Since ancient times in Russia, after the Intercession, the hostesses fermented, or salted, cabbage. This vegetable is known for its high content of minerals and vitamin C, and many are still harvesting salted cabbage for the winter. Without this product, some families cannot imagine a full winter menu.
How to salt the cabbage for the winter correctly, so that it turns out tasty and retains all its useful properties, we will describe later in the article.
Salting or pickling: the main differences
Souring (salting) cabbage is a simple way of preserving a vegetable for the future, based on its fermentation in its own juice. Successful salting of cabbage at home does not require expensive ingredients.
The main difference between pickling and pickling is that the latter method, involving the addition of vinegar, is faster. So, usually salting is done for 3 to 7 days, and pickling is from 2 hours to 2 days. But fermented crisp cabbage is considered not an example of a more healthy pickled one.
About the benefits and dangers of sauerkraut
It is known that in salted cabbage the preservation of useful substances is 2 times higher than in ordinary fresh cabbage. In winter and in the spring, when many feel the effects of vitamin deficiency, blanks are simply necessary.
The vegetable is rich in vitamin C (up to 75 mg in the stalk, 50-52 mg per 100 g of product in the leaves) and minerals (potassium, phosphorus and calcium). If you moderately use salted cabbage, this will positively affect the digestive system. In addition, it is well known that vitamin C is a true friend of the immune system, effectively contributes to its strengthening.
But salted cabbage is not recommended for use by people with a stomach ulcer, as well as those with problems with the intestines, pancreas, kidneys. It should be excluded from the diet and those who suffer from increased acidity.
Favorite useful workpiece
The described product is considered to be an excellent preparation for the winter. Due to the presence of delicious salted cabbage, a vitamin snack will always be present on the table. In addition, it is an ingredient required for the preparation of dishes such as sour cabbage soup, bigos, vinaigrette and some others.
Each hostess has her own signature recipe for salted cabbage and even her own way of chopping a vegetable. But there are also general rules and patterns of preparation, which must be taken into account.
How to salt cabbage: the beginning of the process
Tight cabbages of late varieties are selected for salting. First, they remove the upper sluggish leaves, cut off the damage. Then cut into quarters or halves.
It is necessary to prepare carrots. It is often used in a particular salted cabbage recipe. This vegetable gives the dish a pleasant color and a sweet taste. Wash carrots, peel and grate (coarse).
In addition, cabbage is also salted with apples, cranberries, beets, lingonberries, hot red pepper, horseradish.
Which salt to use?
The secret of salted crispy cabbage depends largely on the type of salt used. Extremely coarse and non-iodized salt is suitable for salting.
About salting containers
You should also choose the right container for salting. Mostly they make salted cabbage in a jar (glass) or in an enameled pan that is not damaged, as well as in any stainless steel dishes.
About proportions
The proportions of the products used (the amount of cabbage, salt, sugar, etc.) each housewife uses her own. However, you can take the following as a basis: for 5 kg of cabbage, 4-5 medium carrots and 3 tables will be enough. l salt.
About salting styling
It is believed that the larger the cabbage cut for the workpiece, the better the beneficial properties will be preserved in it. Shredded cabbage, before laying in a container, mix with salt and carrots, crushing them slightly with your hands. A few clean cabbage leaves are usually laid at the bottom. Experienced housewives do not recommend mashed cabbage very much, this can make it soft.
In any of the salted cabbage recipes, it is recommended to lay the shredded product with well-packed layers. Between them should be placed quarters of cabbage. Leaves are also placed on top, covered with a plate and a load is placed on top: a weight, a jar or a bottle of water.
After some time, the cabbage should give a juice that completely covers it. If it is allocated a little, it is necessary to increase the weight of the cargo.
Features
Usually, the process of pickling cabbage lasts while maintaining room temperature for about 3-4 days. Every day it is necessary to pierce the mass to the bottom with a long knife. It is necessary for gases to escape, otherwise the product will feel bitterness.
In the recipe, it is usually recommended to judge the readiness of salted cabbage by the color of the brine: in the finished product, it is transparent. Ready cabbage is transferred to jars (you should evenly distribute the juice!) And put in the refrigerator.
Usually, in a recipe for salted cabbage, they offer to diversify the taste of the product with the help of all kinds of fragrant seeds. As such, use caraway, dill, coriander, anise.
How to make cabbage crispy
Real experts especially appreciate the presence of a characteristic crunch in salted cabbage. It turns out that such a blank is obtained exclusively from winter and autumn varieties. Summer cabbage is not recommended for salting. An unsuitable base for cooking can permanently spoil the product, which subsequently cannot be saved with any spices and additional ingredients. Therefore, for those who want to get a crispy winter harvest, masters recommend using late varieties of vegetables for salting:
- Belorussian 455;
- Factory;
- Gingerbread man;
- Biryuchekutskaya 138;
- Atria F1;
- Dobrovodskaya;
- Megaton F1;
- Tradeswoman.
When to grease and how to store?
Our ancestors harvested vegetables for the winter in accordance with the lunar calendar. Popular sign recommends salting cabbage on a new moon. It is known that cabbage is usually harvested after the first frost grabs it, therefore, pickling does not begin before the end of October.
The ideal place to store the workpiece is glass jars or wooden barrels, specially cleaned using a solution of bleach and repeatedly washed with water. The use of large aluminum cans in which the taste of the product spoils is not recommended.
A wide vegetable knife should be used for chopping. For those who prefer thinly sliced cabbage, in conditions of limited time it is recommended to use a food processor or a grater specially designed for this.
Simple Salted Cabbage Recipe (Classic)
Use:
- 2 kg of white cabbage;
- 1 carrot;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 40 g of salt;
- black pepper (peas) - to taste.
Cooking:
- Peel and rub the carrots coarsely, as for cooking in Korean. Do the same with cabbage. Shredded vegetables are laid out in a capacious bowl and carefully crushed with rock salt.
- Two bay leaves are added, after breaking them into small particles.
- The cabbage is mixed and squeezed with carrots until juice is formed. To avoid mistakes with the amount of salt used, the product should be tasted.
- Then the vegetable mixture is laid out in banks, but not to the very top. It is necessary to leave a place so that the liquid secreted by the cabbage can freely escape.
- From time to time it is recommended to pierce the cabbage with a wooden stick. It is enough to do this 1-2 times a day. Such a simple action provides free removal of the resulting gas.
- Banks are left to be stored in the kitchen for 2-3 days.
- Readiness is determined by whether there is turbid water and a froth on top of the product. If they have disappeared, the product is ready. Cabbage in a glass container is covered with lids and sent for a day in the refrigerator.
The appetizer is served on the table, decorated with a beam cut in half rings and seasoned with fragrant sunflower oil.
Classic salted cabbage recipe in brine
Use:
- 3 kg of cabbage;
- 400 g carrots;
- 2.5 liters of water;
- 5 tablespoons of salt;
- 3 table. tablespoons of sugar;
- dill (seeds) and caraway seeds are added to taste.
It is prepared as follows:
- Vegetable should be washed thoroughly in water. Top leaves that are damaged are removed.
- Coarsely chopped cabbage, and chopped carrots with a grater. These ingredients are mixed in a deep basin, gently mixed, crushed and laid out in jars. At the same time, it is not recommended to ram the vegetable mixture heavily.
- Cumin and dill (seeds) are added to each can. Next, water is poured into the pan. Sugar and salt are added and placed on the stove.
- Bring to a boil to dissolve all the crystals, cool. After 10-15 minutes hot liquid is poured into the cans. From above they need to be covered with multilayer gauze.
- Banks are left in the kitchen for two days. From time to time, salting should be pierced with a wooden stick (about 2 times a day).
- After two days, the brine from the cans is poured into a clean pan, sugar is poured into the solution, and again brought to a boil.
- When the brine cools down a bit, it is poured into cans. Close the lids and leave to cool completely on the kitchen table. After the liquid has completely cooled, salting is removed in the refrigerator.
Three days later, you can try a delicious snack and treat it to everyone.
How to cook salted cabbage quickly?
Mistresses willingly share the cabbage starter culture methods known to them. To prepare 20 servings of instant salted cabbage use:
- one liter of water;
- one table. a spoonful of salt;
- one table. a spoonful of sugar;
- 50 g of vinegar;
- 4 kg of cabbage;
- 1 kg of carrots.
For quick cooking salted cabbage do the following:
- Cabbage finely chopped. Peel the carrots and rub with a coarse grater.
- The vegetables are mixed and tightly placed in a pan, tamped and pour brine on top. Vinegar can be used wine or apple. If it is 5%, then its volume can be increased to about 80 g.
- The brine should completely cover the cabbage. A pot with pickling is set in a warm place.
- To avoid getting bitterness, cabbage should be pierced daily with a stick or fork, which will provide a free exit of gases.
- The product is considered ready as soon as the fermentation process is completed. Usually it takes 2-3 days for salting.
- Ready cabbage is packed in jars, after which it is installed in a cool place.
How to cook quick sauerkraut without vinegar?
This recipe allows you to ferment cabbage as quickly as you should and eat the product. Long-term storage of this snack is not recommended. The treat prepared according to this recipe turns out to be unusually tasty. Instant salted cabbage without vinegar is distinguished by an appetizing appearance, crispness and a pleasant taste.
Use:
- 60 grams of salt;
- one liter of water;
- 50 grams of sugar;
- one head of cabbage;
- two carrots.
Description of the method of preparation
- Chop the cabbage into a straw, peel the carrots and grind it on a coarse grater.
- Then a pickle is prepared: the water is poured into a saucepan, put on fire, pour spices and salt. When the brine is ready, it is left on the stove to cool to room temperature.
- At this time, the chopped vegetables are tightly hammered into a jar and pour on top with warm marinade. Dishes should not be tightly covered with a lid.
- Salting should be kept warm for two days. Periodically pierce the contents with a knife or stick so that air bubbles can freely come out of it.
- After two days, the brine is poured into a saucepan, sugar is poured, stirred and again poured into a jar. Cabbage should be fermented for at least another 10 hours.
- The treat is tightly closed with a lid and sent to the refrigerator. You can immediately serve it on the table.
Cooking with beets: the composition of the products
A quick recipe for sauerkraut (salted) cabbage with beets involves the use of the following ingredients (for 8-12 servings):
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 300 g of beets;
- one and a half kilograms of cabbage;
- 2 table. tablespoons of salt;
- one clove of garlic;
- 300 g carrots;
- black pepper peas - 5 pcs.;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 1.5 table. l Sahara.
Dish description
One of the options for cooking red salted cabbage will take about 30-40 minutes to prepare and about two days for salting. The treat has an unusual taste and attractive appearance. On the festive table, bright salted cabbage with beets will certainly attract the attention of guests.
Regardless of what kind of vegetable is used for salting, as a result of cooking according to this quick recipe, you will surely get a tasty, crisp treat, which can also be used as a preparation for vinaigrette. The dish retains all the nutrients and vitamins.
Cooking like this:
- Head of cabbage is cut into four parts, each of which is cut into squares of approximately equal size.
- Beets and carrots are grated and mixed.
- Next, the garlic should be crushed with a knife and put on the bottom of a three-liter jar. Cabbage, a mixture of beets and carrots spread in layers.
- The water in the pan is brought to a boil, pour salt and pepper (black). Bay leaf should also be added to the brine. The contents should be slightly boiled and cooled to 80 ° C.
- The brine is poured into a jar of cabbage, which is left to infuse for two days at room temperature.