrogenous substances and mineral salts.

The great mathematician and philosopher of Ancient Greece Pythagoras highly appreciated the benefits of cabbage and even was engaged in the development of new varieties of it. The inhabitants of Ancient Rome knew about the medicinal properties of cabbage. Official medicine recognized the healing properties of cabbage after an anti-ulcer factor called "vitamin U" was found in its juice. Cabbage juice is prescribed for the treatment of gastritis, colitis, stomach and duodenal ulcers.
Traditional medicine prescribes juice from cabbage leaves as a remedy for the treatment of festering wounds, it is used in the treatment of edema and gastritis, liver diseases and relieving constipation. Cabbage is used for dietary nutrition with excess weight and gout, it is recommended to use it for diseases of the gallbladder and atherosclerosis. It is also noticed that cabbage juice rejuvenates the skin. These properties are used in cosmetic masks and other skin care products.

Homemade sauerkraut

Different types of cabbage are eaten: white and red cabbage, Savoy and Brussels sprouts, Peking and broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and many others. Many different dishes can be prepared with cabbage. But the leader on the cabbage menu is definitely homemade sauerkraut. This dish will be called their national in Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Belarus, the Czech Republic and a number of other countries.

Sauerkraut is a delicious independent dish and a side dish for meat dishes; it is used as a filling for pies and pies, dumplings, pancakes, etc. It is not only very tasty, but also very healthy. Sauerkraut in winter is the richest source of vitamin C. It contains trace elements important for the activity of the human body iodine, zinc and magnesium. In addition, this product regulates the body's metabolic processes and normalizes the intestinal microflora, enriches the body with valuable trace elements and enzymes.

Traditional medicine advises the use of sauerkraut and also the pickle from its fermentation for numerous ailments. With the help of a vitamin assistant, healers cure common colds, and such difficult diseases as bronchial asthma and even epilepsy. Sauerkraut will help with vitamin deficiency and elevated temperature, hemorrhoids and gastritis, stomach and duodenal ulcers. It is also used in the treatment of umbilical hernia in children, for cuts, burns and insect bites. Sauerkraut helps with liver diseases, heartburn and the treatment of many more diseases. Repeated studies of scientists indicate that sauerkraut has specific substances that can stop the growth of cancer cells and malignant neoplasms. This is especially true for processes that can occur in the lungs, intestines and mammary glands. And also, sauerkraut is a very loyal assistant for "male power".

An interesting fact: the famous cartographer and discoverer of unknown lands James Cook, setting off on a long and dangerous journey, took on board 60 barrels of sauerkraut as provisions. It was sauerkraut that saved the crew of his ship from scurvy.

Every family knows how to cook sauerkraut, and it must have its own secret, its own flavor and traditions.

How to choose cabbage for pickling

There are several main ways to ferment cabbage at home: pickled cabbage chopped with a knife or a special shredder, pickled cabbage finely chopped with a hoe (or chopped) in a special wooden trough. There are lovers who ferment cabbage, cut into quarters, halves, and even whole heads of cabbage.

The main ingredients of sauerkraut are the cabbage itself and the salt, evenly distributed in it. Sauerkraut additives can be very diverse. These are carrots and bay leaves, cranberries and apples, cumin and dill seeds, pumpkin and allspice peas, beets and much more, depending on the preferences of each family and the region in which you live.

It is very important which cabbage to ferment. For pickling, choose late varieties of cabbage. The cabbage forks you choose to pickle for the winter should have white, juicy and crispy leaves.

Thrifty housewives choose large heads of cabbage for sourdough. This is advisable in that there is much less waste from one large fork of cabbage than from two small ones. In the process of preparing cabbage heads, the upper leaves of a darker color with a greenish color, any darkening, rotten places, frost-bitten or simply deformed leaves during transportation are cut off. By the way, they should not be thrown away. You will read below how to use such leaves in the process of salting cabbage. If you plan to pickle the whole, halves or quarters of the cabbage, then for a more even salting of the cabbage, the cabbage stump is also cut out of it.

To make sure you pick the right one, cut up the cabbage and just taste it. If you like the taste of cabbage, feel free to start salting. If not, cook something else out of it.

Fun fact: sauerkraut can be cooked without salt. After all, its taste is acquired due to lactic acid fermentation caused by certain bacteria. Although the cabbage fermented in this way is stored less. In this case, salt acts as a preservative.

Dishes for salting cabbage for the winter

Pickling cabbage for the winter must be done in a certain container. For a long time, wooden containers of various volumes have been used for these purposes, many are returning to this option even now. On the one hand, cooking sauerkraut in a wooden container (except for conifers) gives its own specific pleasant aroma, and on the other hand, wood is an environmentally friendly material that does not have a negative effect on the human body.

Many housewives use enameled dishes, for example, buckets, to ferment cabbage. In this case, it is worth carefully examining its inner surface. It is not advisable to use dishes with chipped or cracked enamel for pickling cabbage and storing it for a long time. Sour cabbage brine can eat away exposed metal and give cabbage an unpleasant aftertaste.

You can use a container made of food-grade plastic for pickling cabbage at home, although gourmets believe that such a container does not have such a "rich" taste.
Your recipe for making sauerkraut may be wonderful and proven over the years, but it is advisable not to use aluminum dishes for cabbage sourdough! In addition to the fact that aluminum is oxidized under the influence of lactic acid released during fermentation of cabbage, it also gives your adored cabbage a grayish color and a specific metallic taste.

When is it better to ferment cabbage

The answer to this question will be given to you by mothers, grandmothers, neighbors in the country, employees and other advisers. In Russia, souring cabbage, depending on the region, began in different ways. In some regions, they tried to do this immediately after the celebration of the church holiday of the Exaltation of the Lord's Cross, that is, after September 27. Residents of other regions did not start salting cabbage before Sergius Day, which is celebrated on October 8.

Many housewives try to ferment cabbage according to the lunar calendar, and some others are guided by family traditions or folk signs. So on what days to sauerkraut?

Folk omens say that the most successful is cabbage, fermented shortly after the new moon. Approximately 5-6 days. The growing moon also "contributes" to the delicious salting of cabbage, but when the moon is waning, it is not advisable to do this. Adherents of the moon know that her calendar does not recommend souring cabbage on a full moon. Allegedly, cabbage, cooked for the winter during this period, becomes soft and overly sour.

Many housewives adhere to the principle that the day for souring cabbage should be "male", that is, Monday, Tuesday or Thursday. The latter are preferred. They say the letter "P" guarantees that the cabbage will grow xRR.

And the experience of numerous generations of housewives advises not to ferment cabbage to women on "critical days" and until the 40th day after the birth of a child.

How to ferment cabbage correctly

So, we come to the most important question - how to ferment cabbage correctly. We will proceed from the fact that we need a traditional, "classic" recipe for pickling cabbage. Long-term, even centuries-old experience of a huge army of housewives has crystallized the most optimal proportions for salting cabbage.
And these proportions are as follows: 10 kg of cabbage and 200 gr. salt. Sauerkraut recipe can be different, starting with the salting method. This is dry salting (when cabbage is rubbed with hands with dry salt), "wet" salting (when cabbage, tamped in a prepared container, is poured with brine). Wet salting, in turn, is divided into cold and hot (brewed).

There is nothing more common than fermenting cabbage and carrots. This is the most traditional addition to cabbage. And here the opinions of the hostesses were divided again. Some of them believe that the carrots should be grated on a coarse grater, while others prefer to chop the carrots into thin slices or long straws. Who cares? Chopped carrots do not produce as much juice as grated carrots. That is why cabbage cooked with chopped carrots ultimately has a lighter, uncolored color, and with grated carrots has a reddish "fox" tint.

To diversify the taste of sauerkraut will also help you cut large or whole small apples of sour varieties, strong plums, lingonberries and cranberries. You can add pickled and salted mushrooms, celery and bell peppers, etc. to sauerkraut. Allspice, peas and caraway seeds, cloves and bay leaves, horseradish and celery will not be a superfluous addition to the vigorous cabbage taste.

Cooking sauerkraut

We bring the cabbage we have chosen with passion and clean it as described above. Shred or chop the cabbage, grind it with salt, add the desired amount of carrots (or other flavor enhancers, if desired) to it and put it in a prepared container. Lay the cabbage in small portions, tamping it with a special wooden crush, or with the fist of your beloved. This is necessary so that as little air as possible remains between the layers of cabbage. When the last cabbage is laid, the clean cabbage leaves left by us are placed on top, on top of them you can put a clean, dense natural rag (for example, a linen towel). In a wooden container, a wooden circle was usually laid on top of it, and on top of it there was oppression - most often of a rounded shape, a rather massive stone.

We, based on the home conditions of the city hostess, put a flat plate of a suitable size on top and put a 1-2 liter jar of water on top - instead of oppression. If the cabbage is juicy enough, then after that, almost the entire plate is filled with the released juice. You shouldn't remove it! If your container is filled with cabbage to the very brim, then you should take care in advance that the juice that stands out does not pour out.

How much to ferment cabbage

Now the cabbage should be fermented. To do this, leave the container with cabbage at room temperature for 5-7 days. Every day, you will need, after collecting the resulting foam, remove the oppression from the plate and pierce the cabbage. It is convenient to do this with a wooden stick. And you need to pierce to the very bottom. This is done so that bitterness goes away, as our grandmothers say. You will notice that with each passing day, the liquid covering the plate will become less and less. Gradually, the cabbage will begin to smell like sauerkraut, then it must be removed to a cold place to stop fermentation. The specialist determines the ideal storage temperature for sauerkraut in the region of the zero mark.

Note to the hostess:

Your cabbage will be crispy if you don't overdo it by chopping it too thin.
- Do not "crush" the cabbage and salt too actively: it is enough to mix these components, squeezing slightly.
- Carefully tamp the cabbage layer, and do not forget about oppression!
- To ensure crunchiness, add a little oak bark or grated horseradish root to the cabbage when salting. These plants contain tannins. On the one hand, they are very harmoniously combined with the taste of cabbage, and on the other hand, they will not allow it to become soft.
- Start the fermentation process for cabbage at a temperature of 19-22 degrees. This process ends at about 00 C.

If your family is small, then a recipe for how to sauer cabbage in a jar will come in handy.

You will need 3 kg of shredded cabbage, about 50 grams. salt, carrots (apples, cranberries, etc.) to taste. We grind until the juice appears and, tamping tightly, put it in a 3-liter jar. If your hand does not fit into the jar, ask a younger family member to tamp the cabbage, or use a rolling pin.
We put the jar of cabbage in some container that will not let the juice spread (plate, tray, etc.) and leave it in the kitchen. After a day, the juice will begin to foam. Remove it carefully, and do not forget to pierce the cabbage with a wooden stick to the very bottom, as described above. It is advisable to do this procedure at least a couple of times a day.

When there is no brine left on the surface of the cabbage (it will go into the cabbage), and its top layer acquires a "sluggish" appearance, you can put the jar of cabbage in the refrigerator or another cold place. The cabbage in the jar is ready! It is good to let the cabbage cool in the jar before you start sampling: it tastes much better. And if you add fragrant vegetable oil and finely chopped onions - it's just delicious! Especially with hot potatoes and lard with a layer.

If you did not succeed in fermenting cabbage in the fall for some reason, you can do it at any other time. If you absolutely wanted to decorate the New Year's table with sauerkraut, but you have no time left to sauerkraut in December, the quick preparation of sauerkraut can help you.

Many people love Beetroot for the Lazy. This recipe will certainly appeal to ladies who are limited in time, but who want to pamper their household members.

In addition to the fact that this sauerkraut is quick, the process of its preparation will take quite a bit of time. To prepare it, you will need:

White cabbage - 5 kg
- large beets - 1 pc.
- garlic - 1-2 heads
- bitter pepper 2-3 pcs.

We clean and cut the garlic. Cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds and internal membranes. Chop thinly and mix with garlic. Peel the beets and cut the raw beets into thin strips or three on a coarse grater. Cut the cabbage into rather large pieces, approximately 3x3 cm pieces.

Further, we will lay all the listed components in layers in a prepared container - for example, a plastic bucket. This must be done so that the cabbage is packed quite tightly, but also loose, so that the brine is evenly in contact with its pieces.

So: a layer of cabbage, garlic and pepper, beets. There will be 2-3 such layers. The top layer is cabbage, if possible, spread out in an even layer. Its contents should not rise above the upper edge of the container.

All this beauty will need to be poured with brine, which is prepared from the following components:
For 1 liter of water:
- 2 tbsp. l. salt
- 0.5 tbsp. Sahara
- 1/3 cup vinegar 9%
- 8-10 allspice peas
- 3-5 bay leaves.
For the specified amount of cabbage, you will need about 3 liters of brine.

Let the water boil, dissolve salt and sugar in it. The water should cool slightly, after which we pour the vinegar into it and pour the cabbage with the resulting marinade. Cabbage tends to float, therefore, so that the top layer is cooked evenly - on top of the cabbage we arrange oppression from a flat plate of a suitable size and a can of water, as described above.

Then we gain patience and wait. The most impatient ones can start trying after a day. Such cabbage is truly ready in 4-5 days. It turns out to be a bright beetroot color. Sweet and sour taste and spicy aroma will surely delight your household. Be sure to put ripe cabbage in the cold: staying warm, it will become more spicy and sour from day to day.

Sauerkraut Dishes

Sauerkraut was a very popular dish in Russia. They prepared a lot of it every autumn, and then all winter they ate it in its natural form and prepared all kinds of dishes from it.

Sauerkraut cabbage soup prepared by an experienced housewife is the height of delight! Rich broth combined with sauerkraut and spices will warm you up after work or a walk in the cold.

You will need: meat on the bone (pork knuckle, smoked meat is perfect) - 0.5 kg; sauerkraut 500-600 g; potatoes - 6-7 pcs.; carrots - 1 pc.; onion - 1 pc., garlic - 2 cloves; 1 tbsp. l. tomato paste. Vegetable oil or pork fat for sautéing, water, salt, spices to taste, sour cream and herbs for decorating the finished dish.
1. Wash the meat, fill it with water and cook for about an hour.
2. Put sauerkraut in the boiling broth. If cut into long strips, cut into shorter pieces. You do not need to rinse before placing in the broth! Cook for another 1 hour.
3. We take out the meat, remove it from the bones, cut into pieces and put it back in the broth.
4. Put the whole peeled potatoes in the broth and cook until cooked. We take it out, push it apart (not in mashed potatoes, but in large pieces, but not cut), put it back in the broth and continue to cook over low heat.
5. Carrots, grated on a coarse grater and chopped onions with garlic, sauté in fat (of your choice), season with tomato paste, stir thoroughly.
6. Combine cabbage soup with frying, salt to taste.
7. Put greens and a spoonful of sour cream in a plate with cabbage soup.

The cabbage soup, aged one night in the frost, acquires a completely different, richer and more pleasant taste.

Stewed sauerkraut (Latvian cuisine) is prepared as follows: 1 kg of sauerkraut, 0.5-0.6 kg of grated carrots, 2 onions, fat (vegetable, chicken, pork - of your choice), cumin.

Fry finely chopped onions in fat, add grated carrots, allow time for these vegetables to “sweat” a little. Add sauerkraut, a little water and simmer. After 30-40 minutes, add 1-2 tsp. caraway seeds, mix and bring to readiness.

This dish, cooked in vegetable oil, is quite suitable for vegetarians and for eating during church fasts. If you cooked with animal fat, then this is just an amazingly tasty dish. Serve as a wonderful side dish for any meat dish.

Stewed sauerkraut is both an excellent filling for pies, dumplings, puffs and other dough products, and a delicious independent dish, and a side dish for meat. This dish is prepared similarly to the previous one, but with the addition of fresh cabbage.

You will need 2 pcs. onions and carrots, 0.5 kg of sauerkraut and 1 kg of fresh white cabbage.

Chopped or coarsely grated carrots are fried with onions, cut into half rings until golden brown. Shredded fresh cabbage is placed on top, mixed and fried for 1-12 minutes. Add sauerkraut, salt, mix everything. Reduce heat to low, close the lid and simmer for about half an hour. The cabbage in the finished dish should not be too crispy, but also not turned into porridge. Add spices to your taste a couple of minutes before turning off the finished dish.

Pickling cabbage for the winter is a good Russian tradition that helps to fortify and diversify the diet in the cold season.