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Vegetables from Germany, Austria, Central and Eastern Europe, Alsace, Netherlands, USA

Sauerkraut

Finely shredded white cabbage is mixed with about 2 % salt and pressed down until its own juice covers it. Lactic bacteria sour it over three to six weeks, Leuconostoc first and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum last. The finished kraut is refrigerated or canned.

Fully documentedVegetables7 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) tested recipe. 25 lb of cabbage makes about 9 quarts, salted 5 lb at a time. Commercial kraut uses 2.0–2.25 % salt by weight, the level Pederson and Albury found best.
Cabbage25 lb (about 11 kg)Firm, fresh heads, shredded 24–48 hours after harvest[nchfp-kraut]
Canning or pickling salt¾ cup3 Tbsp for each 5 lb batch of shredded cabbage[nchfp-kraut]
Extra brine, only if the juice does not cover the cabbage1½ Tbsp per quart of waterBoiled and cooled before use[nchfp-kraut]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 7 days

Start
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What changes: A cut line slices the cored heads into shreds about as thick as a coin

Step 1 of 6
Trim, core and shred the cabbage
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
L. mesenteroides
Weissella
Levilactobacillus brevis
Pediococcus pentosaceus
Leuconostoc

Discard the outer leaves, rinse and drain the heads, quarter them and cut out the cores. Output: shreds about as thick as a quarter.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Finely shredded white cabbage is mixed with about 2 % salt and pressed down until its own juice covers it. Lactic bacteria sour it over three to six weeks, Leuconostoc first and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum last. The finished kraut is refrigerated or canned. Made in 6 steps over 7 days. The longest step, heterolactic start, takes 7 days (Snyder A 2020) and runs at 18 °C (Johanningsmeier S 2007). Salt is 2–2.3 % (Johanningsmeier S 2007). Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Weissella do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step7 daysReported[snyder2020]Heterolactic start
Temperature18 °CReported[johanningsmeier2007][snyder2020]Heterolactic start
Salt2–2.3 %Reported[johanningsmeier2007]Salt the shreds
AciditypH 3.4–3.4Measured[johanningsmeier2007]Homolactic finish

What makes this one different

Sauerkraut uses dry salt alone on finely shredded cabbage and ferments in the juice the salt draws out, at cellar-to-room temperature. Kimchi is brined, rinsed and seasoned with a chilli paste and ripens cold.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Choucroute d'AlsaceAlsatian sauerkraut, entered in the EU register as a PGI by Regulation (EU) 2018/938.
  • Ogulinski kiseli kupusCroatian sauerkraut from the Ogulin area, entered in the EU register as a PDO by Regulation (EU) 2015/1413.
  • Low-salt starter krautA Leuconostoc mesenteroides starter lets the salt drop by half, to 1 %, with firm texture kept.

Safety

Follow the NCHFP salt amounts and ferment at 70–75 °F; below 60 °F kraut may not ferment. A steady fall in pH below 4.6 holds back Clostridium botulinum and, as acid builds, reduces E. coli O157:H7, and a ferment that fails to reach it should be discarded (Snyder et al.). Store the finished kraut covered in the refrigerator, or can it in a boiling-water canner; these are the only two ways NCHFP gives to keep it.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes, added to sauerkraut in a challenge study (18 and 22 °C, 1.8–3 % salt); they persisted in the brine for most of the fermentation and had no detectable populations at its end (15 days shredded, 28 days whole head), but acid-tolerant strains were isolated after 15 days and could be detected at 35 days in whole-head kraut; Clostridium botulinum, held back once the pH is below 4.6.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Roman writers Cato and Columella mention preserving cabbages and turnips with salt. A folk story says the trade networks of the Golden Horde brought sauerkraut to Europe; Wikipedia, citing Mack and Surina (2005), says there is no evidence for it. Captain Cook took sauerkraut on his voyages against scurvy.

  1. [nchfp-kraut] National Center for Home Food Preservation (USDA and University of Georgia), Sauerkrautgov
  2. [johanningsmeier2007] Johanningsmeier S., McFeeters R.F., Fleming H.P. and Thompson R.L. 2007, Effects of Leuconostoc mesenteroides starter culture on fermentation of cabbage with reduced salt concentrations, Journal of Food Science 72(5), M166–M172 (USDA-ARS)paper
  3. [yoon2002] Yoon S.S., Barrangou-Poueys R., Breidt F., Klaenhammer T.R. and Fleming H.P. 2002, Isolation and characterization of bacteriophages from fermenting sauerkraut, Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68(2), 973–976 (USDA-ARS)paper
  4. [snyder2020] Snyder A., Breidt F., Andress E.L. and Ingham B.H. 2020, Manufacture of traditionally fermented vegetable products, best practice for small businesses and retail food establishments, Food Protection Trends 40(4), 251–263paper
  5. [niksic2005] Niksic M., Niebuhr S.E., Dickson J.S., Mendonca A.F., Koziczkowski J.J., Ellingson J.L. 2005, Survival of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 during sauerkraut fermentation, Journal of Food Protection 68, 1367–1374 (abstract)paper
  6. [eu-alsace] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/938 entering Choucroute d'Alsace (PGI) in the registerspec
  7. [eu-ogulin] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1413 entering Ogulinski kiseli kupus (PDO) in the registerspec
  8. [wp] Wikipedia, Sauerkraut (history only)wiki