Ingredients
Cabbage
- 3 kgwhite cabbage, shredded fine
- 60 gcoarse non-iodised salt — 2% of the cabbage weight
- 3carrots, grated
- 1 tbspcaraway or dill seed
Optional
- 1 tbspcranberries
- 2bay leaves
- 6black peppercorns
To serve
- sunflower oil and sliced onion
- or cooked into shchi
Directions
- Shred the cabbage as finely as you can and weigh it, then take exactly 2% of that weight in salt. This is the only measurement that has to be right — too little and it goes soft, too much and the ferment stalls.
- Toss with the salt, grated carrot and caraway and leave 30 minutes.
- Work it hard by the handful for ten minutes, squeezing until the cabbage collapses to about half its volume and swims in its own liquid. In Russian villages this was done by treading it in a barrel, and the principle is the same: crush it until it makes its own brine.
- Pack into the crock a handful at a time, pressing each layer down firmly, and tuck the cranberries, bay and peppercorns through.
- Lay whole outer leaves over the top, then a plate and a weight, so every shred sits below the liquid.
- Cover loosely and ferment at cool room temperature, 16 to 20°C (61 to 68°F), for about four weeks.
- Pierce down to the bottom with a clean wooden stick every day for the first week. Trapped carbon dioxide is what gives kvashenaya kapusta a bitter edge, and releasing it is the step Russian households never skip.
- Skim any white film off the surface. When it is sour enough, move it somewhere cold. Dress with sunflower oil and onion, or cook it into shchi.
Technique
- Two percent by weight, on a scale.
- Pierce it daily in the first week to let the gas out.
- Everything below the brine, always.
Substitutions
- Cranberries or lingonberries stirred through, which is very Russian and adds acidity.
- Grated beetroot for a pink crock.
- A splash of brine from a working crock to speed the start.
Variations
- The Polish kapusta kiszona and German Sauerkraut are the same preserve.
- Shchi, the sour cabbage soup, is what most of a Russian barrel becomes.
History
Barrelled sour cabbage supplied vitamin C through Russian winters and fills shchi soup and pirozhki fillings.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kvashenaya kapusta?
Kvashenaya kapusta is a fermented & pickled from Russia: salted shredded cabbage fermented in barrels, dressed with oil. Barrelled sour cabbage supplied vitamin C through Russian winters and fills shchi soup and pirozhki fillings.
How long does Kvashenaya kapusta take to make?
Kvashenaya kapusta takes 40 min plus 4 weeks fermenting of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes fills a 5-litre crock. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Kvashenaya kapusta?
Yes, within limits. Cranberries or lingonberries stirred through, which is very Russian and adds acidity. Grated beetroot for a pink crock. A splash of brine from a working crock to speed the start.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kvashenaya kapusta?
Shred the cabbage as finely as you can and weigh it, then take exactly 2% of that weight in salt. This is the only measurement that has to be right — too little and it goes soft, too much and the ferment stalls.
