Making delicious sauerkraut with cranberries at home

Summer has passed, the harvest has been harvested, it’s time to start preparing for the winter. One of the most popular and healthy options for winter preparations, along with pickles, is sauerkraut with cranberries. It's not difficult to prepare a treat. In the article we will tell you what products you will need, share recipes with photos and tips from experienced housewives.

Selection and preparation of main ingredients

Correctly selected products are the key to successful cooking. Choose white cabbage of late or mid-season varieties. Such crops have dense pulp with a high content of juice and sugar, which is extremely important for the proper fermentation process. Choose a dense head of cabbage with strong leaves.

Use coarse salt, without adding additional spices, which are not always appropriate for sourdough.

Another required ingredient in the recipe is carrots. Its fructose gives the dish a sweetish taste. Like cabbage, carrots are chosen to be late-ripening, large, and juicy.

Fresh currant leaves, bay leaves and peppercorns are considered a good addition.

If you don't have a wooden barrel, use a large saucepan. Any metal or glass container will also work.

Important! Vegetable leaves with a rough texture or affected by diseases are not recommended for use. The quality and shelf life of products depends on this.

Why is there cranberry in the recipe?

The cranberries in the dish add a piquant sourness to the appetizer. It becomes a good antiseptic for cabbage.By increasing the acidity of the product, cranberries prevent the appearance of putrefactive bacteria and mold in the salad.

Attention! Overripe cranberries lose their antiseptic properties.

Classic recipe for sauerkraut with cranberries

This recipe will be a great addition to borscht or salad. The snack is both healthy and tasty and goes well with any dish.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - 6 kg;
• carrots - 130 g;
• salt - 150 g;
• cranberries - 130 g.

Step-by-step cooking instructions:

1. Remove the top few leaves from the head of cabbage - they will be useful to us later. Remove the stalk.
2. Chop the cabbage into strips.
3. Peel and chop the carrots on a coarse grater.
4. Mix vegetables, add salt.
5. Place whole leaves at the bottom of the prepared container, lay vegetables on them in layers: cabbage with carrots, then cranberries.
6. Place a large sheet on top, cover with clean gauze and place under a press.

Before mixing the cabbage with the rest of the ingredients, carefully crush it with your hands so that it releases the juice.

Leave the appetizer to ferment for several days. Once a day pierce with a long fork or stick so that gases escape and the process of rotting does not begin.

After 3-4 days the dish is ready to eat. Store the product in refrigerator or cool cellar.

Recipe Variations

Sauerkraut retains all its beneficial properties. Similar winter blanks They are very popular in Russia, so there are many recipe options. Here are a few of the most popular ones.

Instant cooking

Required ingredients:

• cabbage - 2 kg;
• cranberries - 8 tbsp. l.;
• carrots - 200 g;
• salt - 2 tsp;
• sugar - 4 tbsp. l.;
• vinegar 3% - 140.

Procedure:

1. Shredded cabbage and grated carrots are mixed with salt and sugar.
2. Add vinegar, then cranberries and mix everything.
3. Leave for 30 minutes.
4. Season with vegetable oil.
5. Cool and serve.

Sauerkraut with cranberries and honey

Honey gives cabbage a unique and refined flavor.

List of ingredients:

• 8 kg cabbage;
• 6 tbsp. l. honey;
• 8 tbsp. l. table salt;
• 2 kg carrots;
• 4 liters of water.

Cooking process:

1. Finely chop the cabbage and grate the carrots.
2. Stir and place tightly in a 5-liter sterilized glass jar.
3. To prepare the brine, dilute salt in water and boil the mixture. Let cool, then add honey.
4. Pour the brine over the salad in a jar so that it completely covers the vegetables.
5. At a temperature not lower than +18°C, let it brew for 2 days.
6. Twice a day, use a wooden stick to make several indentations in the salad to release the formed gases.
7. Close the jar with a lid and leave in a cool place for 3 days.
8. Pour unrefined sunflower oil, add a little onion and serve.

With apples

This method of sourdough will appeal to those who are on a diet. A snack with apples and cranberries is not only tasty, but also low in calories.

You will need:

• 12 kg of white cabbage;
• 300 g fresh cranberries;
• 10 small apples;
• 600 g carrots;
• 12 tbsp. l. salt.

Preparation:

1. Finely chop the peeled cabbage.
2. Grind the apples and carrots, being careful not to turn everything into a puree.
3. Mix the ingredients, salt them and let sit for 30 minutes.
4. Use your hands to crush the vegetables until the juice appears, add the cranberries.
5. Fill the pre-selected container with salad and leave it for fermentation for 2 days.
6. After a day, insert wooden sticks into the jars and move the container to a cold place. The appetizer is ready.

With cumin

It is the cumin that will help the coleslaw become crunchy.This treat is enjoyed not only by adults, but also by children.

Ingredients:

• 3 kg cabbage;
• 30 g sugar;
• 80 g cranberries;
• 500 g carrots;
• 30 g cumin;
• 1 tbsp. l. salt.

Cooking method:

1. Set aside the top few large leaves of the cabbage head.
2. Chop the cabbage into thin strips, chop the carrots on a coarse grater, and place everything in an enamel bowl.
3. Season with spices, stir well. Add cranberries.
4. To release the juice necessary for brine, remember the vegetables with your hands.
5. Place in sterilized jars and compact well.
6. Scald the reserved whole leaves with boiling water and cover the jars with them.
7. Leave the starter for 3 days.
8. Pierce the salad daily with wooden chopsticks to release excess gas.
9. After 48 hours, put the snack in the refrigerator or other cool place with a temperature of +2...+5°C.

Without salt

It is possible to prepare pickled vegetables without using salt. To do this you will need the following products:

• 3 kg cabbage;
• 4 things. carrots;
• 300 g cranberries;
• 4 garlic cloves;
• 2 tbsp. l. Sahara.

The cooking process is as follows:

1. Chop the cabbage and mash with sugar.
2. Grind the carrots on a coarse grater.
3. Peel each clove of garlic and cut into 4 parts.
4. Mix the vegetables in a bowl, using your hands, add the cranberries.
5. Place the mixture in the container chosen for the starter.
6. Close with a tight lid and leave for 4 days. If there is not enough juice, then add water on the second day.

It is best to store salad without salt in the refrigerator. The snack will taste slightly different and will be stored much shorter, but try it recipe costs.

With added currants

This dish with currants will be an ideal dressing for cabbage soup or vinaigrette.

List of ingredients:

• 5 kg cabbage;
• 250 g cranberries;
• 250 g red currants;
• 1 kg carrots;
• 6 cloves of garlic;
• 5 tbsp.l. salt.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Mix shredded cabbage and grated carrots.
2. Salt the vegetables and squeeze with your hands until the juice comes out.
3. Wash the currants, remove the berries from the branches.
4. Place the appetizer in a container prepared in advance in several layers: first vegetables, then currants mixed with cranberries.
5. Place under pressure for 3 days.
6. Remove the foam if it appears after some time.
7. Pierce the starter twice a day in several places with a wooden stick.
8. Close the lid and refrigerate.

This snack can be stored for up to 120 days.

With grapes

The longer the salad with the addition of grapes sits, the more aromatic and tastier it becomes. It has a piquant sourness and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. Sometimes apples are added to the recipe.

List of ingredients:

• 10 kg cabbage;
• 500 g cranberries;
• 8 heads of garlic;
• 12 pcs. carrots;
• 6 kg of grapes;
• 2 tbsp. sunflower oil;
• 2 tbsp. Sahara;
• 20 tbsp. l. salt;
• 30 tbsp. l. 3% vinegar;
• 10 liters of water.

Step-by-step preparation:

1. Finely chop the cabbage, cut the apples into thin strips, and grate the carrots.
2. Cut each head of garlic into 6 pieces.
3. To prepare hot brine, place sugar and salt in a saucepan, add water and boil. Pour in vinegar and sunflower oil, stir thoroughly.
4. Place the salad in a large saucepan, including the grapes and cranberries. Pour hot brine over mixed berries and vegetables.
5. Place the appetizer under the press and cover.
6. After 2 days, remove the load, put the salad in a container, and store in the refrigerator.

Pickled cabbage with cranberries

Vegetable salad is not only fermented, but also pickled.

To do this you will need:

• 8 kg cabbage;
• 200 g cranberries;
• 8 pcs. carrots;
• 4 tbsp. l. salt;
• 2 tbsp. 3% vinegar;
• 4 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil;
• 4 liters of water;
• 4 cloves of garlic;
• allspice and bay leaf - to taste.

The cooking principle is as follows:

1. Chop the cabbage, but not too finely.
2. Cut the carrots into thin cubes.
3. Combine water, salt and sugar in a saucepan. Add vegetable oil and boil. The sugar in the marinade should completely dissolve.
4. Pour in the vinegar, add the bay leaf and allspice, and immediately remove from the heat. Refrigerate.
5. Mix cabbage with carrots and coarsely chopped garlic. Add cranberries.
6. Pack the salad into the prepared container, pour in the marinade, and place under a press.
7. After 2 days, the treat is ready.

Terms and conditions of storage

The shelf life of the finished dish ranges from 1 to 3 months. It depends on the recipe and fermentation technology. To increase shelf life, vegetables are pasteurized or canned.

Important! During heat treatment, products lose all vitamins and beneficial microelements.

When storing, pay attention to the amount of juice or brine. It is important that the liquid completely covers the product. Otherwise, the workpiece will begin to dry out, darken and deteriorate.

In most recipes, the fermented appetizer is ready in 3-4 days. After this, it is removed from under the yoke and put in a cold place.

Advice from experienced housewives

If you are a beginner, take the advice of those who make winter preparations every year. This will prevent errors and save your time:

1. Sugar is sometimes replaced with honey. It makes the dish more piquant and aromatic.
2. Before serving, pour olive oil over the salad and add thinly sliced ​​onions.
3. It is not recommended to use aluminum cookware. It oxidizes, giving the dish a metallic taste.
4. Iodized salt can ruin the taste of a fermented dish; it is better to avoid it.
5. If the recipe calls for vegetable oil, use unrefined oil; it adds special flavor notes and a wonderful smell.

Conclusion

In winter, sauerkraut with cranberries provides the body with vitamins, strengthens the immune system, and helps fight viral diseases. Due to its low calorie content, this dish is suitable for those watching their figure.

The salad is consumed as an independent snack and offered as a side dish for meat and fish. By preparing vegetables according to one of the time-tested recipes, you will be convinced that it is tasty, simple and inexpensive - sauerkraut turns out well even for those who do not know how to cook at all.