• Note: Make sure you remove and keep 2 outer leaves of the cabbage before chopping.

Crushing the cabbage

• Throw in your chopped 1 kg red cabbage and 3 garlic into a large stainless steel bowl and sprinkle over your 1 ¼ tbsp sea salt and ½ tbsp fennel seeds.
• It’s time to crush this cabbage and work out those natural juices for our brine. Tip: We love using a pestle to do most of the heavy work of the initial pounding and crushing. Spend a good few minutes with the pestle, then you can do the rest by hand for a few more minutes (you can also do the whole thing by hand, it just takes a little more time and elbow grease).
• You’ll know the cabbage is ready to be placed in the jar when you can take a fistful, squeeze and the juice runs out. This is perfect! No water required. It will also turn a darker purple colour and be softer to handle.

Adding the cabbage to jars

• Place your cabbage in clean, sterilised jars (out of the dishwasher is fine), making sure to push down with your fists as you go to pack it well and encourage more liquid out to cover the cabbage.
• Leave at least an inch or two of space at the top - it will expand when it starts to ferment and create bubbles. Fold up your cabbage leaves and place on top of each jar used, then pop your lid on. The leaves will help hold the cabbage under the brine and prevent mould growth.

Fermenting and storing the cabbage

• Place jars on a plate on your bench and leave for 3-7 days. You should start to see bubbles in 12-24 hours. “Burp” your jars 1-2 times a day to release the build up of gas as it ferments by just loosening the lids then retightening (you don’t have to take the lid off).
• The sauerkraut will ferment faster the warmer your house is. The longer you leave it, the more sour it will become. You can start tasting it with a clean fork around that 3 day mark if you see good bubble activity (don’t double dip!). Once you’re happy, pop it in the fridge with the lid on tight for 3-6 months. It will continue to ferment and develop flavour over time, but at a very very slow rate due to the cold temperature.
• Important Note: Any sign of mould or an extremely bad smell at any point - throw it out, it’s got bad bacteria in somehow. It will of course have a slight smell when burping, as it is cabbage after all, but it should still be a palatable smell.