Fresh Fennel Kraut

Fermented Fennel Sauerkraut is a tangy and flavorful twist on traditional sauerkraut. This recipe combines shredded cabbage with thinly sliced fennel bulbs, allowing the fennel to impart a crisp texture and a delightful complexity to the kraut. Fermentation enhances the flavor of fennel, making it an excellent addition to this probiotic-rich dish. With just a few simple ingredients and following the mastering sauerkraut technique, you can create a homemade fermented sauerkraut with the added goodness of fennel.

Yield: About 2½ quarts
(fermentation vessel: 1 gallon or larger)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3½ pounds cabbage, shredded
• 1 pound fennel bulbs, sliced thin
• 1–1½ tablespoons unrefined sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To prepare the cabbage, remove the coarse outer leaves. Rinse a few unblemished ones and set them aside. Rinse the rest of the cabbage in cold water. With a stainless steel knife, quarter and core the cabbage. Thinly slice with the same knife or a mandoline, then transfer the cabbage to a large bowl.
2. Add the sliced fennel bulbs to the bowl with the shredded cabbage.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of the salt and, with your hands, massage it into the leaves, then taste. You should be able to taste the salt without it being overwhelming. Add more salt if necessary. The cabbage will soon look wet and limp, and liquid will begin to pool. If you’ve put in a good effort and don’t see much brine in the bowl, let it stand, covered, for 45 minutes, then massage again.
4. Transfer the cabbage to a crock or 2-quart jar, a few handfuls at a time, pressing down on the cabbage with your fist or a tamper to work out air pockets. You should see some brine on top of the cabbage when you press. Leave 4 inches of headspace for a crock, or 2 to 3 inches for a jar. Top the cabbage with one or two of the reserved outer leaves. Then, for a crock, top the leaves with a plate that fits the opening of the container and covers as much of the vegetables as possible; weight down with a sealed, water-filled jar. For a jar, use a sealed, water-filled jar or ziplock bag as a follower-weight combination.
5. Set aside the jar or crock on a baking sheet to ferment, somewhere nearby, out of direct sunlight, and cool, for 4 to 14 days. Check daily to make sure the cabbage is submerged, pressing down as needed.
6. You can start to test the kraut on day 4. You’ll know it’s ready when it’s pleasingly sour and pickle-y tasting, without the strong acidity of vinegar; the cabbage has softened a bit but retains some crunch; and the cabbage is more yellow than green and slightly translucent, as if it’s been cooked.
7. Ladle the kraut into smaller jars and tamp down. Pour in any brine that’s left. Tighten the lids, then store in the refrigerator. This kraut will keep, refrigerated, for 1 year.
8. Enjoy the Fermented Fennel Sauerkraut as a flavorful and probiotic-rich accompaniment to various dishes or as a standalone snack.

Create Your Own Recipes:

• Add fennel slices to a mixed-vegetable pickle pot for a unique twist on pickled vegetables.
• Use fresh fennel bulbs instead of seeds in Farmhouse Culture’s Apple-Fennel Kraut to infuse the kraut with a distinct fennel flavor.
• Combine fresh fennel and beets with the Naked Kraut recipe to create a vibrant and flavorful fermented combination.
• Incorporate fennel seeds with Indian flavors, such as cardamom, in a beet kraut for a fusion of tastes.