This is the Christmas Kraut I made at my Cultured Food Christmas class. It is a sweet sauerkraut made with apples, cabbage, cranberries and a little orange juice. You can shred the cabbage and apple or leave them chunky. The cranberries and orange juice give this a Holiday twist. This is great paired with any meal as a side dish. You can also serve it with goat cheese and crackers and place a small dollop of the kraut on top of the cheese as an appetizer.
This is a probiotic food that boosts your immune system and helps fight colds and flu throughout the season. Can’t get much more from food than that!
Ingredients
- ½ small-sized cabbage, finely shredded or chopped into fine pieces
- 1 tsp. Celtic sea salt
- 1 apple shredded or finely chopped
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 1 orange juiced (you can include some pulp)
- 1 /4 cup Kefir whey or ½ tsp. of Caldwell cultured veggie package
- Water to cover veggies
Instructions
- Place the shredded or chopped cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. You can also layer it in the jar instead of mixing.
- Add the next 3 ingredients and mix well. Firmly pack the mixture into a glass-canning jar leaving an inch or two for the cabbage to expand when it ferments.
- Then add the orange juice, veggie culture or kefir whey and cover with water, leaving and inch or two at the top.
- Seal jar tightly and let sit on your counter for 6 days and then place in refrigerator.
If u make Kraut with salt does it still have all the probotics. Thanks for teaching us about probotics
It has some without the cultures but not as many. It also diminish much faster than the veggies made with the culture packages. The Caldwell veggie starter packages in particular stay at a higher level longer than any other cultures out there.
What about whey. Thanks, I’m healing a stomach
Whey does have probiotics but not as much as Caldwells but still is a good option.
Hi Donna, this recipe was my first try at cultured veggies and i used Caldwell’s culture. I see you recommend having the container airtight during the fermentation process, but Caldwell’s insert says not to put a lid on airtight until fermentation is over, can you clarify that for me? Also, even though I packed the cabbage in tight, some of it has floated to the top, peaking out above the water. Is this going to cause a problem? Thanks so much for your helpl!
I always put it on airtight because it cultures better and there are less problems with mold. They are probably stating that because fermentation causes some pressure but not enough to hurt anything. Open the jar and push down the veggies to get them under the water. You may have to do this several time. It’s ok but they can turn brown and start to mold above the water.
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Hi Donna! Thanks for this recipe! I put on a batch yesterday and is sitting on my counter waiting to get all lovely and fermented. My husband loves red cabbage, so I used that instead, and a handful of cherries instead of cranberries…. Our Christmas here (Melbourne, Australia) falls in summer, so I thought I would make them season appropriate… I’ll see how it goes… And the red cabbage makes the whole thing look a lot more ‘festive’
Sounds wonderful Emma! Thanks for posting.
I want to make this recipe but I don’t have anything to culture it with. Can i just use celtic sea salt like I do when I make sauerkraut?
Yes you can use just salt.
Thanks Donna. Looking forward to making this for family gifts.
In Greece we dont have a starter for fermenting veggies but i make my own water kefir, can i use that as a starter and how much.
thank you
You can use the whey from milk kefir. Water kefir is a different strain and may not culture it right. You can also use the whey from yogurt. Not as strong but will still work. About 1/4 cup per quart.
How about fresh cranberries?
You can do that also.
Ok, I made another batch of this and may have used too much salt in the brine. It’s been about two months or so and I still have just salty cabbage! Is it hopeless now?
Did you leave it out to culture for six days on your counter? What did you culture it with?
Yes, made it the same as last time … on the counter for about three or four days. Water, Himalayan salt, a big of whey, orange juice and chopped apples.
Any way to salvage it or should I toss it now?
This needs six days on the counter not three it won’t taste right if you don’t. Pull it out of the fridge and let it set for 3 more days and then try it.
If you have a sensitivity to milk can you drink kifir? I tend to have sinus problems and i think milk makes it worse. I love making and drinking kifir, just not sure if i should be drinking it.
Many people don’t have the problems with kefir that they do with regular milk. efir makes it a completely different food. Try it and go slow and see how you do.
Thank you so much. i love your website.
Do you need starters for all recipes or can you skip that part? If you can skip it, Do you just skip that part and follow the rest of the recipe? Is it ok to add spices to the recipes as they are fermenting?
You can add salt and not starters but the bacteria doesn’t last as long and often doesn’t ferment as well. You can add spices they work great.
I was so glad when I came across your website.
I ordered your book and am enjoying it. I really like having a picture book.
Is it alright to try raisins and no orange juice? Since I am new just wanted to see what I can and cannot do.
I have a jar of pickles started and now I want to make sauerkraut and this recipe.
Thanks so much!!
Absolutely, you can use raisins. I have used golden raisins and they worked great.Thanks for the kind words. You will love this recipe and its gets better with age.
Just a quick update on week six of my Christmas kraut. It is tangy and bubbly and yummy! I take a few bites almost every day but still have LOTS to eat as I am the only one eating it! I fear I’ll be sick of eating kraut before this stuff is finished off! Next time I’ll make half as much. Still, it continues to get better and better!
I have a jar too, that I made from 4 weeks ago. I think that 5 and 6 weeks is when it tastes the best. I found myself eating more and more of it so now it is almost gone. Scooping it and eating it with blue corn chips was addictive.
Just to update, I left the kraut on the counter about two more days then put it in the fridge. Been in the fridge about a week now and I’ve started tasting it a few days ago. Tastes a bit tangy and almost like it’s got alcohol in it. Doesn’t taste sweet at all, can’t taste any apples or cranberries. Trying small bites to see how it goes and will continue with that for now. I’m learning! =)
Sounds good and fermented. It just gets better with age. Great job!
Thanks so much for your help, Donna. Yes, the whey was very fresh. I may have, however, used too much OJ as I used store bought juice since I didn’t have an oranges in the house so I ‘guesstimated’ the amount of juice from one orange. I drained a lot of the juice out of the jars and put a ‘weight’ on the top of the kraut to try and keep it under the juice, so now there is less juice on the bottom of the jar. I’ll do a few more days on the counter and then put it into the fridge. Hoping it gets some ZING soon!
My house is kept about 70 year round. Yes I added milk kefir whey and Himalayan salt as well as the OJ. The kraut is all floated to the top and the liquid is on the bottom…is that normal? Just I stir it or leave it as is? I’ll leave it out and keep trying bites every day. I read on another site that kraut should be on the counter a minimum of 7-8 weeks. Hey, if there’s no problem with it staying on the counter, I’m willing to leave it! Thanks!
If it is floating that means it is fermenting. You can leave it out a few more days. Leaving it seven or more weeks will ruin the taste. It is fermenting probably just needs a few more days. It will keep fermenting in the fridge too. A few more days on the counter and then transfer to the fridge. This extra 2 or 3 days you will start to taste it sour. Was your kefir whey fresh? Sometimes if you have old kefir whey in the fridge that you used, it won’t culture as fast. It can still culture without it just keep tasting it and when it sours place it in the fridge. Hope this helps. Let me know. ~ Donna
Ok, today is Day 6 of the Christmas Kraut being on the counter and I tried a tiny bite of it and it tasted BLAND! Is that normal? Should I leave it out on the counter longer or go ahead and fridge it? Just I add more salt or something else to it? I was hoping for a tart, tangy taste!
Leave it out another day or two. Is your kitchen cold? It should be tart and tangy like sauerkraut. Did you add salt and cultures?
I do love this website. It is fascinating and exciting. Thank you Donna!
Can one empty a capsule of probiotics into the mix? Would that work?
You can do that, but cultures work better. You never know if the capsules are alive.
I was a little confused after reading through the comments, but can I skip the whey and culture and just let it ferment with the veggies only? Would that work?
You can do this. Ferment it without cultures. jJust make sure you add a little more salt maybe a tsp and make sure the veggies are submerged under water. Adding cultures will make it more stable and supply more good bacteria that will last a long time. You will still get good bacteria but it won’t last as long. Still a great method just less reliable.
Is this okay to eat while on stage 1 of the Body Ecology Diet?
The bacteria eats a lot of the sugar out of this. Let it ferment for six days on the counter and then put it in the fridge and wait another week to eat it. Should be ok by then.
Just made this….it’s even awesome tasting before the ferment – can’t wait till it is actually ready – thanks so much for posting!
Thanks for your response. When I read the ingredients with the starter, it said that it had skim milk in it.
The skim milk is a carrier for the bacteria cultures. Here is what the manufactures say about their product.
I am allergic to milk and gluten. Can I use this product as a vegetable starter for mason jars since I cannot use whey?
You can very likely use this product but you should check with your health practitioner. The starter is shipped in a carrier of milk powder. Once it is used to culture vegetables, the amount of milk in the finished product is around 17 parts per million, which is less than “trace” amounts.
I have a casein sensitivity. What other recommendations would you make for a culture starter? Thanks!
The veggie culture starter should work for you. You don’t need a starter the vegetables will make there own probiotics without it. They just don’t stay at a high level of probiotic’s as when you add the starter cultures.
I am so glad to see this recipe! I have been making kefir, kombucha & kvasse for a while but I have not ventured into cultured vegetables yet. Since this makes a small amount it looks like a great first kraut experience. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!
Are the cranberries sweetened or no? Looks delish! Wish I could get organic apples here though
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You can add sweetened or unsweetened. They both taste great.