We used four heads of early green cabbage, pickling salt, caraway seeds.
Sauerkraut Peel off the outer two leaves from each head.
Chop the remaining cabbage fairly fine. we left out the cores, but you could probably keep 'em.
Layer a few leaves at the bottom of your crock.
Mix chopped cabbage about 1/2 head at a time with several tablespoons of salt and a generous sprinkle of caraway seeds.
Once mixed add to crock, until the crock is full to within 2-3 of the top. Cover with a few of the reserved whole leaves.
Weight and wait. We used a plate that fit tightly into the crock and a big river cobble in a plastic bag. They do make weights you can buy. They're probably at the same store where you buy crocks. I bought mine at Olympia Supply, our favorite old-timey hardware store, and I saw the weights on the shelf, but I was too
After a nice long chat, we checked in on the crock, the cabbage had juiced up, but not enough to cover the leaves, so we ended up adding about 3 cups of brine. This seems to be about typical.
It's key to make sure that your kraut is well-smothered, which means pressed and completely covered with brine. The Science Behind Sauerkraut is a good read and explains all the ins and outs.
Kurt or Karl (I can't remember which name we picked) is now resting in the pantry in a lovely crock.
Here's another kraut quote from a webpage Sarah found to ponder as you wait for your cabbage to ferment it's way to crunchy, sour, bitey goodness...
"Fermentation breeds strange sounds and smells, so try not to worry about those"
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