Sauerkraut, the old fashioned way!

There are two ways to lacto-ferment sauerkraut.  The first is a quick recipe that doesn't take any special equipment.  The second involves the Harsch sauerkraut crock (for when you decide to get serious about kraut-making). Simple Sauerkraut 1 head cabbage, shredded 1 tablespoon Celtic sea salt 4 tablespoons whey Herbs or spices for flavoring, such as cumin seed, dillweed, caraway, etc. Place cabbage in stainless steel bowl and sprinkle with salt.  Let sit for 10 minutes to get the juices started.  Add herbs or spices as desired.   Then, assemble your kids, grandkids, or neighbor kids (ok, you can do it yourself if you wish)  and give them anything that pounds (a potato masher, a wooden sauerkraut pounder, etc).  Let them pound the cabbage until there is a bunch of juice.  With clean hands, stuff the mixture into a clean wide-mouthed quart jar.  Press down tightly until the juices cover the top, leaving at least one inch headspace.  Put the cover on tightly and leave at room temperature for two to three days, and then transfer to cold storage.  You may eat this sauerkraut immediately, but the longer it sits in the fridge, the better it will taste.

Okay, so you've purchased the crock.  Now what?

Crock Sauerkraut 12-15 pounds cabbage Celtic sea salt, 1 tablespoon per 2 pounds cabbage Shred cabbage into very large bowl.  Sprinkle with salt, mix well,  and let sit at least 30 minutes to release juices. Pack cabbage into crock (about 4/5 full) and cover the top of the shredded cabbage  with whole cabbage leaves.  Put the stones over the top and press down so the juice comes up over them.  Fill the "moat" with water and set the cover in place.  Let sit at room temperature 48 hours.  Move to cooler place such as a basement, and allow to ferment for three weeks.  The kraut will be ready to be eaten or put into jars for storage.