Sauerkraut was an acquired taste for me. I managed to avoid it throughout my childhood and actually I likely never even tried it – until I met my husband-to-be. It was a tradition in his Slovenian family that one must eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day for good luck. So my first New Year’s with him I agreed to eat one strand…yep, just one strand of kraut on a piece of kielbasa. I guess it was good luck since we are still married 39 years later.

A few years later I discovered homemade sauerkraut and actually began to like it – so I decided to try making my own. My neighbor and I hand-cut the cabbage and packed it into an antique crock from my mother-in-law. It was fantastic! I love the texture with the hand-cutting rather than the super-thin “floss” type you get in the grocery store bagged kraut.

The health benefits of fermented foods are many and we are learning more every day. We have known for a long time of the benefits to digestion, but these healthy bacteria can actually help your brain! Dr. David Perlmutter’s book “Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life” describes the importance of a healthy microbiome in the treatment and prevention of brain diseases from autism to Alzheimer’s disease.

Some of the more popular fermented foods (and drink) are yogurt, kombucha, kefir, and sauerkraut. While sauerkraut can be found in the grocery store, the taste and quality doesn’t compare. I have found a coupe of brands in the natural foods stores that are pretty good but they are crazy expensive! And it is pretty easy to make if you follow the steps and have a little patience while it ferments.

The recipe is quite simple. It’s just cabbage and salt. You do need to select the right cabbage and salt though. There are certain types of cabbage that are better for making sauerkraut but that can be a challenge to find. I have found that late-season cabbage seems to work better.

As for the salt – well, this is even more important. I always thought that salt was salt. Since learning more about different types of salt I have discovered that a good quality salt can make a huge difference in the taste. I now only use one specific brand that I will link to in the recipe. It is important that you use salt without iodine.

Although the recipe is simple, you do have to pay attention to the details. I have the basic recipe below but I always have used the Penn State Extension Service webpage instructions to help with some of the variables such as temperature and length of fermentation time. Please read this carefully before starting https://extension.psu.edu/lets-preserve-sauerkraut.