TheRawDiet.com Super Food Nutrition

Sauerkraut Recipe

April 19th, 2008

Hello sauerkraut and kimchi enthusiast,

Here is my favorite sauerkraut recipe. It uses a unique ingredient, apples. This is the first kraut recipe I made and I found it in the book ‘The Raw Gourmet’ by Nomi Shannon.

Nomi sent me the recipe in an email last week. Click Here to sign up for Nomi Shannon’s e-class on raw foods and natural health.

Enjoy!

Mike Snyder

Sauerkraut Recipe and Veggie Kraut
By Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet

The place of fermented foods in a living food diet has evolved over the years. Many raw fooders make a fermented beverage from wheat or rye berries (rejuvelac) and fermented pates out of nuts or seeds (seed cheese). But people sometimes have had negative reactions to these homemade fermented foods, in part because unwanted strains of bacteria occasionally grow in them.

As well, people who suffer from candida historically have not had positive reactions to the fermented drinks and nut and seed cheeses. It appears that non-protein foods are safer to ferment. As a result, many alternative health experts now say that health benefits from fermentation are best derived from only the occasional use of raw sauerkraut.

This is of course subjective, because many people sincerely feel that they derive great benefits from eating all types of fermented food. If you are confused by some of the differing approaches the bottom line is, has, and always will be the same: listen to your body.

Raw sauerkraut is used much like the delicious Korean fermented cabbage dish called kimchee- as a condiment served with the main meals of the day. Aside from providing important enzymes, the fermentation process creates bacilli that encourage intestinal health.

Raw sauerkraut is fun to make and the best part is that it lasts for a very long time in the refrigerator (up to two months) so you can make a large batch. If you have checked the price for raw sauerkraut at the health food store you will see how much money you can save by making it at home. Also, although the label may say ‘raw’, if the jar was sterilized or the food pasteurized it surely isn’t raw any more. And if sterilization and pasteurization did not occur, you should wonder if the sauerkraut was kept cold at all times during its transport to the store.

Be sure that you buy organic cabbage to make sauerkraut. Cabbage is a highly treated crop and the thought of mincing it up and letting it sit in its own juices, including dangerous chemicals, isn’t very appealing or healthy. It would be better not to make sauerkraut at all than to make it out of cabbage that is not organic. Fortunately, sauerkraut isn’t just made out of cabbage anymore! You can make many different types of vegetable ‘krauts’, as the variations below demonstrate. Additional fermented food recipes can be found in books by Ann Wigmore and by Viktoras Kulvinskas, both of who are well-known raw food pioneers.

Red or Green Sauerkraut

Use the cabbages soon after buying them. As they age they tend to dry out and you need the moisture from the cabbage for it to properly and evenly ferment.

While making sauerkraut, you can make a few pickles. Just slice a cucumber into one-half inch slices and place in a single layer while layering the sauerkraut. If your container is large enough you can do a few layers of cucumber. Make sure there is no wax on the cucumber.
1 or 2 heads of red or green cabbage, organic

1 or 2 apples, cut into 16ths

Seaweed (wakame or other), several large pieces

Set aside 3-4 of the large outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut the rest up into pieces and put through and grate it or put through your juicer with the blank screen. If extra juice is extracted, add it to the mixture.

Using Mike Snyder’s Pickle, KimChi, and Sauerkraut Maker, or using The Raw Diet’s ceramic Harsch Fermentation Crock from Germany, layer the following:

1 inch of grated cabbage, 8 of the apple slices, 2-3 inches of cabbage and half of the seaweed, then apples, cabbage, seaweed and cabbage.

If you are using 2 cabbages, make another set of layers. Press down with your hands as you make the layers. Cover the mixture with the outer leaves from the cabbage.

Weight the mixture down with the weights provided with the Harsch or Kraut Maker, or use a plastic bag filled with water, or a plate with a few cans on it. Let it sit for 3-7 days, or until the cabbage develops a ‘tangy’ taste. Skimming off any foam, carefully transfer sauerkraut to clean jars and store, tightly sealed in the refrigerator. Discard apple. Use seaweed in a salad.

While the cabbage is fermenting, it can have a strong odor. It is best to allow it to ferment outside of the main area of your home. In cool or very dry weather the process takes longer than in a warm humid climate.

Variations of Sauerkraut

Mixed Kraut

Once you get the hang of making sauerkraut-you may never use the same ingredients twice. The flavor and visual aspect of red cabbage is preferable, but sometimes one can only obtain organic green cabbage. Here is a variation to add color and flavor to green cabbage.

Place 1 green cabbage, 3 carrots, 2 medium beets, 1-2 slices of onion, to taste, 1-3 cloves of garlic (optional) through a Juicer with the blank screen, or grate them all together. Stir in 1-2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional), then layer the mixture in a crock with apple and seaweed, following the directions above.

Veggie Kraut

This recipe has no cabbage at all! Use whatever seasonal root vegetables you can get your hands on. It is difficult to make a sauerkraut combination come out not tasting wonderful, so be creative. Place 6 large carrots, 4 beets, turnip, parsnip or rutabaga, to equal half the amount of carrots used, 1 small onion and garlic to taste through a Juicer with blank or grate them all together. Layer the mixture in a crock with apple and seaweed, following the directions above.

To read more, subscribe to Mike Snyder’s natural health and healing newsletter. , Click Here for more info on the sauerkraut maker and harsch. Happy culturing!

Mike Snyder

Entry Filed under: Sauerkraut recipes, vegan recipes