several heads of fresh cabbage
salt
honey fennel seeds (optional)
Use
a food processor to shred the cabbage finely.
Add the fennel seeds to taste if desired. Use quart glass canning jars with rubber
rings and zinc lids. After washing the
jars, boil in a processing pot of boiling water. Pack the jars after cool enough to handle
with shredded cabbage. When the juice
from the cabbage begins to show as it is squeezed out of the cabbage, continue
to fill the jars and press until you have 1 inch of headspace. Once all the jars are full, add 1 tsp salt
and ½ tsp honey to each jar on top of the packed cabbage. Fill each jar slowly with boiling water,
allowing it to settle into each jar.
Insert a knife at intervals to allow air bubbles to escape. Leave about ½ inch of headspace, and seal
tightly. Wipe the jars and set then into
an old dishpan or tub in a cool place (65-70ºF) outdoors or in the corner of
the garage, and wait. Inspect the jars
every few days. Don’t be alarmed if the
lids begin to bulge – this shows that the kraut is fermenting properly. If (and it happens frequently) the juice
spews between the rings and the lids, wipe it off and tighten the lids some more. There will be leaks throughout the whole
process and plenty of kraut odor. Never
loosen the lids! After about six weeks,
the kraut will have cured and the jars can be washed and brought inside. Place the jars into a processing pot with
boiling water. Process for 20 minutes
and store for future eating!
