How to make Sauerkraut | Wild Fermentation

My supplies
:
10 L (2.6 Gal) K&K Keramik German Made Fermenting Crock Pot , Kerazo F2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KADU3NG?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Luna Glass Crock Weights, 6.5" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RA1D9CI?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Wooden Cabbage stomper, pounder, tamper for sauerkraut and more Made in USA crock size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZ9LS4Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qZ6sAb02FRJ9S

To make sauerkraut, you will need:
Several heads of cabbage (~20 pounds for a 10 liter crock; 3 pounds for a 1/2 gallon mason jar)
Salt, sea or kosher *do not use iodized salt* (46 grams or 2 heaping Tbsp per each 5 pounds of cabbage)
Caraway seeds (2 tsp per each 5 pounds of cabbage) optional
Juniper berries (2 Tbsp per each 5 pounds of cabbage) optional

Wash your crock or fermenting jar with hot soapy water. Everything that you use should be freshly washed and very clean.

Wash cabbage, peel off outer layers, slice in half, remove core, and slice very thin. Save a few pieces of the outer layers of the cabbage to cover the top of the sauerkraut in the crock.

In batches, fill a large metal bowl with cabbage and salt (weight cabbage and add salt accordingly; this is not an exact science). Using a cabbage tamper or wooden mallet (or a hammer with a plastic bag on the head), pound down on the cabbage until it becomes limp and begins to express liquid. When it gets very soggy, press gently but firmly to continue to work the cabbage until a large amount of liquid is present. The liquid should come to the top of the sauerkraut. This may take a half hour or more of continuous pounding for 5 pounds of cabbage.

Transfer the cabbage to crock or glass jar, sprinkling in the caraway seeds and juniper berries with every handfull. Leave a headspace of at least three inches in the container above the sauerkraut. Press the sauerkraut down so that there is at least one inch of brine above the cabbage. Carefully place the reserved cabbage leaves on top of the sauerkraut, and then top with the crock weights (or a plastic bag filled with brine) to make sure that the sauerkraut stays submerged in the crock and doesn't float to the top of the brine.

If you do not have enough liquid in the crock to submerge the sauerkraut, add brine. Pour enough into the crock to submerge the sauerkraut by at least 1 inch.

To make brine: boil tap water for 10 minutes, add 2 Tbsp salt per liter of water, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once your crock is filled, place a lid on the top but do not seal tightly (an airlock lid is a good thing to use here). Within the first day the fermentation process will begin, and bubbles of air will escape through the lid. An airlock will prevent air from entering the crock and introducing bad bacteria and yeast, but lots of people don't bother with it and still have success with their sauerkraut.

The sauerkraut may expand with the release of fermentation gasses. Look inside periodically during the first few days to make sure that the sauerkraut is still submerged below the brine. If more brine is needed, add it to keep the sauerkraut submerged. After the first few days, the sauerkraut will not need to be checked.

If you filled your crock too high and didn't leave enough space for the fermentation gases to expand, brine will leak out of the lid and all over your counter. If you are worried about this, place the fermentation jar on a plate.

Keep the crock in a dark corner or move the crock to a cool place in the house, such as the basement. Ferment for at least 6 weeks (8 weeks may be better). When the fermentation is done to the sourness that you like it, move it to the fridge.

Variations:
***Some people enjoy grated apples or thinly sliced onions in their sauerkraut. Grated carrots would also be nice.
***Juniper berries are supposed to prevent the growth of yeasts. They are like little bits of wood and are not a joy to eat.

Safety:
+++If you get mold, it means that your sauerkraut experiment has gone wrong and it should be thrown out. Mold is green, fuzzy and ugly, and should not be eaten.
+++If you get yeast, it is no big deal. Just scoop off the yeasty parts and enjoy the saurkraut that is underneath. Yeast looks like a white film on top of the sauerkraut.

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