Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe (Kvashenaya Kapusta)

Instructions

1. Remove the outermost leaves of the cabbage, cut it into quarters and shred cabbage finely (use a mandolin to do this faster and discard the core.
2. In a large silver bowl, place cabbage, carrots, 2 Tbsp sea salt and 1 Tbsp sugar and scrunch and knead it together really well for the juice to be released from the cabbage (4-5 min). You don't want it to be super juicy, just enough to cover the lettuce when you really pack it down in a jar.
3. Scrunch it until juices start to come out.
4. Fill a glass jar with the cabbage mixture and pack it in very tightly so that the juice from the cabbage covers the cabbage completely. You want a jar big enough to be filled only about 2/3 full so it has room to expand.
5. Make a press over the top of the cabbage by pushing down with a plate (or the lid from a large sour cream container). Top with a small jar of water, a super clean rock or whatever else would make a good weight. Place the lid on the jar but do not tighten. Its a good idea to keep the bottle in the sink or over a dish since there is risk of it overflowing (this is also why we only fill it 2/3 full; it grows!). Let stand at room temp for 4 days or until sour. It will stop fermenting/rising when it's done.
6. While it sits at room temperature, once each day: poke a few holes through the cabbage with the back of a wooden mixing spoon to release the gas that this process produces and pack the cabbage down tightly.
7. After 4 days, refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be stored for a few weeks if kept very cold.