Originally posted in 2014, this recipe is worth revisiting. It can be as simple as cabbage and salt and dill, which is what I used last week when my Chinese cabbage started coming in. I have an abundance of dill seed heads from the greenhouse. No need to remove them from the stems–I just put the whole seed head in the bottom of the fermenting jar and added the cabbage on top of it. Dill is good at self-seeding so if you’re not growing it, consider buying some and let it go to seed in your garden–you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see it coming up the next year.
Note the pictures above. You don’t need anything fancy–just a wide mouth jar for the cabbage mixture and a smaller jar filled with water to act as a weight and which fits inro that wide mouth. Cover it all with cheese cloth. This is all explained in the previous posts that I link below.
Here’s the original recipe:
Cabbage galore no more–finally the garden cabbage is gone! The last couple of batches I made were kept pretty simple but delicious just the same–I wanted to share these options with you. First, don’t underestimate the flavor of fresh herbs for improving the taste of your cultured veggies. I have dill growing in my garden and have been adding lots of it to the last couple of batches of sauerkraut I’ve made. It seems that the dill tones down the cabbage quite a bit in both smell (while fermenting too) and taste. Second, I’ve been adding chopped cucumber to the fermenting sauerkraut for the last 1 or 2 days of fermentation. This allows the cucumber to pick up the dill and garlic flavors but retain its crispness. Have fun experimenting!
1-2 large head of Chinese cabbage (this is about 1 gallon finely chopped)
1 cup of fresh dill weed chopped fine or 1 flower head of dill seed
3 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 Tbsp. sea salt, depending on the size of the cabbage
About 3-5 days later 1 cucumber, chopped
Cut the cabbage in half and core each half. Cut side down, quarter lengthwise. Then holding the quarters together chop across in 1/4 inch slices. This will result in a fairly fine shred. I find this easier with this type of cabbage than shredding with a grater. Put cut cabbage into a large bowl. Add rest of ingredients except cucumber. It should taste salty–this is important because the salt inhibits mold growth. Follow directions for fermenting described in the previous recipe. After about three to five days (taste the mixture daily and proceed when it has fermented to your satisfaction), chop a cucumber lengthwise in half or in quarters and then in 1/4 inch slices across. Stir it into the sauerkraut and press the vegetable mix down into the juice. Let ferment another day. Keep refrigerated.
