Sauerkraut
Source/Author: Grandma Masha
Fun fact: Sauerkraut was once used as a battlefield wound dressing! Thanks to its high vitamin C content and natural antibacterial properties from fermentation, soldiers in the 18th century would sometimes apply sauerkraut to wounds to help prevent infection. Talk about a tasty first aid kit!
Ingredients:
| • sugar | 35 g |
| • salt | 75 g |
| • thyme | 15 g |
| • green cabbage, shredded | 3 kg |
| • carrot, grated on a coarse grater | 250 g |
| • fresh or frozen cranberries | 15 pieces |
1. In a large bowl: mix carrots and cabbage with sugar, thyme and salt.
2. Put some cabbage with carrots in a clean jar, press down hard (I like to press down with a wooden rolling pin), put in a few cranberries (4-5); the next layer of cabbage with carrots, press down and cranberries again. And so on, until the cabbage is finished. The cabbage will release juice. If there is a lot of juice, pour it into a clean jar, but do not pour it out, save it.
3. Press down on the cabbage with a spoon. Put the jar with cabbage in a bowl (this is necessary so that if the cabbage releases any more juice, then let it release it into the bowl.) Leave the jar with cabbage at room temperature for 3 days. The cabbage should be in juice all these days, if you see that there is little juice, add some from the saved one.
4. After 3 days, cover with a lid and put in a cold place. Just in case, leave the jar in a bowl for now. After another 2 days, you can eat crispy and very tasty sauerkraut!