Passion Pink Sauerkraut Recipe Red Beet and Cabbage Sauerkraut {Passion Pink} (2024)

Fermentation Vessel

Fermentation Weight and Airlock Lid

White Plastic Storage Caps

A Scale: MyWeigh KD-8000 Digital Scale

Himalayan Pink Salt

Quart (Liter) Jar: Wide-Mouth

The Trellis + Co. Pickle Helix Kit is strong enough to hold your ferment below the brine throughout fermentation. Its design leaves plenty of room for brine.

Use for storing your ferments or as your lid during fermentation.

You won't regret owning the "Tesla" of scales. Makes weighing your ingredients and salt a breeze.

My favorite fermentation salt. Broad range of minerals. Adds subtle flavor.

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FERMENTATION LENGTH: 1-4 weeks

Why I love this recipe. The color! There is no red cabbage in this recipe. The beautiful ruby-red color that develops as this ferments comes just from grated beets. Earthy-sweet, mineral-rich and so good for you. Enjoy! For a PDF version of this recipe, including Gourmet Pairing Options, scroll to the end of this post.

4 from 7 votes

Course: Appetizer, Condiment, Side Dish

Keyword: Beet, Cabbage, Fermented, Paleo, Sauerkraut, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

• 1 medium head fresh green cabbage, 2 ½–3 pounds (1 kg)
• 2-3 medium beets (200 grams)
• 2-3 garlic cloves (20 grams)
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon (16 grams) iodine-free salt (fine-grain)

• SET UP. Gather Supplies and Set Up Scale

  Using a digital scale to make your sauerkraut will ensure that you add the correct amount of salt for a safe fermentation environment. Set it to grams, the easiest measurement in which to make calculations.

  You don't want to include the weight of your bowlin your measurements, so either tare (zero) your scale or write down the weight of your bowl.

• CHOP. Prep Your Vegetables and Cabbage

  You will need 800 grams (1¾ pounds, 28 ounces) of vegetables and cabbage in your bowl.

  When making sauerkraut, you first prepare the flavoring ingredients—grated beets, minced garlic, carawy seeds—then add sliced cabbage. This allows you to add only as much sliced cabbage as necessary to hit 800 grams (1¾ pounds, 28 ounces) on the scale.

  Peel and grate200 grams of beets, mince garlic, and place in your bowl along with the caraway seeds.

  Discard the limpouter leaves of the cabbage,setting asideone of the cleaner ones for use during the SUBMERGE step.

  Quarter, then slice cabbagecrosswise into thin ribbons. I leave the core in because I find it helps to hold the layers of cabbage together making the slicing job easier.

  Add sliced cabbage to your bowluntil the weight of your vegetables and cabbage is 800 grams (1¾ pounds, 28 ounces).

  

• SALT. Create Your Brine

  Salt pulls water out of the cabbage and vegetables to create brine where the good bacteria (mainly lactobacillus) can grow and proliferate and the bad bacteria die off.

  Sprinkle vegetables and cabbage with 1 tablespoon (16 grams) of salt and mix well.

  If you want the salt to do most of the work for you, you can leave your salted and well-mixed bowl of cabbage sit for 20-60 minutes.

  Then, massage the vegetables with strong hands until moist, creating the brine. You should be able to tilt the bowl to the side and see a good-sized puddle of brine, about 2–3 inches in diameter. This process can take anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes.

  

• PACK. Pack Mixture into Jar

  Now that you have a puddle of brine, it's time to pack the cabbage mixture into your jar.

  Grab handfulsof the salty, juicy cabbage mixture and pack them into your quart-sized (liter) wide-mouth canning jar, periodically pressing the mixture down tightly with your fist or a large spoon so that the brine rises above the top of the mixture and no air pockets remain.

  Be sure to leave at least1 inch of space between the top of the cabbage and the top of the jar. Because we weighed out just the right amount of cabbage to fit in your jar, this should happen automatically.

  Pour any brine leftin your mixing bowl into the jar and scrape out any loose bits stuck to the sides of the bowl or to the side of your jar.

  Lastly, wipe downthe outside of your jar and push down any loose bits stuck to the sides of the bowl or the side of your jar.

  

• SUBMERGE. Hold Ferment Below Brine

  Now make sure your fermenting mixture is in a safe anaerobic (no air) environment. This means that you need to keep the cabbage mixture submerged in the brine while it ferments.

  Floaties Trap. Take that cabbage leafyou saved during the SETUP step, tear it down to just fit in the jar, and place it over the surface of the packed cabbage.

  Forgot to save a cabbage leaf? No problem. You can fold a narrow piece of parchment paper to size or even cut an old plastic lid to size.

  Place the 4-ounce jelly jar—or whatever you are using as a weight—on top of the cabbage leaf, right side up with its lid removed.

  Lightly(to allow for CO2 gases to escape), screw on the white plastic storage lid.

  I like to labelmy jars using green or blue painter's tape and a permanent marker. I note the flavor of sauerkraut I made and the date I started fermenting.

  

• FERMENT. Ferment for 1 to 4 Weeks

  Time now for the friendly bacteria to do their work while you watch and wait. Can you wait 7 days to taste the tangy crunch?

  Place your jar of fermenting sauerkraut in a shallow bowl (to catch the brine that may leak out during the first week of fermentation), out of direct sunlight. Wait for 1 week before opening to sample.

  The jar on the left is Day 1; right, Day 5.

  For what to expect as your sauerkraut ferments, see SALTY Cabbage to SOUR Sauerkraut: Fermentation Signs to Monitor

  Should the brine level fall (very unlikely) and remain below the level of the sauerkraut during this first week,

  dilute 1 Tbsp of salt in 2 cups of filtered water

  and pour some of this brine over the sauerkraut (removing the little jar first) until it just covers the mixture. Put the little jar back in, screw the lid on lightly and let the fermentation continue.

  Don’t worry if the brine disappears after the 7- to 10-day mark. By this time, enough lactic acid has been produced to create a safe environment

  You can ferment your sauerkraut for up to 4 weeks. The longer you ferment it, the greater the number and variety of beneficial bacteria that can be produced.

  

• STORE. Store in Refrigerator for Up to 1 Year

  After fermenting your sauerkraut, it's ready to go into the refrigerator and ready to be enjoyed.

  Rinse offthe outside of the jar. You can take the little jar out, or whatever you used as a fermentation weight. Clean the rim if necessary (sometimes it can get sticky from the brine that overflows), and screw the lid back on tightly.

  Add to your labelhow long you fermented the contents.

  Enjoy a forkful or two of your sauerkraut with your meals. It will continue to ferment—aging like a fine wine—but at a much slower rate than before.

  If the flavors are too intense, leave the jar in your fridge for a month or two and then eat it. You will be amazed at how the flavors have changed.

  If successfully fermented (tastes and smells good), your sauerkraut can be kept preserved in your refrigerator for up to a year.

1. When adding the grated beets to the scale, I keep an eye on the weight and try to keep it under 25% of the total weight for the recipe. For a 1-quart (liter) batch: 200 grams (7 ounces ). This should control the growth of yeasts.
2. Peel beets first to get rid of the “dirt” taste.
3. If your hands become stained with beetroot, rub them with lemon juice and salt before washing them with soap and water.
4. If your sauerkraut loses its color and turns a bit brown, just scoop off the browned section and enjoy the goodness below.
5. Try to eat sauerkraut containing beets within 5-6 months of fermentation.