For Sophie Gray’s best carrot tips and tricks, go to In season with Food magazine: carrots.
Ingredients
Method
1.Sterilise a large preserving jar. Place sliced cabbage and carrot in a large mixing bowl with the salt. Massage the mixture, squeezing and scrunching cabbage for 10-12 minutes to break down the cell structure, causing it to release moisture.
2.Allow to rest for 10 minutes then repeat. When you have a good puddle of juice in the bottom of the bowl, add the garlic and ginger and mix well.
3.Pack handfuls of mixture, including juices, firmly into preserving jar. Press down hard so juice covers the vegetables. Place outer cabbage leaf over vegetables, pressing it down so it forms a dam to prevent anything falling into the jar. Weight with a resealable plastic bag containing enough water to hold vegetables down.
4.Leave at room temperature for 5 days (red cabbage takes longer to ferment than green); more liquid will form. In the first few days, check on the mixture and press down to release any gases that may have built up as it goes through the fermentation process.
5.Scoop out any scum or bubbles that appear, ensuring vegetables remain under the brine. Top up with salt water if needed. After 4-5 days you can store in the fridge and begin to use, but the longer you leave the mixture the more the flavour develops.
• Don’t use too many carrots as it will add too much sugar, resulting in a yeasty, slimy mix. We used 1 small head of red cabbage and 2 medium carrots. A good rule of thumb to follow for any batch of sauerkraut is 75 per cent cabbage, 25 per cent other ingredients. • Keeping the sauerkraut at room temperature is essential – too cold and fermentation will stall. Once refrigerated the fermentation process will stop, so don’t chill until the flavour is developed to your taste. For a faster ferment, use green cabbage.
Note
