Basic Sauerkraut

1. Remove any unattractive outer leaves from the head of cabbage. Reserve one (for step 7).
2. Shred the remaining head of cabbage or slice into fine strips. Smaller pieces will require less time to release their liquid, larger pieces will take a bit longer and need more massaging. Food processor slicing and shredding blades work wonderfully.
3. Put the sliced cabbage into a large bowl. Toss with the salt.
4. Let the salted cabbage sit for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally if you think of it. This will give the cabbage time to start releasing its juices. Once the cabbage looks a little soft, squeeze it and massage it to coax more liquid from it.
5. When your cabbage feels a bit softer and you have a decent amount of liquid in the bottom of your container, toss in your seasonings.
6. Get a clean wide-mouthed quart-sized jar and a wooden spoon and start packing! Push that kraut in there as much as you can. You want to end up with an inch of space at the top of your container. You want your cabbage to be completely covered in its own juice. You must pack very tightly.
7. (optional) Use the reserved outer leaf to hold the shredded cabbage beneath the surface of the liquid. Just press a large piece of leaf into the jar until it fits above the kraut and below the jar shoulders. The leaf can be composted after fermentation has transformed your kraut. After fermentation, you can discard this.
8. Use a jar filled with water, a boiled and sterilized rock, a plastic bag filled with leftover kraut juice or some other weight to keep your kraut below the surface of the liquid. If you don’t want to deal with weighting it down, you can look in every couple days and push everything back down below the surface liquid. Be aware that if you forget to do this you may get surface mold. This can be skimmed and composted, but most people prefer to avoid it all together!
9. Depending on the submersion method you use, you can either loosely cover your jar with a loose lid or cover the top with a cloth and secure it with a rubber band. Place the jar at room temperature away from direct sunlight.
10. Wait four to six weeks. Feel free to taste along the way and find your perfect acidity level and texture. Warmer temperatures and smaller cabbage pieces will require less time, larger pieces and cooler temperatures will require more.

Note: This recipe is for one quart jar. My usual quantity is about 8 pounds of cabbage (other ingredients adjusted proportionally), which makes a gallon.