1. Chop cabbage — finely or roughly, your choice.
2. Add chopped cabbage to a large bowl.
3. Sprinkle sea salt (without anti-caking agents) over it, approximately 2-3 tablespoons salt per 5 pounds of cabbage. I like to taste along the way; I salt cabbage for kraut until it tastes delicious, like chips. (You can always add more salt.) As a general rule, add more salt in summer and less in winter. More salt keeps crunchier veggies.
4. Add in other veggies, seeds, spices or herbs, such as onion, garlic, carrots, caraway, dill, radishes, turmeric, turnips, apples — the sky’s the limit!
5. Massage, beat, pulverize. Or, just let it sit for an hour. You will begin to see water collecting in the bottom of your vessel. This is good! Amount of water depends on age and growing conditions of cabbage.
6. Press the salty cabbage into a wide-mouth jar leaving at least 1 inch of head room. If the cabbage or water begins to expand so that it is seeping out of the jar, open the jar and remove some cabbage. Push the remaining cabbage back down so that all the cabbage is under the brine.
7. If you want your sauerkraut to have a consistent flavor, add a splash of starter ( about 2 tablespoons per quart of kraut) from another ferment. I like to use some juice from a Bubbies ferment (or a jar of sauerkraut that you like).
8. If needed, add more brine (1 tablespoon salt in 4 cups water). Everything needs to be submerged. Use a glass weight if desired.
9. Screw a metal lid on tightly. Allow the jar to sit on the counter for about 3 days. In the winter, fermentation happens slower, and you may need to let the jar sit out longer. Just open the jar and taste. Then, refrigerate when you have achieved desired sourness.
