Ilya Mechnikov, a famous Russian scientist, found that people get sick mainly due to self-poisoning. Nowadays, when products have become less healthy and more saturated with various harmful additions, in the form of preservatives, nitrites, nitrates and other chemicals, this information becomes even more relevant.
Mechnikov proved that even such natural, as we thought, age-related changes, such as aging and dementia, also depend on the bacteria in our body. These toxic substances, which live and develop freely in the colon, are caused by the action of bacteria that cause the development of putrefactive processes.
But there is a way to destroy the effect of E. coli bacteria. Lactic acid enzymes will help us with this, which, as we already know from the article sauerkraut - benefits and harms, are found in abundance in pickled vegetables.
Ilya Mechnikov, in the course of extensive research, found that people who consume a lot of foods rich in lactic acid have enviable health, great physical strength, endurance, tireless activity and live a long time (up to 100 years or more). In addition, despite their advanced age, among these people there were cases where men became fathers at the age of 90, and even older!
Mechnikov did not encounter any cases of diseases such as arthritis among these lucky people. Caries and degenerative diseases were very rare.
The source of lactic acid for these healthy people was sauerkraut, cooked no added salt. It is this useful product, according to Mechnikov, that is capable of producing the most bacteria beneficial to the intestines.
About salt
Everyone has heard that salt and sugar are white death. But not many people know why they say this.
Salt or sodium chloride can cause stones to appear in the gall bladder, kidneys, ureters and bladder, appear in the pancreas, deposits in the joints and limit their mobility, and can cause hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis). Salt can retain fluid in the body, thereby increasing the load on the heart and kidneys, causing swelling and headaches.
You don’t have to completely give up salt, it’s enough to know and follow the norm. The daily norm is up to 3 grams. This norm includes all salt consumed with food: soups, main dishes, bread, sausage, pickled vegetables, sausage, etc.
The benefits of sauerkraut without salt
I wanted sauerkraut... but how to make it without salt? What does salt have to do with it anyway? After all, with salt you get salted cabbage, but real cabbage is a completely different topic and salt is not needed at all.
All the recipes for salt-free pickling cabbage that I came across used water (instead of the brine that appears when kneading cabbage with salt during classic pickling). I didn’t really like the end product of such recipes; such cabbage tasted coarse and was a bit heavy on the stomach. And I began to experiment... I tried adding onions, garlic, spices, and beets to the cabbage. But it was not the same.
After a long search, a recipe was born that suited both me and my family. Everything turned out to be quite simple.
Here is the recipe with all the secrets without hiding.
For an enamel bucket you need 6 kg of cabbage, 2 kg of carrots, half a glass of dill seeds and, if desired, several bay leaves and cloves.
The cabbage is shredded and the carrots are grated on a coarse grater. Everything is mixed with dill seeds (and, if desired, other spices). Then everything 
knead well and compact in small layers into an enamel bucket (the denser the better), a circle or large flat plate is placed on top and pressure is placed. It’s in oppression that 
turned out to be the main secret... It is best for the weight of the oppression to be 15-20 kg. With such oppression, after 12-36 hours the cabbage releases juice and is completely covered with it. After this, you can remove the large oppression and replace it with a load weighing 2-3 kg. After 24-36 hours the weight and circle are removed and 3-6 hours after that the cabbage is ready. 
Salt-free sauerkraut is best stored in the refrigerator in glass jars (it tastes better cold), but it can also be stored for a long time in a bucket under a light load (it’s just that the longer it sits, the more sour it becomes).
The fermentation time and final consistency of this product depends on the variety and juiciness of the cabbage, as well as on the temperature at which fermentation occurs. The resulting taste is practically no different from classic salted cabbage, only the cabbage is, of course, much softer.
This cabbage with onion and vegetable oil is an excellent salad and a great addition to main courses. Salt-free sauerkraut and real black bread provide an excellent flavor combination. And for those who like to experiment, you can try this cabbage with sunflower seeds crushed in a coffee grinder (instead of butter) - it turns out a very good combination.
As a family, we now ferment this cabbage 15 times a bucket during the fall and winter and eat it all. Which confirms: water is not a fairy tale, it exists. And its quality is evidenced by the fact that two years have passed of our active consumption of such cabbage, and we feel great. I wish the same for you.
Calories: Not specified
Cooking time: Not specified
We bring to your attention a classic recipe for pickling cabbage without adding table salt and granulated sugar. As a result, sauerkraut without salt and sugar becomes juicy and crispy. It turns out very tasty like this too.
Components
- white cabbage – 0.5 kg,
- carrots – ½ pcs.,
- bay leaf – 1 pc.,
- black allspice peas – 5-6 pcs.
Necessary information:
Homemade sauerkraut according to this recipe is prepared for 3 days.
Step-by-step recipe with photos:
1. First, remove the spoiled and damaged leaves from the cabbage, then chop the vegetable into thin strips. Place in a three-liter glass jar or any other container.
Tip: It is preferable to choose mid-late or late varieties (autumn and winter types) of white cabbage for sourdough. 
2. At the next stage, peel the carrots and wash them under running water. After grating it on a grater with large cutters, add it to the shredded cabbage.
Tip: You can also finely chop the carrots. 
3. Then add bay leaves and black allspice to the vegetables. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
Tip!: Additionally, you can add cumin and fresh (frozen) cranberries or lingonberries, fresh apples, plums, garlic, ginger.
Tip: Table vinegar essence will help speed up the salting process. 
4. Cover the container with the chopped components with a plate, and place any weighting agent on the top. Leave the cabbage to ferment in the room for 2 days. Periodically open the cabbage and pierce it with a wooden stick to release fermentation gases. After this, we put the homemade preparation under pressure again, and leave the vegetables to ferment in the refrigerator or in a cool place for one day.
Tip: Also, do not forget to remove the resulting foam so that the pickle is light.
Tip: When pickling cabbage, liquid leaks out rapidly, so you must place a basin or bowl under the container.
5. Cabbage without adding salt and sugar is ready to eat. Your guests and loved ones will love the crispy and rich taste of cabbage.
Before serving, season the cabbage with sunflower oil and sprinkle with green onions. Also see how to cook.
Tip!: The finished product is stored in the refrigerator or cellar for no more than half a month. 
Bon appetit!
Did you know that you can ferment cabbage without adding any salt or granulated sugar? Did not know? So I didn’t know about it at all, I would even say that I couldn’t even guess. When my husband and I went to visit my mother-in-law, she put sauerkraut on the table. You know, it had a special taste; to be honest, I have never tried this kind of cabbage. As I later found out, her mother-in-law fermented it completely without adding salt or granulated sugar. My surprise at what I heard was indescribable. When my husband and I arrived home, I immediately decided to check this recipe; my curiosity was literally off the charts. However, within a day I realized that the cabbage would turn out the same as my mother-in-law’s, so the vegetable really began to ferment, form “bulbs” and it was clear that the cabbage would indeed ferment in its own juice. I recommend that you take note of the recipe for sauerkraut without salt and sugar, it is not heavy, and the snack itself is much healthier than the one we are used to.
Ingredients:
- half or a whole head of cabbage (the size can be absolutely any, depending on how many people you will cook it for),
- water so that it covers all the cabbage (it is better to use purified filtered water),
- carrots in any quantity,
- 1 bay leaf,
- a few peppercorns.
Recipe with photos step by step:
Cut the head of cabbage into several pieces with a large knife. 
After this, chop the pieces finely. 
Peel the carrots with a special vegetable knife, and then grate them using any grater. This can be a grater with small or large holes; a Korean carrot grater is also suitable. 
Place vegetables in a large bowl. 
Break a bay leaf for them. Also add peppercorns if you like them. 
Then fill all the vegetables with water and place a weight on top. 
Leave the cabbage in this state for several days. 
Try another delicious one
Sauerkraut is an extremely healthy product. Almost everyone will agree with this. It is present in one form or another in many national cuisines. For example, in Korea, not a single meal is complete without kimchi or spicy sauerkraut. But not everyone knows what exactly the benefits of sauerkraut are. Let's look into this issue. At the same time, let’s remember how to prepare instant sauerkraut in a jar.
What's in it?
The main wealth lies in the whole set of vitamins. In addition, 100 grams of cabbage contain 1.8 g of protein, 4.4 g of carbohydrates and a minimum of fat - 0.1 g. Nutritionists urge you to abandon mono-diets on sauerkraut, as this can create health problems. It will be much healthier to introduce sauerkraut into your low-calorie diet.
What are the benefits of sauerkraut?
1. During the process of sauerkraut, lactic, acetic and malic acids are formed. They give the finished cabbage a special taste, suppress the activity of putrefactive bacteria, cleanse the intestines, and stimulate digestion. In addition, these acids act as preservatives. So The presence of salt in sauerkraut recipes is not at all necessary.
2. Sauerkraut can be proud of its vitamin composition. In winter and early spring, it serves as an excellent source of vitamins, and is also quite inexpensive. Vitamin C it contains an order of magnitude more than citrus fruits. Besides it, cabbage contains vitamins K, U, B1, B2, B4, B6, B8, B9, P, PP and carotene. Thanks to so many vitamins, sauerkraut is a good remedy for preventing colds.
3. From sauerkraut they enter the body and minerals: potassium, calcium, zinc and iron.
4. Cabbage contains almost no fat and cholesterol. Dietary products are considered sauerkraut, calorie content per 100 grams which is only 20 kcal.
5. It is also rich in fiber and pectins, which cleanse the body of toxins and radionuclides.
6. Due to its low carbohydrate content, sauerkraut is suitable for patients with diabetes.
Who can sauerkraut harm?
High levels of organic acids may harm people with increased acidity or gastrointestinal ulcers. Also, you shouldn’t get carried away with it, for those who have liver or pancreas disease- It is permissible to consume only a slightly acidic product little by little. Sufferers hypertension And kidney problems should limit its consumption due to salt. But it is quite acceptable for them to eat cabbage fermented without salt.
You will have to give up cabbage even when thyroid diseases. With them, it is generally not recommended to consume cruciferous plants.
As you can see, sauerkraut, the benefits and harms of which are relative to the body, requires reasonable consumption, taking into account the health status of each individual person.
Cabbage for beauty
Sauerkraut and its brine tone and give a fresh look to the skin, fade freckles and age spots. But this is not a quick thing. The course lasts 2–3 weeks, when daily gauze compresses soaked in sauerkraut juice are applied to problem areas for 15 minutes. Then the gauze is removed and cream is applied to the skin.
Sauerkraut yourself
How is sauerkraut prepared? This is not at all difficult, although there are as many options as there are housewives. After all, each brings to the traditional homemade sauerkraut recipe something of your own.
So, in front of you sauerkraut recipe for 3 liter jar.
We will need:
- large cabbage (2-2.5 kg);
- a couple of large carrots;
- 1-2 tbsp. salt;
- allspice peas;
- bay leaf.
How to cook:
Diversify delicious homemade sauerkraut recipe and you can make it even healthier with the help of some spices, honey, fruits, berries and vegetables. You can add caraway seeds and anise, apples, lingonberries and cranberries to sauerkraut. In this case, the taste and benefits of cabbage are even enhanced.
Sauerkraut without salt
There are a number of tricks in preparing such cabbage.
- Cabbage should be large, and its leaves should be white, fleshy and juicy. Thin leaves of a greenish color will not give an appetizing crunch to the finished product, and its color will turn out to be grayish.
- Late varieties of cabbage are best for pickling, since it contains more carbohydrates, without which the fermentation process does not occur.
- You should not chop the cabbage very finely, otherwise you will not be able to fully enjoy the texture of the dish while eating.
- Under no circumstances should you place a container with cabbage near heating appliances to speed up the fermentation process.
And now myself recipe :
- Cabbage - 1/2 head (to fill a 3-liter jar halfway);
- carrots - 1 pc.
- water.
Having chosen the head of cabbage that you like, remove the top leaves and chop it not too finely. 
Place the chopped cabbage in a 3-liter glass jar and fill with filtered water so that the water level is a couple of centimeters above the cabbage.
We put a whole leaf of cabbage on top so that the chopped cabbage does not “scatter”, and we put pressure on it (preferably a glass bottle, not plastic. Clean, of course)
In a few days, fermentation will end. It usually lasts from 2 to 4 days. But it cannot be ignored. After all, on the first day, cabbage absorbs water, and this can lead to the top layer drying out, which is undesirable. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the liquid level in the jar. If the water becomes low, then add a little water. After a day, the cabbage will begin to release liquid. This should be taken into account and to ensure against “flooding” - place the jar of cabbage in some container. All that remains is to taste the cabbage from time to time to determine the degree of its readiness by taste. As soon as the fermentation has reached the desired condition, the finished yummy is transferred to jars, poured with brine to the same 1.5 cm on top of the cabbage, sealed and placed in the refrigerator.
And a couple more tips. Do not discard the remaining liquid after laying out the cabbage. It can be immediately used instead of kvass to prepare delicious okroshka.
Do you want to know how to quickly ferment cabbage? Add water to the remaining liquid and mash the chopped cabbage with your hands directly in it. You can do it instant sauerkraut per day. But if a cloudy white coating has formed on the surface of the liquid, then you should not use such a starter.
Almost every Russian table contains traditional cabbage dishes. This herbal product is very useful because it contains a huge amount of fiber, which normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Fresh cabbage is rich in a large amount of vitamins for a short period of the year; during storage, the properties of this product decrease significantly. In order not to lose them, cabbage is fermented for the winter. Below is a classic recipe for pickling in brine. Using this step-by-step recipe, you will get a dish without one extra calorie, with a sweet and salty taste. For adherents of proper nutrition - without sugar and salt.
Sauerkraut without salt and sugar
If regular sauerkraut is contraindicated for you, this is not a reason to refuse crispy cabbage, because you can ferment it without salt and sugar. Salting will take longer, but the dish will be healthier.
Ingredients
Servings: – + 35
- White cabbage 3 kg
- carrot 500 g
- Bay leaf 4 things.
- carnation 4 things.
- dried dill 30 g
- caraway 10 g
Per serving
Calories: 29 kcal
Proteins: 1.7 g
Fats: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 5.6 g
45 min. Seal
- proteins – 1.7 g;
- fats – 0 g;
- carbohydrates – 8 g;
- calorie content – 39 kcal.
- white cabbage - 2 kg;
- carrots - 250 g;
- bay leaf - 3 pcs.;
- peppercorns - 10 pcs.;
- salt - 60 g;
- sugar - 60 g;
- water - 1.5 l.
Remove the top layer of leaves from the head of cabbage. Finely shred the cabbage using a shredder or a knife.
Peel the carrots and grate on a coarse grater.
In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, adding the cumin and dried dill. Mix the mixture thoroughly with your hands, while kneading it a little.
Place the cabbage in a fermentation container. An enamel pan is best suited for these purposes. Place the bay leaf and cloves in the middle of the pan. Pack the contents tightly and cover with a flat plate or lid that is smaller in diameter than the pan. Place something heavy on top. This can be a jar with a liter volume.
Cabbage should be kept under pressure for two days. During this time, it will release juice and the fermentation process will begin. After this time, remove the pressure, stir the cabbage and cover again, only this time with something less heavy. Kvasha should stand for another 2-3 days. Place the finished cabbage in jars or simply transfer it to another container, drain the cabbage brine, cover and store in the refrigerator.
Advice: caraway seeds and dill can be omitted from the cabbage; the presence of these spices makes the taste brighter, making up for the absence of salt and sugar in the recipe, adding benefits to the dish. You can also replace these spices with those that suit your taste.
Sauerkraut in brine
Crispy sour cabbage is not just a tasty addition to any dinner, but also a great treat for the stomach, as it improves digestion and normalizes the acid-base balance. A detailed homemade recipe makes sourdough starter quick and easy.
Cooking time: 1 hour
Number of servings: 20
Energy value
Ingredients
Step-by-step preparation
- First, prepare the brine. To do this, boil water, let it cool to room temperature, and then pour sugar and salt into it and stir until completely dissolved.
- Remove the top layer of leaves from the head of cabbage, even if they are not limp and unspoiled, since it is on them that dust and harmful substances accumulate that the cabbage can absorb from the environment. There is no need to wash the cabbage.
- Using a knife or a special device called a shredder, thinly slice the cabbage. The thinner it is, the better, because not only the visual appeal depends on this, but also how well the finished snack will crunch.
- Start preparing the carrots - peel and grate. The finer you grate it, the more color it will give to the snack. So if you want sauerkraut with an orange tint, grate the carrots as finely as possible, down to the gram.
- In a large bowl, combine cabbage and carrots. You need to do this with your hands, slightly kneading the chopped vegetables. There is no added oil in this recipe.
- Place the cabbage in jars, placing a bay leaf and black pepper (a few peas) in the middle. Pour brine over the cabbage; the proportion should be such that it completely covers the contents of the jar. No vinegar is added, but if you like, a little for taste is ok.
- Place the jars on a tray (deep plates are best for this role) and leave to ferment at room temperature for 3 days. Cover the top of each jar with gauze. During this time, periodically remove the gauze and make punctures in the cabbage with skewers to remove excess carbon dioxide, otherwise it will not be possible to pickle properly - the appetizer will be bitter.
- After three days, drain the sugar marinade, cover the jars with nylon lids and store the sweet sauerkraut in the refrigerator.
Advice: You can remove sugar from this recipe, but under this condition the cabbage should ferment longer, since it is sugar that speeds up the fermentation process. It’s difficult to say exactly how much, since it depends on the quality of the cabbage. The sweet and sour taste will also disappear.
Do not use iodized salt under any circumstances, since iodine inhibits the process of lactic acid fermentation, so as a result the cabbage will not ferment and the quick recipe will turn into fermentation. Do not use tap water for fermentation, as it contains chlorine. Look carefully at the photos and video articles, thanks to this you will be able to understand the maximum intricacies of the recipe.
It’s good if you are absolutely healthy and can crunch sweet or sour sauerkraut to your heart’s content. If not, it doesn’t matter, you can prepare this snack in a “healthy”, dietary way, squeezing the maximum benefit out of the recipe. Easy cooking, loud crunch and bon appetit!
