My mother's recipe · Preserves
Kapusta Kiszona — Polish Sauerkraut in Jars
Kapusta kiszona — Polish sauerkraut, made in 1-litre jars with carrot and onion through it. Cabbage, carrot and onion are layered in a big pot under a salted brine with allspice and bay, left overnight, then mixed and packed into jars. From 5 kg of cabbage you get seven or eight jars.
- Prep
- 1 hour, plus overnight in the pot
- Ferment
- about 2 weeks in a dark place
- Makes
- 7–8 one-litre jars
- Level
- Easy
The day before
- Shred the cabbage finely — the thinner it is, the better it packs and the sooner it sours.
- Grate the carrots on the large holes of a grater, and slice the onions thinly.
- Make the brine: combine the water, salt, allspice and bay leaves and stir until the salt has dissolved.
- Layer the cabbage, carrots and onions in a big pot. Natalia does two layers — it all gets mixed thoroughly the next day anyway, before it goes into the jars.
- Pour the brine over, cover, and leave it overnight.
The next day
- Mix everything well, so the carrot and onion run all the way through the cabbage.
- Pack it into the jars. Push it down hard each time you add more, so no air pockets are left — you want no free space in sight.
- All that pressing releases a lot of juice. Save every bit of it in one pot, and when the jars are full, pour it back over the cabbage so it is completely covered.
- Leave the jars in a dark corner of the kitchen for about two weeks. Stand them on a tray — as the cabbage works, some brine will push up over the rims.
- When the cabbage turns a little more yellow, it is ready. Move the jars to a cooler store room.
This is my mother's recipe, made the way it is made at home in Poland — a big pot, a day of waiting, and jars lined up on the counter at the end of it.
Do you have yours ready, or are you planning to make one?
Watch it made
The video for this recipe is coming soon.