You guys asked for a shorter explanation of how to make sauerkraut…
So here is an episode that slipped through the cracks. 
We were going to publish this a few weeks ago, but I actually forgot about it. But now, Rene Oswald shows you how to make sauerkraut the easy way!
Take a look…
Your question of the day: What do you like in your sauerkraut or what is your favorite recipe?
Click here, scroll down to the bottom of the page and leave your comments now!
If you want to check out Rene’s AWESOME recipe book, please click here!
Here’s the raw food recipe:
Supersonic Sauerkraut from Transitioning to Living Cuisine
The secret to making great sauerkraut is using fresh, organic, clean cabbage and clean equipment.
Supplies needed:
Two 1-gallon glass jars or a Two gallon (10 Liter) Harsch Crock or
Two 1-gallon Perfect Pickler Jars
1/4 cup, food-grade hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar
2-3 large mixing bowls
Food processor with slicing and
shredding blades
High-speed blender
Ingredients to make 2 gallons:
8 lb. organic green cabbage
1 packet of Body Ecology Culture
Starter or 2 cups of raw
sauerkraut from your last batch.
3 dates, soaked for 15 minutes, pitted
2 Tablespoons Celtic sea salt
2 oz Sea vegetables of your choice (dulse, wakame, laver, etc.)
2 Tablespoons of your choice of seeds: Anise, Caraway, Fennel, Dill or
Celery Seeds or Juniper Berries
Directions:
There are 5 main steps to making sauerkraut; cleaning your equipment, making the starter, preparing the cabbage, making the brine, and putting it all together. These instructions are for making 2 gallons.
Cleaning Your Equipment:
To reduce bacteria culture contamination, clean all equipment that comes in contact with the cabbage. Use white vinegar or food-grade hydrogen peroxide on the cutting board, knives, bowls, crock, jars, blender container, food processor, etc. and rinse with clean filtered or distilled water.
To make the starter:
Pour 2 cups of warm water in high-speed blender with 3 pitted dates. Run on high speed until liquefied, ensuring the dates are completely blended. Add 1 package of Body Ecology Culture Starter and pulse to mix. Let this mixture sit for 20 minutes while you prepare the cabbage.
Great news! You‘ll only have to make the starter once because you can use two cups of sauerkraut from a previous batch as your starter for future batches. Using the starter or sauerkraut ensures a hardy strain of beneficial bacteria.
Preparing the cabbage:
Remove damaged leaves from the cabbage and place in your compost container. Chop or shred the remaining cabbage to your choice of texture and place in a large bowl. This can be accomplished with the shredding or slicing blade of your food processor or with a sharp knife.
Preparing the Brine:
Put 4 cups of shredded cabbage, 2 Tablespoons Celtic sea salt and
2 ounces of sea vegetables in a high-speed blender and cover with fresh, filtered water. Run on high until liquefied.
Putting it all together:
Pour the brine over your cabbage in the large bowl and pack it down with your fists or with a potato masher. After packing it down, ensure that there is 1/2 inch of brine on top of the cabbage. If more brine is necessary to reach that level, blend more cabbage from the bowl with additional water in the blender and add this to the cabbage until you see 1/2 inch of liquid above the cabbage after packing it down.
Stir the Culture Starter into the cabbage with your choice of 1-2 Tablespoons of any of the following seeds: Anise, Caraway, Celery, Dill, Fennel, or Juniper Berries. My favorite is 2 Tablespoons of fennel combined with 2 Tablespoons of dill for a 2-gallon batch of sauerkraut. Spoon this mixture into a Harsch Crock, two 1-gallon Perfect Pickler Jars or two one-gallon glass jars leaving about two inches at the top. Pack the sauerkraut down into the container with your fists.
If using the Harsh Crock, place the stone weights on top of the cabbage to keep it submerged. It will cause the juice to rise over the cabbage if enough brine was made in the first step above. If you don‘t see 1/2 inch of liquid over the cabbage, make a little more brine. Place the water seal lid on the crock and fill the groove around the lid with water to complete the seal. Be sure to check the crock every few days and add water to the groove if necessary.
Hint:
If using 1 gallon jars, place your homemade weight on top of the cabbage to keep it submerged. This weight could be a flat rock or a glass jar that fits into the mouth of your 1-gallon jar. You will need to fill this small glass jar with water to get the proper weight. Make sure the cabbage is submerged in 1/2 inch of liquid. Cover it with a clean cotton cloth or towel secured with rubber bands. This keeps out harmful bacteria or unwanted guests from the insect world.
Allow the cabbage mixture to sit in a 72-85 degree Fahrenheit area for 3-7 days. If your house is cold, you can wrap the jars in towels and place in a warm spot in the house. A good location would be near the water heater or on top of the refrigerator. If it is colder than 55 degrees it may never ferment. Start tasting it after 3 days to see if it is to your liking. When it is the way you like, store in refrigerator. It and it will continue to ferment very slowly. It will usually keep well for 3 months or longer when refrigerated.
If you want to check out Rene’s AWESOME recipe book, please click here!
Live Awesome!
Kev
8:24 pm on April 14th, 2010
I have been abt 90% raw for a long time. Recently I was told I have to eat fermented food, why??
8:36 pm on April 14th, 2010
Great show! My kids just finished off a jar of Bubbies kraut and I told my husband that I need to learn how to make it myself. I think for my first batch, we’ll be using a mixture of white and red cabbages and definitely celery root. I love celery root! Thanks for this show. Perfect timing.
8:38 pm on April 14th, 2010
I love the way it looks. I have to try it this way. I have 2 batches in my fridge at the moment: one is just white cabbage and the other one is a combination of white and red cabbage with other vegetables. I like them both, but there is always room for improvement.
Thank you Rene (and Kevin of course)! I like your recipes and your website.
9:17 pm on April 14th, 2010
YEAH….I feel ready now to take this step toward making my own kraut. What a neat crock. I’ll hold off getting one until I know where I will land and will create a proper food preparation area to support my awesome live food lifestyle.
A BIG hug to Renee for this primo demo!!!!
All grins,
Dawni
9:22 pm on April 14th, 2010
I love ginger in saurkraut.
Question: How necessary is the culture? My kraut seems to ferment great without it. Is it really missing a lot?
9:41 pm on April 14th, 2010
I usually use green and red cabbage (full of antioxidants), carrot and sometimes yellow beets. As a starter I have been using recently coconut water keifer that I buy in the bottle at the Vitamin Cottage Health store. It works great!
I will experiment with herbs and other vegetables next time and add more water and lemon juice.
Thank you Rene for sharing this was a big help for me.
Love,
Kathryn
10:03 pm on April 14th, 2010
OMG, what an amazing episode…wow! I’ve seen a lot of sourkraut preparations, and it was a turn off but I loved this few simple steps and learning the organization of the kitchen. Thanks, Rene, Kev and Ms. Photog!
10:32 pm on April 14th, 2010
Interesting, mixing all vegetable together.Probably it won’t taste any red cubbage, any white cubbage and not even daikon.I will certainly separate the ingredients and make a few versions of pickles all diffrent flavors they have.
Renata
10:34 pm on April 14th, 2010
I like to make a sauerkraut with carrots and cilantro.
10:41 pm on April 14th, 2010
I made kraut it for the first time a couple weeks ago but threw it out because mold was growing on the top. I did not do the blended veg step, which I will try now, thanks! I love kraut with dill and sea veggies, so thats what I am going to attempt soon.
Great show.
ps the Paul Stamets video looked great, as he is a truly amazing being. However, I could not hear it. It would be spectacular to see him on the HRS.
Best,
Christie
10:42 pm on April 14th, 2010
This was a GREAT show! I’ve been wanting to try making this for so long. Now I want to get one of those cool crocks. Thanks, guys!
11:08 pm on April 14th, 2010
What an easy and quick way of making sauerkraut, will definitly try and will try to obtain a Harsch Crock. Cheers Esther
11:58 pm on April 14th, 2010
Great recipe! I love making sauerkraut. I use the “Pickle, Sauerkraut, and KimChi Maker” found on The Raw Diet site at
http://store.TheRawDiet.com/pisaandkimch.html
I also like the Polish pickling crocks, they are a little less expensive than the Harsch crocks-
http://store.therawdiet.com/picklingcrocks.html
And I love the cabbage slicer-
http://store.therawdiet.com/woboxcaslmak.html
12:29 am on April 15th, 2010
Great show; I love it that there are so many ways to make sauerkraut. Here is my favorite recipe:
I like caraway or dill seeds in my kraut, also carrots, cranberries and sometimes apples. I shred mine on the mandoline shredder – it makes for a great texture and no mush. Massage shredded cabbage with a little bit of celtic sea salt 1/2 – 1 tsp per medium sized cabbage) till it lets the juice out, pack tightly into whatever you got – a glass jar will do fine; the juice must cover the kraut on top. Then hold it down with a stone or a anything heavy (but clean). Give it 2-3 days and voila- sauerkraut. Open it for 6 to 8 hours to let the gas out (cover the jar with cheesecloth to keep it clean). Then put the lid on to keep (if you have the self-restraint not to just eat it at once, lol). You can keep kraut in the fridge and yeah, it will get tangy, but will also have nice crispiness to it. No need for water, culture or starter, which do make it healthier, but if you want to have a taste of the real old world sauerkraut all you need is salt.
1:52 am on April 15th, 2010
I am sorry for you… but all fermentations products are just a rot (=good for garbage)!
What a pity!
3:08 am on April 15th, 2010
I haven’t watched one of your videos in a while. Kevin looks much healthier than he did a year ago. His body shape is better and his skin has a healthy glow.
It’s inspiring me to go raw again.
J
9:21 am on April 15th, 2010
We’re aware the Natural Hygiene don’t agree with fermented foods. I mean no one or no one theory can be 100% correct on everything.
Our 6 years all raw experience tell us good home-made raw organic fermented vegetables are beneficial to us.
I have a very popular “Raw Vegan KimChi” recipe (only list of ingredients for now) on my website. http://www.GandJLivingOrganic.co.uk
Feel free to try it. Let me know if you like it.
Love & Peace, Chang-yu
9:22 am on April 15th, 2010
I know this stuff is supposed to be very good for you but deep inside I just don’t like it. I’m so sorry! Besides..I’m doing already so much stuff (sprouting, growing wheatgrass) that I feel that I don’t need another “burden” My favorite fermented food is still good old store bought kefir (goats milk) and I will give your vegan version sometime a shot with or without the yogurt maker
9:27 am on April 15th, 2010
Kev and Rene, Thanks so much for putting on this show. My kids recognise you & still remember we had the Sauerkraut lunch with you guys at the Raw Fest.
Peace, Chang-yu
10:03 am on April 15th, 2010
Just wondering, can someone who eats a lot of fruits also eat sauerkraut? Would that be too much for the bacterias, even though they are good bacterias?
10:54 am on April 15th, 2010
Off topic question: I saw in the video that Rene had a nice looking cover over her stove top. Can you tell us where she got that?
Great idea for more counter space!
12:15 pm on April 15th, 2010
Great recipe! I love making Sauerkraut. I use the ‘Pickle, Sauerkraut, and KimChi Maker’ found at
http://store.therawdiet.com/sakicrpo.html
It is easy to use and makes delicious sauerkraut!
2:00 pm on April 15th, 2010
Interesting, yes. Easy, no.
9:08 pm on April 15th, 2010
Rene – Great explanation of making sauerkraut. Thanks.
12:08 pm on April 16th, 2010
Alright. Its time to try the saurkraut! Well have to use our home grown purple cabbage in the mix. That crock is totally awesome! Wish us luck on the mold issue here in Hawaii! Lol.
Aloha!
Thanks for a great show!
C&S
1:16 pm on April 16th, 2010
Thats übercool! Ive never made or had sauerkraut, its pretty common here in Norway i suppose, they come in ready-bags (gros me out kinda), but no one makes it tho.. I know uve made a fair few shows on it. Im just trying to work out HOW to eat it, like, with what other foods..
Super episode, who cares if its “old”! :]
5:15 pm on April 16th, 2010
glad u noticed the top of her stove had a great covering on it b/c i did not see it first time around. i also would like to know where she purchased the item that covers her stove to give u more counter space. thanx
6:06 pm on April 16th, 2010
Wonderful presentation by Rene, thank you! Other than green cabbage my favorite addition is garlic hands down.
4:13 pm on April 21st, 2010
That was an interesting way to prepare sauerkraut. I just use flitered water and salt and the results are wunderbar! The starter is not necessary.
3:02 pm on April 26th, 2010
Really nice guys! Appreciate it! I have been spending a little over $7 per week on jars of purple saurkraut lacto-fermented through a local maker in Duluth, MN, it’s absolutely yummy! I had thought that “wow, bet I can make this happen sometime this year” I had begun looking at those crocks. I think I’ll try the glass jar first and then when it’s tasty get a crock.
thanks again,
love and light,
karen
1:55 pm on April 25th, 2012
[...] fermented foods is a great way to help rebuild the gut. My favorites are coconut kefir, sauerkraut, and [...]