Apple and turmeric sauerkraut
Author: 
Serves: 8
 
Ingredients
  • 1 fennel bulb, cored
  • 1 medium sized green cabbage, quartered and cored (save the flexible outer leaves)
  • 6 medium carrots, shredded
  • 2 Pink lady apples, peeled, cored and shredded
  • 2-inch (5 cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
  • 2-inch (5 cm) piece of fresh turmeric root, peeled and finely grated OR 2 teaspoons (10 mL) turmeric powder
  • 2 teaspoons (10 mL) fennel seeds
  • 2 teaspoons (10 mL) chili flakes (optional)
  • sea salt, to taste
Instructions
  1. Cut the cabbage into quarters and cut away the heart. Slice thinly and place in a large bowl.
  2. Clean, trim and slice very thinly the fennel bulb and add it to the bowl.
  3. Combine shredded apple and carrots with cabbage and add grated turmeric and ginger.
  4. Sprinkle the mix generously with salt. Use clean hands to squeeze and message the vegetables mix to release its water and create a salty brine. Taste the mixture and adjust it to your liking saltwise. Do not oversalt it.
  5. The veggies will need to be covered in their brine to ferment so squeeze and massage thoroughly or let the mixture rest for a while to let juices release naturally, then continue squeezing and massaging until enough liquid has been released.
  6. Pack tightly into clean glass jars using a pestle as you go so that the liquid brine covers the mix completely. If the veggies have not released enough juices to cover, add sarted water to cover— use 1 teaspoon sea salt per 1 cup water to make a solution and simply pour into the jar.
  7. Place a round piece of cabbage leaf as a cover for the mixture packing it tightly. All of it should be covered by the brine.
  8. Screw the lid on the jars and allow to rest in a dry out-of-the-way place for 2-10 days at room temperature. Unscrew the lid every day for the first three or four days to allow the release of gas. Taste it after five days and continue fermenting the mixture for one, two weeks or until desired tangy flavor is achieved. Then place it in the refrigerator.
Culinary Tips
The sauerkraut is more interesting with different textures in it. Try to shred and cut vegetables in different sizes.
We recommend to use silicone/culinary gloves to massage the mix, since turmeric stains hands with orange colour.
The basic safety measure is that the mixture must be covered by the liquid-brine at all times. If the vegetables have not released enough liquid to cover the mixture, add salted water in the following proportion: 1 teaspoon of marine salt in 1 cup of water, in order to make a solution and pour it in the flask.
The cabbage leaf serves as a cover for the mixture and avoids it to float above the liquid level.
After one week you can eat it and keep it in the refrigerator. The longer you leave the jars at room temperature, the stronger it will ferment, and flavours will become deeper. We recommend to taste it every week until you get it to your liking.
Recipe by The Quotidian Cook at https://www.thequotidiancook.com/en/apple-and-turmeric-sauerkraut/