Zen and the Art of Food: Art of Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut with out salt

I used caraway, celery and dill seeds. And some fresh cut dill weed.

Mixed with the onion puree it was smelling like heaven the second day.

Two large and one small cabbage with four large onions. I chopped and blended the onion a little at a time, with enough water to make it blendable.

Making sure the shredded cabbage was under the liquid to keep out the oxygen. Plate and rock on top. Plastic wrap around the plate so I could pull it out (not the best idea) A plate with a handle on it with enough room for a heavy weight, would be best. And plastic wrap over the top of the crock to work like an air lock.

Straight verses tapered walls: a plate will fit the same all the way down for straight walls. Tapered walls may require several different sized plates as you remove the kraut.

Natural Food Preservatives (you don't need to use salt!!!)

Lactic Acid (this is the product of fermentation) vinegar

Raw Onions (blend enough onions to cover the cabbage)

Hot Peppers (actually mellows out during fermentation)

Garlic (garlic and ginger make that Kim Chi flavor)

Ginger (probably not as strong)

Lemon and Lime juice

Salt (this can lead to heart disease, by dehydration)

5 pounds cabbage cabbage cabbage
1 Tbsp. caraway seeds caraway seeds caraway seeds
1 Tbsp. dill seeds dill seeds dill seeds
1 Tbsp. celery seeds celery seeds celery seeds
1 Tbsp. crushed peppercorns crushed peppercorns crushed peppercorns

Filtered water

clean and shred cabbage into a clean container.

Press with a ceramic plate or olive oil on top of the brine will keep out the Oxygen, mold and yeast. Or use coconut oil

The candida-preventing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has the ability to shift from fermentative to oxidative depending on the level of oxygen available. Keep the oxygen out, and this friendly yeast can help your guts heal.

In Belarusian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, chopped cabbage is usually pickled together with shredded carrots. Other ingredients may include whole or quartered apples for additional flavor or cranberry for flavor and better keeping (the benzoic acid in cranberries is a common preservative).

Excessive consumption of sauerkraut may lead to bloating and flatulence due to the trisaccharide raffinose, which the human small intestine cannot break down.