Ingredients
Cabbage
- 3 kgwhite cabbage, shredded fine
- 60 gcoarse non-iodised salt — 2% of the cabbage weight
- 2carrots, grated
- 1 tbspcaraway seed
Optional
- 6juniper berries, crushed
- 1apple, quartered
- a handful of cranberries
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 must be right: too little and it goes soft, too much and the bacteria you need are held back with everything else.
- Toss the cabbage with the salt, grated carrot, caraway and juniper and leave for 30 minutes.
- Work it hard by the handful for ten minutes, squeezing until it has collapsed to about half its volume and is sitting in a pool of its own liquid. This is the whole labour and there is no shortcut.
- Pack it into the crock a handful at a time, pressing each layer down firmly with a fist so the brine rises above the cabbage. Tuck the apple and cranberries in as you go.
- Lay a couple of whole outer leaves over the top, then a plate and a weight, so every shred sits under the liquid.
- Cover loosely and ferment at cool room temperature, 16 to 20°C (61 to 68°F), for about four weeks, skimming any white film off the surface.
- Taste from week three. When it is sour to your liking, move it somewhere cold. It keeps for months.
- Eat cold as a salad with oil and onion, or stew it with pork and barley.
Technique
- Two percent by weight, on a scale. Salting by handful is where most failed batches begin.
- Everything below the brine. That one rule prevents nearly every problem.
- Cool and slow. Fermented warm it is ready in ten days and comes out flabby.
Substitutions
- Cranberries or lingonberries stirred through, which is very Latvian and adds acidity.
- Grated beetroot for a pink crock.
- A splash of brine from a working crock to speed the start.
Variations
- The Estonian hapukapsas, Lithuanian rauginti kopūstai and German Sauerkraut are the same preserve.
- Stewed slowly with pork ribs and pearl barley as a winter main.
History
Cabbage was shredded and salted into wooden barrels each autumn to supply vitamin C through the long Latvian winter.
Frequently asked questions
What is Skābēti kāposti?
Skābēti kāposti is a fermented & pickled from Latvia: barrel-fermented sauerkraut eaten cold or stewed with pork. Cabbage was shredded and salted into wooden barrels each autumn to supply vitamin C through the long Latvian winter.
How long does Skābēti kāposti take to make?
Skābēti kāposti 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 Skābēti kāposti?
Yes, within limits. Cranberries or lingonberries stirred through, which is very Latvian 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 Skābēti kāposti?
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 must be right: too little and it goes soft, too much and the bacteria you need are held back with everything else.
