Sauerkraut is harvested for the winter in many families. It is a great addition to many main courses. In addition, in sauerkraut, cabbage retains most of the vitamins and nutrients.

Many housewives are worried about the question: what makes their sauerkraut too soft? This can happen for the following reasons:

• If the cabbage has been frozen, it will not only turn out soft, but it will have an unpleasant odor and a sweetish taste.
• The cabbage, from which you made the preparations, contained a large amount of nitrates.
• Softness and insufficient crunch may indicate that early cabbage varieties were used in the harvesting.
• The reason for the softness of sauerkraut may be the hasty harvesting of the heads of cabbage that have just been removed from the garden. Before harvesting, cut heads of cabbage should lie down for some time.
• During the fermentation process, the cabbage should be pierced periodically to release excess carbon dioxide. If this is not done, sauerkraut will seriously lose not only in taste, but also become softer.
• To prevent sauerkraut from getting too soft, use only strong, large heads of cabbage for harvesting.
• After shredding, do not crush (or crush) the cabbage. You just need to mix it with salt.
• For preparation, use only wooden, glass or enamel containers.

If you follow these simple rules, your cabbage will always be quite firm and crispy.

Before the traditional autumn fermentation, many housewives are worried about the question: how to deliciously salt the cabbage and so that it remains light.

After all, darkened, gray sauerkraut looks very unattractive, sometimes you don't even want to eat it.

To keep your capricious husbands and other family members happy with your prepared preparation, read proven folk tips and recipes for salting white cabbage. And crispy.

The choice of the cabbage itself for fermentation is very important.

It is better to salt white cabbage, crispy and sweetish in taste, which has a white core

The very first moment, in order for the cabbage to turn out light, you need to ferment only white varieties of cabbage, the top green leaves or greenish ones with a light green tint should not get into the slicing.

These colored leaves (or all of the cabbage) end up with an unappetizing gray tint. In ancient times, such cabbage was salted separately, called "gray cabbage" and used for cabbage soup.

The heads of cabbage themselves should be of late varieties, well-ripened and sweet, necessarily flat, strong and snow-white.

Carrots also give cabbage a yellowish tinge. Therefore, smart grandmothers at the bazaar, in order to satisfy customers who want to buy a beautiful cabbage, do this: they ferment cabbage without carrots, and then add grated carrots just before the sale. Get white cabbage with bright orange splashes of carrots.

You can not grate the carrots, but chop them thinly or chop them on a grater for Korean carrots. This will release less orange juice and will not color the white cabbage leaves too much. You don't need to put a lot of carrots!

Also, you need to ferment the cabbage so that it does not darken, without rubbing it too much. Only just a little, so that the salt is evenly distributed.

If you grind the cabbage hard, then it will lose a lot of juice and it will turn out soft and not crunchy.

And most importantly, how to pickle cabbage for the winter so that it is crispy and white.

Cabbage should be fermented (lactic acid fermentation) all in juice, it darkens from the air. There should be enough juice. When you stir cabbage with salt in a basin, it already yields juice.

Order an energy saver and forget about the previous huge light costs

If there is not enough juice, add water with salt and a little sugar and put oppression.

And now the recipes for sauerkraut, crispy and white.

1. Chop the cabbage directly into a large container, add carrots to taste and pour brine for 15 minutes - 2 cups of coarse salt in a bucket of cold water. After 15 minutes, take the cabbage with your hands and as far as you have enough strength to squeeze and fill a 3-liter jar tightly. Then keep in the kitchen for 3-5 days, periodically piercing it so that gases come out and skimming the foam. Then put in a cool place to infuse. The cabbage is white and very crispy.

2. Chop the cabbage, mix it with grated carrots. Fill 3-liter jars tightly, without reporting to the top by 4 fingers. Top with 2 tablespoons of coarse salt without top. Fill with tap water. Close with a nylon lid and immediately lower it into the basement. The cabbage turns out to be crispy and almost as fresh, very tasty.

3. For 3 kg of cabbage, take 1 tbsp. l. sugar, 1.5 tbsp. l. salt, 1 liter of boiled water. Chop the cabbage, pour over the cooked brine. Keep for 3 days at room temperature, piercing to the bottom with a stick, then put in the cold. The container should be opaque, such as an enamel saucepan or bucket. The cabbage should be in the brine to maintain its white color and crisp texture. Carrots are optional.

Ancient folk signs of souring delicious cabbage:

• you need to salt on the new moon, before the first quarter, preferably on the 6-7th day of the new moon
• on tuesday or thursday
• not on "red days of the calendar"

Each housewife owns her own, albeit small, but the secret of delicious salting of cabbage.

Some sauerkraut with apples, some with grapes, but most are limited to adding carrots.

The following ratios can be proposed:

• for 10 kg of slaw, 350 g of carrots and 180-200 g of salt
• for 10 kg of prepared cabbage, 1 kg of apples (better than Antonovka), cut into halves, and 180-200 g of salt
• for 10 kg of slaw, 350 g of cranberries, 180-200 g of salt

White and delicious salted cabbage and bon appetit!

Sauerkraut is considered a healthy and tasty dish. It was prepared by the Russian princes, as it well compensated for the lack of vitamins in the winter. There are many rules for its preparation, but all methods adhere to the same standards. But sometimes, subject to all sourdough technologies, cabbage turns out to be snotty. The brine is cloudy and at the same time it contains incomprehensible slimy threads. How can you avoid this?

Reasons for the appearance

Fermentation is considered the most acceptable way to preserve the vitamin composition. But why does snotty cabbage show up in the recipe? The main reasons are as follows:

1. It is important to select special varieties for the starter culture. Late varieties with white heads of cabbage will do. If you choose a vegetable with green leaves, then the taste of the dish will be with bitterness. Heads of cabbage should be dense, juicy and have small cobs. Sweet cabbage leaves give a good taste to pickling.
2. If the cabbage is snotty, then added sugar can be a possible cause. He is able to provoke a slimy state.
3. The appetizer acquires a pleasant taste if fermentation occurs at a temperature of twenty degrees Celsius to 25 degrees.
4. It is important to rinse the container in preparation for the starter culture. In addition, it is better to select dishes from natural materials; it is advisable to avoid plastic. Wood or glass will do.
5. When the cabbage has become snotty, then you need to check the quantity and quality of the salt. The spice should not be small and it should not be finely ground. Coarse salt is suitable for fermentation.

But the main reason that the cabbage turned out to be snotty is non-compliance with the cooking technology. Excess air causes the growth of the wrong bacteria, as a result, the snack turns out to have an unpleasant odor and mucus appears on the brine during scooping.

What can be done

How to save an already cooked dish? What to do with cabbage that has changed its appearance and quality? You should not immediately throw out the result of your work. You can't eat such a snack in its natural form, but it can be used to prepare some dishes, for example, cabbage soup.

To use snotty cabbage for certain recipes, rinse it well and thoroughly before starting it in the dish.

Folk omens

It is believed that salting is best trusted by men and not cooking when the moon is full. This has not been scientifically proven, while many believe folk omens to avoid the appearance of snotty cabbage.

Sauerkraut this recipe makes it very tasty, crispy, and also cooks quite quickly! You don't have to wrinkle it with your hands, since it is fermented in brine. The recipe is very simple and proven over the years!

Composition:

• 2-2.3 kg white cabbage (late)
• 2 medium carrots
• 3-4 bay leaves
• a few peas of black or allspice (optional)

Brine:

• 1.5 l of water
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of salt (not iodized)
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of sugar

Cooking crispy sauerkraut in brine:

1. Prepare the brine by dissolving salt and sugar in warm boiled water. (By the way, you can pour cabbage only with clean water.)
2. Peel the cabbage from the top leaves, cut into several pieces and chop with a knife, grater or in a combine, whoever has what.

   Shredded cabbage for fermentation

3. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater.

   Grated carrots

4. Mix cabbage with carrots.

   Cabbage and carrots for fermentation in brine

5. Transfer this mixture to a clean jar, tamping lightly (but not hard). Put a few bay leaves and peppercorns between the layers.

   Cooking crispy sauerkraut

6. Pour the brine into the jar so that it completely covers the cabbage. (Depending on how you cut it, fine or larger, you will have 1.2-1.5 liters of brine.)

   Pouring with brine

   Cabbage in brine

7. Cover the jar with a lid loosely or cover with a bandage folded several times. Place in a deep plate, as the brine will rise and overflow during fermentation.

   Cooking delicious sauerkraut

8. Leave in the kitchen for two or three days. Make sure that the top layer of cabbage is not left without brine (when this happens, just tamp it a little with a spoon). It is also advisable to sometimes pierce it with a wooden stick to the bottom to release the gas. The fermentation time for cabbage depends on the temperature. If the kitchen is warm, then the cabbage will be ready in two days. However, high temperatures, as well as low temperatures, have a negative effect on the fermentation process (for example, mucus may appear), it is best when it is around 20 ° C.
9. When the sauerkraut is done, refrigerate it.

That's all! You can make various salads, fillings for or from sauerkraut, or simply season it with oil and serve.

P.S. If you like the recipe, do not forget to inquire about new recipes by mail.

Bon Appetit!

Juliya recipe author

Please tell me, who doesn't like sauerkraut or pickled cabbage? Probably it will be difficult to find such a person! Perhaps, of all the blanks that we try to cook, these are some of the most beloved and popular!

It's too early to ferment cabbage. The cold has not yet come to store it. Perhaps ferment and store in the refrigerator ... But it's time to cook pickled cabbage. Cabbage has already gained strength and all the required vitamins, and therefore it will turn out delicious, crispy and healthy.

You can pickle cabbage and harvest it for the winter by screwing the lids. But today we will cook instant pickled white cabbage, which is not necessary to roll up in jars. As a rule, the prepared snack can already be eaten the next day. And it is perfectly stored in the refrigerator for a whole month, without losing its taste in the least.

It is very convenient to prepare such an appetizer ahead of time, before some holiday. She is always desirable at the festive table for any occasion. Whether it's a birthday or New Year!

I have a lot of interesting pickled cabbage recipes. And I have already shared one of them with you. This is delicious, which is cooked with beets and carrots. And today I will share a few more delicious recipes that I think you will like. These will be both very simple recipes and recipes a little more complicated. And everyone can choose a recipe for themselves.

Delicious pickled cabbage

A very simple cooking recipe is captivating to cook such cabbage quite often. Prepares quickly, eats quickly and tasty.

We need:

• cabbage - 1 fork per 2 kg
• carrots - 1 pc
• garlic - 4 cloves

For the marinade:

• water - 1 liter
• salt - 2 tbsp. spoons
• sugar - 2-3 tbsp. spoons
• allspice - 4-5 pieces
• peppercorns - 10 pcs
• cloves - 5 pieces
• bay leaf - 3 pcs
• vinegar 9% - 100 ml (or apple cider 6% - 150 ml, or 1 half teaspoon essence)

Preparation:

1. Chop the cabbage into thin strips. You can use special graters, knives or a food processor for this. Or just cut it with a regular knife. But you need to cut it as thin as possible.

For crispy pickled cabbage, choose tight, strong forks for its preparation.

2. Peel and grate carrots for Korean carrots.

3. Stir the cabbage and carrots in a large container; it is good to use a basin for this purpose. No need to crumple.

4. Cut the garlic into thin slices.

5. Prepare the marinade. Boil water, add all ingredients except vinegar. Let it simmer over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the fire.

6. Add vinegar and garlic.

7. Get the bay leaf. And then, hot, pour into the cabbage with carrots. Mix gently. Let stand to cool completely. Stir the contents periodically.

8. Transfer to a three-liter jar with the marinade. There is no need to report to the very top. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, you can already eat cabbage.

9. But it will be the most delicious for 2-3 days.

When serving, ready-made cabbage can be poured over olive or other. You can serve it as an appetizer or salad, adding chopped onions or fresh herbs to it. You can make a vinaigrette from it, it turns out it is very tasty and aromatic.

The cabbage itself has a sweet-sour-salty taste, it crunches pleasantly, and turns out to be very tasty! And although now you can buy pickled cabbage all year round in the store, but it will not be as tasty as your own homemade one.

And as you can see, it is absolutely not difficult to prepare it, and it will take half an hour at most.

Instant pickled cabbage with bell pepper

Cabbage prepared according to this recipe can be considered early maturing. It gains flavor very quickly and can be eaten the very next day.

We need:

• cabbage - 1 fork (2 kg)
• carrots - 2 pcs (medium)
• bell pepper - 1 pc (medium)
• cucumber - 1 pc (medium)

• water - 1 liter
• salt - 1 tbsp. a spoon with a slide
• sugar - 3 tbsp. spoons
• vinegar 70% - 1 dessert spoon, or 1 tbsp. the spoon is incomplete

Preparation:

1. Chop the cabbage with a food processor, grater or knife.

2. Grate carrots and cucumber for Korean carrots. Try to keep the straws long and neat. This will make the salad look very nice.

3. Peel the bell pepper and cut into long thin strips.

4. Stir all the ingredients in a large container; it is good to use a basin or large saucepan for this purpose.

It is better to stir with your hands so that the vegetables do not crumple and do not let the juice flow. No need to crush them!

5. Put the vegetables in a clean and scalded three-liter jar with a fairly dense layer. Tamp them lightly with your hand or spoon. You do not need to stack the cans to the very edge. Leave room for the marinade.

6. Prepare the marinade. To do this, boil water. Add salt and sugar. When they dissolve, turn off the gas and add the vinegar. Mix.

7. Pour boiling marinade over vegetables. Let cool.

8. Put in the refrigerator. Store in the same place.

The cabbage is ready the next day. It is delicious and crispy. It can also be served with chopped onions and topped with oil.

Pickled cabbage with beets - Gurian cabbage

According to this recipe, cabbage turns out to be tasty, crispy, moderately spicy and very beautiful. Good for any festive table and for a regular dinner with boiled potatoes, or for any other dish. Stores very well in the refrigerator for a long time. The only drawback is that it eats up very quickly! But there is one more advantage that I did not indicate above - it is quick and ready!

We need:

• cabbage - 1 fork (2 kg)
• carrots - 1 pc (medium)
• beets - 1 piece (large)
• garlic - 7-8 cloves
• red capsicum - 1 pc (or 1 tablespoon of ground red)

• water - 1 liter
• salt - 2 tbsp. spoons
• sugar - 1 glass
• apple cider vinegar - 1 glass
• peppercorns - 6-8 pieces
• bay leaf - 3-4 pcs
• vegetable oil -0.5 cups

Preparation:

1. Cut the cabbage into rather large pieces. You can cut the forks first into 4 parts right along with the stump. Then cut each part into 4 more parts.

For crispy cabbage, choose tight, dense forks. In this case, the marinade will marinate the surface well and will not "ruin" the leaves.

2. Cut the beets and carrots into round beets about 5 cm thick. If the beets are large, then each round can also be cut into two halves.

3. Peel the garlic and cut into long thin slices.

4. Peel off the seeds of hot chilli and cut into long strips. When working with peppers, it is best to wear gloves.

5. Prepare a suitable sized saucepan. We spread all the prepared ingredients in layers in it, repeat the layers several times.

6. Prepare the marinade. Boil water, add salt and sugar, peppercorns and bay leaves. Boil for 5 - 7 minutes, remove the bay leaf.

7. Add vinegar and oil.

8. Fill the contents of the pan with the prepared boiling marinade.

9. Cover with a flat plate, which we press down slightly, so that the brine is on top, and all the contents of the pan are hidden under it.

10. Let cool and put in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

11. Serve as a snack.

Such an appetizer is very colorful and bright, it can decorate any festive table. You can prepare it ahead of time, since it is well stored. We often prepare such a snack for the New Year! And she always has a place on this day!

Since the appetizer is spicy, men love it very much. You can make it even spicier by adding an extra pod of red pepper, or ground red.

Pickled cabbage spicy with ginger

Useful properties in combination with its unique qualities are known to everyone. Have you tried to cook pickled cabbage with ginger? No? You have lost a lot! Cook it once and then give everyone the recipe!

We need:

• cabbage - 1 fork (2 kg)
• carrots - 1 pc
• bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.
• ginger - 70 gr
• garlic - 4-5 cloves

For the marinade:

• water - 1.5 liters
• salt -3 tbsp. spoons
• sugar - 5 tbsp. spoons
• vegetable oil - 5 tbsp. spoons
• ground black pepper - 0.5 tsp
• bay leaf - 3 pcs
• apple cider vinegar - 150 ml

Preparation:

1. Chop the cabbage into thin strips. Grate carrots for Korean carrots. Cut the bell pepper into long thin strips.

2. Cut the garlic into long thin strips.

3. Peel and cut the ginger into very thin, translucent slices.

4. Place everything in a suitable sized saucepan and stir gently. No need to crumple.

5. Prepare the marinade. Boil water, add all ingredients except vinegar. Boil for 5-7 minutes, remove the bay leaf and add vinegar.

6. Pour the boiling marinade over the contents of the saucepan. Press down firmly with a flat plate, which we use as oppression. The brine should completely cover all vegetables.

7. Cover and leave to cool completely. Then refrigerate. After 24 hours, a delicious and beautiful appetizer is ready!

8. You can store such cabbage within a month in the refrigerator. Well, if it lasts, of course!

This appetizer, like the previous ones, will appeal to everyone, without exception. And ginger will give it a completely new, spicy taste like nothing else. You know how delicious pickled ginger is. And here it is also combined with cabbage. The recipe - just "lick your fingers"!

Pickled cabbage with carrots and garlic - Ukrainian kryzhavka

A long time ago our neighbor shared this recipe with me. I liked it both for its taste and for its original name. Already after some time, with the advent of the Internet into my life, I learned that such an interesting name - "kryzhavka" came from the word "kryzh", that is, a cross. And everything turned out to be very simple, because it is into 4 parts that we cut the cabbage when we want to pickle it according to this recipe.

We need:

• cabbage - (small forks, a little kilogram)
• carrots - 2 pcs (medium)
• bell pepper - 1 pc (optional)
• garlic - 4-5 pieces
• cumin - 0.5 tsp

For the marinade:

• water - 1 liter
• sugar - 3 tbsp. spoons
• salt - 2 tbsp. spoons
• apple cider vinegar 6% - 150 ml (or 9% - 100 ml, or an incomplete teaspoon of essence)
• allspice-4 pcs
• peppercorns - 5-6 pieces
• vegetable oil - 0.5 cups

Preparation:

1. Cut the cabbage into 4 parts, leaving the stalk.

2. Boil water in a large saucepan. Put chopped cabbage there and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

3. Remove the cabbage pieces with a slotted spoon and place them in cold water to cool as quickly as possible. As soon as the water becomes warm, it will again need to be changed to cold. And so on until the cabbage is completely cool.

4. Chop the garlic as small as possible, you can use a garlic press.

5. Grate carrots for Korean carrots. If adding bell pepper, then cut it into thin strips.

6. Prepare the marinade. To do this, boil water, add sugar, salt and peppers to it. We boil for 5-7 minutes. Add vinegar, oil and carrots. We immediately turn off the fire.

7. Put the cabbage in a suitable saucepan, sprinkle with caraway seeds and garlic. And pour marinade with carrots.

8. Cover with a plate so that the marinade completely covers the cabbage and cover with a lid.

9. Leave to cool completely. Then we put it in the refrigerator for a day. We store it in the same place.

10. When serving, cut the cabbage into smaller pieces, pour the marinade with carrots. If desired, you can drizzle with oil and sprinkle with fresh herbs, fresh garlic or onions.

Pickled cabbage with vegetables and apples - a very tasty recipe

We need:

• cabbage - 1 fork (2 kg)
• carrots -3-4 pcs (medium)
• bell pepper - 3-4 pieces
• sweet and sour apples - 3-4 pcs
• garlic - 1 head
• bitter pepper - 1 pod

For the marinade:

• water -2 liters
• salt -4 tbsp. spoons
• sugar - 1 glass
• apple cider vinegar 6% - 3/4 cup
• peppercorns - 15 pieces
• allspice -5-6 pieces
• cloves -5-6 pieces
• bay leaf - 3-4 pcs

Preparation:

1. First, cut the cabbage into 4 parts, and then each of the parts again in half at least lengthwise, at least across, as you like. The stump need not be removed, so the leaves will hold better.

2. Peel the bell pepper and also cut into 8 pieces with long feathers. Hot pepper - in two halves. It is better to remove the seeds (use gloves when doing this).

3. Cut the carrots into slices no more than 0.5 cm thick.

4. Cut the garlic into long thin slices.

5. Cut the apple into 4-6 pieces, depending on the size, but just before placing it in the container, so that they do not darken.

6. You can marinate cabbage with vegetables and apples in a large saucepan or in jars. I marinate in a saucepan. Therefore, I put the cabbage in it first, sprinkle it with a little garlic. Then carrots, peppers, hot peppers and again garlic. And the last to go are the apples.

6. Prepare the marinade. To boil water. Put all the ingredients for the marinade in hot water except the vinegar.

7. Boil the marinade for 5-7 minutes, then add the vinegar. Wait until it boils again and turn off the gas.

8. Cut apples, you can directly with seeds. And immediately pour over the boiling marinade. Remove the bay leaf.

9. Cover with a large flat plate of suitable size. so that vegetables and apples do not float. Cover and leave to cool completely.

10. Then put in the refrigerator. After 2-3 days, delicious pickled cabbage with vegetables and apples are ready.

The cabbage is delicious and crispy. All vegetables and of course apples are also very tasty.

Pickled cabbage in Georgian style

I also suggest watching the video recipe. I will not describe it, since it is very similar to the recipe that was already mentioned above. There are only small additions to the recipe, and everything is prepared almost the same way.

Here, admire what beauty it turns out!

Features of cooking delicious pickled cabbage

• you can pickle not only white cabbage. Almost all varieties are suitable for this. They marinate both red and Peking (Korean chim-chim, or chamcha), and colored.
• for pickling, you should choose tight, dense forks. From such heads of cabbage, the appetizer always turns out to be crispy and tasty.
• you can cut the forks into strips, large or small pieces, or even quarters
• you can only pickle cabbage, or you can marinate with other vegetables such as carrots, bell peppers, beets, apples, plums, lingonberries or cranberries

• garlic is almost always added, less often onions are added. If you add onions, then the cabbage will have an “onion” taste.
• a variety of peppers, coriander, caraway seeds, rosemary, bay leaves, cloves are used as spices
• sometimes, instead of a mixture of spices, ready-made spices are added to make Korean carrots, and in one of the recipes we even used ginger
• It is advisable to remove the bay leaf after boiling the marinade so that it does not give bitterness. Although someone does not clean up. But when I was studying, they taught me how to clean.
• vinegar, you can use apple cider, grape, table 9%, essence. You can replace all this with lemon juice or even kiwi.

And all this variety will help you prepare completely different varieties of pickled cabbage. Change the spices a little - and the taste will already be completely new. Add certain vegetables, and the appetizer will acquire a new color and new notes of taste. And by manipulating the peppers, we get a spicy appetizer, not too spicy and not at all spicy.

I really like to play with all these colors from this rich palette. Because thanks to this, every time you feel like an artist, and you can paint absolutely any "tasty" picture called "Pickled cabbage". And even if the name is not entirely poetic, but it is very even culinary!

Bon Appetit!