Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is an ideal way to eat probiotics in food. Sauerkraut has a long shelf-life and can be made with a variety of colorful vegetables and salt. It is very inexpensive and easy to make using a mason jar and a fermenting kit. Google search “Best Stainless Steel Vegetable Fermentation Kit” for ideas. I like the one sold by Trellis & Co.

To make a jar of sauerkraut, chop a head of organic cabbage into bite-sized pieced and put into a large bowl. Sprinkle salt over the cabbage so that all pieces feel coated. Use your hands to do this salt spreading. Pack the cabbage into a mason jar. Fill the mason jar with water to the top. Attach the fermentation kit to the top of the jar, following instructions on the kit for how to set it up. Set the jar on the kitchen counter for a couple of weeks. You are looking for bubbles to develop in the water. The hotter the weather, the faster this process will happen. You can open the jar and test the ferment anytime, and close it back up to continue. Taste test, looking for a tang on your tongue when you eat it.

Variations include cucumbers, carrots, peppers, purple cabbage, onion, radish, apples, fennel, cranberries.