Apple Sauerkraut Recipe Ingredients
Now, I never suggest trying to lacto-ferment fruit by itself. Most fruits contain too much sugar for the lacto-fermentation process and, instead, will lead to alcohol fermentation. However, when you incorporate a bit of fruit into sauerkraut, it works beautifully! So definitely try this apple sauerkraut recipe for a great way to ferment apples!
When you incorporate fruit into sauerkraut, I suggest keeping the ratio of fruit lower. Always use way more cabbage than fruit. And as always, please use organic ingredients whenever possible.
Making Sauerkraut with Apples
I love adding fruit to sauerkraut, especially apples. You know what they say…
The saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a famous adage that suggests eating an apple daily can lead to better health and thus reduce the need to visit a doctor. This phrase originated in the 19th century in Wales, and its original form was, “Eat an apple on going to bed, and you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.
The rationale behind the saying is based on the nutritional benefits of apples. Apples are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and are a good source of antioxidants. These nutrients benefit various aspects of health, such as aiding digestion due to fiber, improving heart health, and potentially reducing the risk of certain chronic diseases.
The antioxidants found in apples can help fight free radicals in the body, potentially reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.
You know what I’m about to add here, don’t you? When fermented, the nutrients and vitamins in apples become more bioavailable!
Supplies You Need to Make Sauerkraut with Apples, Celery and Black Pepper
Fermenting Apple Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut naturally takes time. I recommend fermenting your sauerkraut for at least 14 days before eating, with 21-28 days being the best fermentation time for optimal flavor and health benefits.
By checking the progress of microbial stages under the microscope, we have provided you with a handy timeline below! If you follow our recipe and directions, your timeline of sauerkraut fermentation should approximately match ours!
Note that temperature will influence how fast or slow sauerkraut ferments. This timeline is applicable between 70-80° F. If you keep your home colder, the process is slower. If your home is warmer, it will be faster.
How should my sauerkraut look and smell while it ferments?
Temperature affects how quickly sauerkraut ferments. This timeline is applicable between 70-80°F. If your home is colder, the process will be slower. If your home is warmer, it will be faster.
- 24 – 48 hours: All contents in the jar should be submerged beneath the brine. The brine will be pretty clear, but will start to get a bit murky, and you’ll see little bubbles forming in between the cabbage pieces. There won’t be a ton of bubbles until about day 3, though. (This is stage one of fermentation, and there’s not much going on that you can see)
- 48 hours – 10 days: After 72 hours, you should start to see lots of bubbles. You need to burp the jar if you are using a rust-proof mason jar lid (as I recommend). Sauerkraut at this stage should change color from light green to pale olive. You will also notice the brine becomes very cloudy. Leuconostoc bacteria begin to thrive, producing lots of carbon dioxide, lactic acid, and acetic acid. You can open the jar whenever to ensure everything is submerged and the lid stays clean. If anything is floating to the surface, scoop it out with a clean spoon. If the lid looks dirty, wash it with hot, soapy water, then put it back on the jar.
- 10-21 days: Bubbles in the brine will decrease as the sauerkraut leaves stage two and enters stage three of fermentation. The brine will be quite cloudy and start to develop a pleasantly sour smell. You’ll probably start to see sediment at the bottom of the jar, and the bubbles will stop completely. Lactobacillus species are most abundant. Feel free to taste test and pop the jar in the fridge now if you like how it tastes. Or, let the sauerkraut ferment longer for a sourer, more complex flavor!
- 21 – 28 days: Lactobacillus makes up the majority or all of the microbial population now. They produce copious amounts of lactic acid, making the sauerkraut smell even more pleasantly sour. At this time, you can smell, taste, and refrigerate! The sauerkraut should have a pH of 4 or below and is now super probiotic and well preserved.
Apple Sauerkraut Care Instructions
During the first few days of fermentation: carbon dioxide and bubbles will be produced. Sometimes mason jars will become very full of liquid, and this liquid can seep out. You will need to burp the jar.
- When burping the jar, remove the lid and tamper everything back down using a clean tamper or spoon. Make sure everything, including the weight, is still submerged below the brine. You can also rinse off the lid daily to keep things clean.
Always Trust your sense of smell: In the beginning fermenting cabbage smells funky. When fermentation is finished, fermented cabbage should smell pleasantly sour and like strong cabbage. Never eat anything that smells repulsive or yeasty.
Never eat anything that has mold growing on it: By following directions, you should not encounter this problem.
After 3-4 weeks, remove the fermentation weight, smell, and taste test. Your fermented cabbage should smell pleasantly sour. It should taste tart, salty, and cabbage. Store it in the fridge.
More Sauerkraut Recipes to Try
- How to Make Old Fashioned Sauerkraut with Caraway Seeds
- Fermented Beet and Red Cabbage Sauerkraut
- Turmeric Napa Cabbage Sauerkraut
- Homemade Kimchi Inspired Spicy Sauerkraut Recipe
Apple Sauerkraut with Celery and Black Pepper
Enjoy the unique flavors of this apple sauerkraut recipe made with celery and black pepper. This apple sauerkraut is long fermented for 21 days, giving it the best flavor and making it perfect for gut health.
- Prep: 10 minutes
- ferment: 21 days
Ingredients
- 350 grams cabbage
- 18 grams sea salt
- 200 grams filtered water
- 200 grams apple, grated
- 100 grams celery, grated
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Wash your fermentation equipment (jar, weight, and lid)
- Remove the outer leaves of your cabbage and lightly rinse the cabbage, apple and celery with cool water.
- Chop/grate the cabbage, celery and apple.
- Place your kitchen scale on the counter. Turn it on and set it to weigh in grams.
- Measure out all of your ingredients using your kitchen scale. Add black pepper to taste.
- Mix all the ingredients, including the water, in a large bowl. Lightly massage the cabbage and break up any large pieces.
- Pack it all, including the water, into a clean jar with a rust-proof lid. (a 32-ounce jar works best)
- Place a fermentation weight in the jar, making sure to submerge the cabbage pieces and weight fully into the liquid. If you don’t have quite enough liquid, place your glass fermentation weight in the jar and submerge as much as possible. Over the next 12 hours, the cabbage should release more liquid and you can press the fermentation weight down below the brine.
- Secure the lid (You do not need to tighten it all the way. Just secure the lid but leave it ever so slightly loose, so the gas doesn’t build up too much). You can keep the jar in a glass dish to catch any spills.
- Burping the jar: It should get bubbly in the first few days. If you have a tightly secured lid, you will need to burp the jar. You should also wash off the lid to keep it clean and re-adjust the fermentation weight whenever needed. Anytime the weight comes up out of the brine, with clean hands press hard on the weight to tamper everything back down into the liquid.*
- Ferment at room temperature for 21-28 days, then remove the fermentation weight and refrigerate.
- If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a five-star review below!
Notes
- When things are bubbly: If it looks like you’ve lost brine and cannot re-submerge the contents by pressing down on the weight, top it off with raw apple cider vinegar. It slightly changes the flavor, but it doesn’t harm the sauerkraut’s microbes and prevents mold. You need to give it a good stir when it’s done fermenting to mix up the flavors.
- It’s important to use organic ingredients with wild fermentation.
Can I use a bag of coleslaw mix? Would it still have naturally occurring yeasts or would that not work as well?
You can, but I suggest using in tandem with some freshly chopped cabbage. Most bagged mixes are triple washed, so they often lack the necessary microbes.
I have 2 jars going right now of the apple sauerkraut, they are on day 13. One jar has brown liquid and no longer bubbles. The other jar has clear liquid and still bubbles. Should I be concerned about the brown jar? I love your website and am going to try the kefir soon, thank You!
a little brown liquid on top is usually just oxidation. You can remove any brown bits and if it smells good and tastes right, it should still be fine to eat!
You are the easiest person to help learn fermentation. Your recipes are clearly written and precise
Sooooo delicious. Made this a few times now. Will probably be on a regular rotation of ferments.
Thank you for sharing these recipes!
I followed recipe,but used my food processor to grate the celery and apple. Think that released too much liquid because when I added all measured ingredients to the jar it filled it to the very top of the jar rim. You said it may overflow once the bubbles start so is it ok to let that happen or should I laddle out some of the liquid now? New to fermenting, but love your site.
You can just let it over flow a little! Stick the jar in a dish to catch any spills. And secure the lid, but don’t make it super tight so some gas can escape!
I’m a little over a couple weeks into starting this and the top of the jar is dark brown. This is my first time making this, so bear with me. The Napa cabbage I bought looks different than yours. When I initially mixed everything there was an obscene amount of water. I measured everything with a scale. I’m not sure if this is normal or if I did something wrong?? Thank you so much for your time and help!
Is everything submerged in the brine with a fermentation weight? What kind of jar and lid are you using? I used savoy cabbage in this recipe, so that probably why it looks so different. Napa cabbage is generally more water dense than other cabbages, so that’s probably why there was a good bit of water. It’s a good thing to have lots of brine! A brown color is usually just oxidation and you can pour off any brown brine and scoop out any brown bits before storing in the fridge.
One of my go to sauerkraut recipes