Each region had its own secrets of sauerkraut. They could go through the ages and give us this delicious dish. Almost every mistress knows how to sour cabbage, and in the villages women know this from childhood.
A very simple and quick way to sap cabbage
Sauerkraut - not only delicious, but also very useful, with a huge amount of all kinds of vitamins. No better and more useful product, especially in the cold season, cold season. The main advantage of sauerkraut, in addition to taste, is its ability to store a large amount of vitamin C, in addition, in winter it is the main source of vitamin B 6, which regulates the protein balance of the body, and also participates in the process of hematopoiesis. Even in sauerkraut it contains a lot of folic acid necessary for the formation of new cells of our body. And none of the products of our climate zone contains the amount of vitamin K needed for normal blood clotting.
Quitting cabbage is hard work. To start with the heads cut off the large, upper leaves, and the remaining finely chop, leaving a stump. You can shred cabbage with a knife in the old manner, or you can use the achievements of civilization for this purpose - by kitchen combines, electrodisks and shredders. Salts in cabbage should be placed no more than two percent of the total weight of cabbage, it was this proportion that was established by experience and tested by generations of our ancestors. If there is more salt, the fermentation process will slow down and cabbage will be too salty. If the salt is less, then the cabbage will be soft and not salted. Do not forget about carrots. It gives a pleasant sweetness to the pickle and a beautiful golden-colored cabbage. The rest of the spices and seasonings will depend on the recipe you are using.
The general rules are very simple: we shred cabbage, mix thoroughly with salt and grated carrots, and add other ingredients there. Let's lie down for a few hours and put in the tubs, cans of enamelled buckets or pots. Carefully there ramming with the help of a wooden crush or fist of your faithful. Metal dishes must be enameled! It is important! Cover the gauze, and over it we put the load (oppression) so that the juice comes out. Store cabbage in a cool place. For a better effect of leaven and for the release of gases, periodically you need to stir a little cabbage in a bowl.
And now we proceed to this exciting process - the leaven!
Additional ingredients for the leaven of cabbage are a huge amount. These are cranberries, lingonberries, apples, cumin, coriander, watermelons, horseradish leaves and many others.
For the leaven of cabbage with cranberries and / or lingonberries you will need ten kilos of chopped cabbage, three hundred grams of carrots, two hundred grams of washed berries and two hundred and fifty grams of salt.
For sourdough with apples. Ten kilograms of shredded cabbage, three hundred grams of grated carrots, half a kilo of fresh apples (antonovka, or similar sort) and two hundred and fifty grams of salt.
For cabbage with cumin or cilantro you need ten kilos of chopped cabbage, half a kilogram of carrots, two teaspoons of cumin seeds or coriander and two hundred grams of salt.
If you want to cook cabbage with horseradish leaves, then simply lay the bottom of the cabbage container with these leaves and follow the standard instructions.