How To Make Home Made Lactobacilli-Rich Sauerkraut Pickled Cabbage

Recipe for Gluten Free Fermented Vegetable Sauerkraut.  Sauerkraut, when it is made properly, is full of goodness.  It is a Vitamin-rich and Mineral-rich antiseptic and cleansing food.  Eating Sauerkraut regularly can help greatly in gaining an equilibrium of  organisms necessary for good digestion and bowel function.  The Germans traditionally make Sauerkraut, but other cultures have something similar.  Korean restaurants in Auckland all serve up the delicious Kum Chi  with their famous Bulgogi and other delectables:  Kum Chi  is really a kind of pickled cabbage, similar to Sauerkraut. This is just as healthy for the digestion.  Note how beautifully slim most Korean people are in Auckland, and how flawless and lovely their complexions.  This, I believe, is due to their healthy macrobiotic diet which consists of a variety of vegetables, and the fermented Kum Chi which goes with everything.

Sauerkraut was traditionally made to preserve the cabbage so that it was available in the heart of the winter, when the snow was about in Europe, and few fresh vegetables were to be seen.

Because sauerkraut  is a fermented product, it contains the  acidophilus bacteria, which is beneficial to the bowel health.  Acidophilus  helps to process other enzymes and vitamins in the intestines.  Acidophilus bacteria help to counteract the troublesome candida albicans yeast which also grows in the intestines.  However, initially, if you have a candida problem which is difficult to clean up, it is best to avoid all fermented foods until your system has strengthened a little.  This usually happens if the diet is made plentiful in the  alkaline cleansing foods such as raw celery, alfalfa sprouts if they are very fresh, fresh lettuce, and plenty of  protein foods.  Once the condition has responded, then it should be OK to introduce the lactobacilli rich fermented foods again.  Some people  cannot tolerate yeasts of any kind at all, even the beneficial ones, so keep this in mind if you have a problem with yeast.

However,  Sauerkraut may not be best for everyone:  If you have a chronic yeast problem, caused by an over-growth of candida albicans,  then it is best to avoid fermented foods for a while, until your digestive system has normalized itself.  For some people who have only mild symptoms of candidiasis, using sauerkraut might serve to help detoxify the bowel.  Ask your naturopath or ayurvedic practitioner, or homeopath about this.

Sauerkraut is also abundant in Vitamin B12. This vitamin is found mainly in flesh foods  eggs,  and yeast products.  Vitamin B12 is not found  in many vegetable foods unless the fermentation process has been applied.  However, the broad-leafed green leaves such as spinach, silver beet and comfrey all contain some Vitamin B12.

Sauerkraut has abundant Vitamin C – another reason for eating Sauerkraut regularly through the winter.

And Sauerkraut is rich in Calcium and Iodine – two essential ingredients for the keeping of good health.

All in all, Sauerkraut is a promoter of good health, and is strengthening to the immune system.

Here is a recipe for making Home Made Sauerkraut:

Basic Ingredients:  Cabbage, Dried Thyme, Dried Dill, Juniper Berries,Carraway Seeds, and a sprinkling of Sea salt.  Eydie Mae’s recipe does not use any salt but uses kelp instead, though she does not give the amount she uses.  Do not use commercially prepared free running salt in your Sauerkraut, as this contains harmful additives to prevent it becoming moist.

If you like a hot pickle, then you can put in a chopped chilli or two as well.  If you remove the seeds from the chillis the result is not so hot.  Remove the seeds before chopping up the chillis.

Finely chop up one fresh red or green cabbage. Put a layer of your chopped cabbage in an earthenware urn, about 6 inches deep.  Then sprinkle over a few juniper berries, a quarter teaspoon each of the dried herbs, and a light sprinkle of sea salt. Now put over a layer of any of the following, or a mixture of these vegetables:

A grated carrot, a chopped red or green pepper, a chopped red or white onion, and a grated beetroot.  These vegetables are optional:  Choose the ones you prefer, although you will have a real cocktail of the range of vitamins and minerals if you use some of each.

Now put more cabbage onto the chosen extra vegetables, and repeat the process.  Continue latering in this way, pressing down the vegetables as you go, and putting the herbs and a wee sprinkle of sea salt in between the layers.  When you have reached the top of the jar, you need to weight it down with a plate which has a heavy stone on it. Put a clean piece of muslin over the top of the prepared Sauerkraut, with the plate and the weight on top of this.  The weight is necessary so that the vegetables mature in their own juice.  This is essential in making Sauerkraut.

Now put your jar in a coolish place no hotter than room temperature.  Leave for three weeks, but rinse out the cloth each week before placing it over the sauerkraut again.

After three weeks the Sauerkraut should be ready.  Some people prefer to eat it after only a week, but you can prolong the fermentation to three weeks if you wish. Remove the cloth and any mould which has formed on the top.  Bottle into wide necked jars and store in the refridgerator.