Some fantastic news for those of you who are fans of sauerkraut: my experiment with vacuum bag sauerkraut was a success! Forget all about those recipes that call for jars and sauerkraut pressing. Vacuum bag sauerkraut is a set and forget method: shred some cabbage, salt it, put it in a vacuum bag and vacuum seal it. Two or three weeks later, and the kraut is made! And once you do make it, there’s no turning back to store-bought sauerkraut. Let me know if you decide to make sauerkraut and how it turned out.
For many, the flavour of sauerkraut is a bit too much like vinegar and is off-putting. I happen to like vinegar and therefore sauerkraut, but I also like a bit of variety, so I’ve come up with a recipe to turn my sauerkraut into a delicious salad. Drain some sauerkraut and dress it with olive oil, a few drops of sesame seed oil and sprinkle it with isot pepper (or any chili you like) and sesame seeds. This sauerkraut salad is the bomb. I like eating it on its own but it goes brilliantly with roasted meats.
10 comments
Hi
As I have a vac sealer I will give this a try as I love sauerkraut. What ratio cabbage to salt did you use?
regards
vicki
Hey Fouad, thanks for the inspiration! I’ve been meaning to make sauerkraut for ages..
taking your advice i’ve just vacuumed a bag of cabbage and salt (2% by weight) and wanted to check a couple of things:
– did you leave the bag at room temp?
– is it a problem if little bits of cabbage are stuck to the walls of the bag above the main cabbage/brine mix?
thanks!
Adam
Hey Adam. Yes, room temperature and there’s no problem with the cabbage not being fully immersed. You will be able to move things around in a couple of days when the cabbage softens, but I only did that once or twice and the cabbage fermented without being completely in liquid.
Hey Vicki
I used around 1.5 to 2 tablespoons with a medium sized head of cabbage. Let me know how it turns out.
Fouad
Great – thanks for the reply. Can’t wait to taste the results!
Update – about half way in, and we’re looking like sauerkraut… had a taste, and it’s definitely on its way, but not really sour enough yet.
Unfortunately the bag sprung a leak.
The bag lost its vacuum long ago – and I think the gas given off from the fermentation caused a hole 🙁
Luckily I had it sitting in a bowl so I’ve re-bagged everything in a new vacuum bag.
Given this experience, it seems you may be just as successful with ziplock bags…
Great stuff… now I only need a vacuum sealer! 🙂
I just opened and sampled some kohlrabi kraut made in a vacuum bag. It was very good at 2 wks of age but not as crunchy as I would like. Maybe I should grate it coarser. I cannot seal the bag again there is too much liquid. I’m going to try a new batch (I use whey and a little salt) and leave it longer. I’m wondering how long it will stay preserved in the bag?
Hey Adam, did you try using the ziplock bags?
Hallo, habe wieder einmal Sauerkraut eingemacht.
Frage; kann mann Sauerkraut nach der Vergärung abpacken und roh vaccumieren und wie lange ist es gekühlt haltbar.