There are legends about the useful properties of sauerkraut, however, the main problem that prevents many housewives from cooking this rather uncomplicated version of a snack for the winter is the need to chop the white vegetable with small straws, which, indeed, is a laborious and time-consuming process. However, it turns out that there is a good way to salt the cabbage without unnecessary efforts, and the taste of the finished dish, despite a large cut, will remain as rich and vibrant. All the tricks of the reservoir method for harvesting cabbage, including the best recipes and detailed recommendations for storing pickles, will be discussed in this review.
Ingredient preparation
In principle, you can salt any cabbage, it is only important that it is completely ripened and fresh. Interestingly, cabbage varieties, which have light, almost white leaves (they have a higher sugar content, which provide better fermentation), are especially tasty in a fermented form. The larger the forks, the more preferred it is for pickling.
Did you know? Not only brine, but also sauerkraut itself is an excellent cure for a hangover. Moreover, if you actively snack on this dish with alcohol during a feast, the risk of losing control of yourself and the manifestations of subsequent alcohol intoxication are significantly reduced.
You should not choose early ripe varieties for the production of blanks. In addition to the high cost that does not justify the investment (it is better to use such a treat in fresh form, and make stocks after seasonal vegetables “fall” in price), these products have two other significant drawbacks:
- a high probability of exceeding the maximum permissible nitrate content (to accelerate the ripening of the crop, farmers use nitrogen fertilizers, they accumulate in the fruits in the form of these dangerous compounds);
- poor vitamin and mineral composition (early vegetables simply do not have time to “be fed” with everything necessary, their potential task is to satisfy the body's need for vitamins after a long winter, nothing more).
If there is doubt about the quality of the cabbage (if the purchase was not refused), the forks, after it is cut into fragments provided for in the recipe, should be soaked in water for several hours, which must be changed several times.
In such a simple way, you can get rid of nitrates. By the way, the main part of these compounds in the process of ripening or pickling penetrates into the brine (marinade), so drink liquid from pickles prepared using dubious raw materials, in no case should, even for "medicinal" purposes.
As for a particular type of vegetable, according to the observations of many housewives, sauerkraut made from the following varieties and hybrids is especially tasty and crisp.
As can be seen from the above list, the suitability of cabbage for pickling is reflected in the name of the variety or hybrid, so it is simply impossible to make a mistake with the choice.
Recipes for harvesting cabbage in layers for the winter
White cabbage can be prepared for winter in large layers in many ways, but all of them are conditionally divided into two groups - pickling and pickling. The first cooking technology involves fermentation of the product with the participation of lactic acid bacteria, therefore it requires a certain time (depending on the initial state of the raw material and air temperature, the ripening process usually takes from three to seven days).
You can salt cabbage in cold or hot ways, using brine or in your own juice. For large strata, the latter method is poorly suited, since large chunks produce much less juice, although in all other cases it is this method that is considered to be “aerobatics” among housewives. Marinating, unlike salting, involves preparing a vegetable by adding vinegar to the brine.
Important! The maximum number of useful properties is found in sauerkraut, and not in pickled cabbage. Interestingly, the content of vitamin C in such a dish is even higher than in a fresh vegetable - a fact that is hard to believe!
In this case, no natural fermentation processes occur, because such recipes are always much simpler and require less time. Three recipes are given as classic examples of salting cabbage with layers: quick salting with vinegar (i.e. pickling), simplified salting in brine (an intermediate option between ripening and pickling) and the classic cold salting that our ancestors used.
Quick recipe for salting in jars
10-1540 minutes
White cabbage
6 kg
table vinegar (9%)
3 tbsp. l
Energy value per 100 g:
- Wash the forks, remove the upper leaves and damaged fragments.
- Cut the head into 4 parts, remove a fragment of the stump from each quarter.
- Cut the resulting pieces into several parts so that they are conveniently packed tightly into jars.
- Put the cabbage in a pre-sterilized jar that has not yet had time to cool down.
- Pour the contents of the dishes with hot water, heated to about + 80 ° C, directing the stream to the cabbage, and not to the walls of the container. Leave to warm for 10-15 minutes.
- Drain the hot water and refill the jar, this time with boiling water. Allow to stand for the same time as during the first warm-up.
- Boil brine water, add salt, sugar and spices to it, mix thoroughly.
- Drain the can, fill it with boiling marinade, add vinegar at the last moment, cover with a sterilized lid and roll up.
- Turn the can upside down and carefully inspect the junction of the lid and glass. In the absence of any signs of leakage, cover with a towel and leave in this position until completely cooled.
Did you know? During the Second World War, many Americans basically refused to buy sauerkraut, associating this dish with Germany, where it is especially popular. Then, resourceful entrepreneurs came up with a new name for their products - “Cabbage of Freedom”, and, no matter how ridiculous it may sound, the attitude to salting immediately changed radically.
In brine
5120 minutes
White cabbage
2 kg (one large forks)
carrot
150-200 g (1 pc.)
table vinegar (9%)
50 ml
vegetable oil
100 ml
Energy value per 100 g:
calories: 35 kcal
proteins: 1.1 g
fats: 0.1 g
carbohydrates: 7.5 g
- Wash the vegetables, let the water drain, and dry the fruits.
- Peel the carrots and grate on a coarse grater.
- Do the same with beets.
- Peel the cabbage from the upper leaves, remove the stalk, cut the vegetable into large layers.
- Bring the water to a boil, add salt, sugar, mix well with a spoon and remove from heat.
- Peel the garlic, cut each clove into several pieces.
- Wash greens and chop finely, after removing the most dense and stiff stems.
- At the bottom of a three-liter bottle put a bay leaf and pepper, then begin to lay down vegetables and spices in layers in the following order: cabbage, carrots, beets, garlic cloves, herbs and then in the same sequence. It is important that the top layer of cabbage is completely covered with a layer of grated vegetables and spices.
- Fill the container with brine (fill it only after the liquid has cooled to room temperature, otherwise the cabbage will boil and will not crunch.
- Leave the prepared dish fermented for 12-14 hours.
- After a while, drain the brine and put it on fire. The procedure will turn out much better if you use a special plastic cover with holes and a nozzle to drain the liquid.
- In a separate pan, bring to a boil about 1 liter of water and then pour it into a bottle and cover it with a plastic lid. Add boiling water to the jar very carefully, trying to pour water on the product, not on the glass, otherwise it may crack.
- Thus warming up the contents of the can for 5-6 minutes, drain the water and again pour the bottle with boiling water in the same way, repeating the sterilization procedure.
- The third time, pouring water, pour the workpiece with boiling brine, into which, at the last stage, pour in vegetable oil.
- Roll up the bottle with a lid, turn it over, cover it with a blanket and leave it to cool completely.
Cold salting method
40-5060 minutes
White cabbage
5-7 forks
Energy value per 100 g:
- Wash the cabbage thoroughly, remove the upper leaves and damaged areas.
- Each forks cut randomly into four parts, remove the stump.
- Chop a small portion of cabbage (about a quarter) in the usual way, which is used when ripening cabbage according to the classic recipe.
- Put chopped cabbage in a deep container, add 1/3 of the total amount of salt provided for in the recipe and all the sugar and spices (both types of pepper, bay leaf, cloves).
- While squeezing the slices with your hands, thoroughly knead the mass until the active release of juice begins.
- Lay a thin layer of cabbage on the bottom of the prepared container.
- Spread large layers of vegetable on top, first carefully rubbing each piece with salt (cabbage can be kept on weight directly above the container).
- Tamping the layers tightly, fill all the remaining voids with small cabbage slices, slightly covering large forks with it.
- In the same way, distribute all the cabbage in a container in layers.
- Sprinkle the workpiece with water (if not all salt was used during the rubbing of the layers, the residue should be added to water and mix well). This precaution is necessary in case your own juice is not allocated enough during the salting process, however, if when pressing with your palm on the surface you can see that the liquid rises above the cabbage layer, you can not add water.
- Set a flat saucer, plate on the top layer of the workpiece, and put oppression on top (a water bottle filled with water or a heavy object of the appropriate size).
- Leave the vegetables at room temperature for 2-3 days to start the fermentation process.
- When foam bubbles appear on the surface (or air will be released when pressure is applied to oppression), remove the container to the cellar, balcony or other cool place to complete the salting process. This usually takes another 4-5 days.
- When the cabbage is completely ready, it should be transferred to a container that can be tightly covered and put in a refrigerator or cellar for long-term storage.
Did you know? Our ancestors believed that cabbage is best to be fermented from the fifth to the sixth day after the New Moon, but if you try to cook this dish in the full moon, it will peroxide and deteriorate. In order to prevent such a nuisance, an aspen branch was placed in the barrel, believing that it would scare away evil spirits.
Storage Features
All the above recipes require a long storage, since we are talking about harvesting for the winter. However, the conditions of this storage can vary greatly, depending on the salting method chosen. So, pickled and salted vegetables prepared by canning (with heat treatment and airtight corking) can be stored at room temperature - a cellar or a refrigerator is not needed for this.
An important condition is only the absence of sharp temperature changes, drafts, bright lighting (in the light, conservation can become cloudy and swollen). The standard shelf life for home preservation is 1 year, although, in general, such blanks retain their consumer qualities even longer.
The cooler the air in the room where the reserves are stored, the less likely they are to prematurely spoil. With cold-cooked cabbage (without heating and canning) the situation is somewhat different. It can also be stored for a long time, but usually we are talking about the possibility of saving the product until a new crop, that is, about 7-8 months. Such cabbage must be stored either in the cellar or in the refrigerator (ideal temperature: -1 ... + 4 ° C).
Important! Before storing home spins for storage, they are recommended to hold them for several weeks «in sight». If the lid remains retracted and the contents (brine) are perfectly transparent, the technology has been aged and nothing is threatened by the product.
In order to reduce the likelihood of mold, some housewives use fresh or frozen cranberry berries during the salting process: the high content of ascorbic acid in these fruits prevents the propagation of most pathogenic microorganisms. An alternative way is to add sugar to the dish, it will also play the role of a preservative, however, in order not to interfere with normal fermentation, you need to do this before storing the cabbage, and not by making changes to the recipe. In the same way, sometimes, dry mustard is added, but in this case the taste of the finished product changes.
But an aspirin tablet placed in brine is an absolutely unacceptable option, since the side effect of acetylsalicylic acid on the body negates all the benefits of sauerkraut. If there is no cellar and you want to save space in the refrigerator, sauerkraut can be frozen, but after the temperature of the product is brought to room temperature, you need to use it for several days. The same reservation applies to cabbage, which, for one reason or another, was extracted from brine.
Did you know? About two centuries ago, the inhabitants of Suzdal came up with the idea to dry sauerkraut. Surprisingly, the result of the experiment was very successful and the technology developed for this purpose was used for a long time to provide dry rations for soldiers and sailors who were able to cook their favorite sour cabbage soup in marching conditions.
Sauerkraut is delicious and very healthy. Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to chop the vegetable to the thickness of a paper sheet to prepare this dish; it’s enough to chop the forks into just a few large layers. There are a lot of recipes for salting cabbage in large fragments, however, having mastered the general technological principles, any housewife can significantly expand this list, surprising and delighting relatives with an amazing addition to a home dinner.
