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    Home » Pickles, Preserves, Etc

    Root Vegetable Sauerkraut, with Wild Caraway

    Published: Jan 22, 2019 Modified: Feb 7, 2023 by Alan Bergo This post may contain affiliate links 2 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Fresh sauerkraut is a world of difference from the mostly overcooked, mushy versions sold in jars at the store. Besides having a mild flavor (if you choose) the cabbage is still crisp, which gives you more freedom for cooking with it in the kitchen and having it keep it's integrity.

    Sauerkraut with fermented root vegetables with wild caraway: parsnip, celery root, carrots, turnips, rutabaga

    Cabbage is only one thing that you can make a la sauerkraut though. Root vegetables, in all the sizes, shapes and colors, make a great substitute for green cabbage, and can be a really colorful, impressive alternative if you're in the mood for a delicious science project.

    A while back I needed a component for a lamb sausage dish I was doing for a private dinner, and I wanted it to be colorful, so I developed this recipe. It's a basic ferment, but, to further tip my hat to traditional kraut, it has precious, tiny, wild caraway seeds to boost the flavor and perfume the veggies as they bubble away in their own brine.

    Lamb heart sausage with wild caraway, fermented root vegetables and wild horseradish cream
    The finished dish: lamb heart sausage, horeradish cream, fermented root vegetables with wild caraway.

    Root Vegetables for the Kraut 

    Here's a list of some of the veggies I used, or would use. Try to make a colorful blend, but stay away from blue roots as they bleed

    • Golden, scarlet, hakurei or purple top turnips
    • All species of winter radish, i.e. watermelon radish, black radish, lavender radish, daikon, etc
    • Rutabaga
    • Celery root
    • All species of carrots except purple
    • White or golden beets, in small amounts
    • Parsnips

    Using a mandoline

    Root vegetables are more firm than cabbage, so it's really important to use a mandoline here for the perfect texture.

    Similar Recipes

    Fermented Turnips (Sauerruben)

    If you like interesting roots like I do, take a look at my glazed sunchoke recipe too.

    Sauerkraut with fermented root vegetables with wild caraway: parsnip, celery root, carrots, turnips, rutabaga
    Print Recipe
    5 from 5 votes

    Root Vegetable Sauerkraut, with Wild Caraway 

    Sauerkraut made from root vegetables, scented with wild or cultivated caraway seed
    Prep Time45 mins
    Fermenting time14 d
    Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine: German
    Keyword: Root Vegetables, Sauerkraut, wild caraway
    Servings: 15 Portions
    Calories: 703kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo

    Equipment

    • 1 Fermenting crock
    • 1 Mandoline

    Ingredients

    • ~5 lb The biggest mix of root vegetables you can find peeled and trimmed to yield 3.5 lbs
    • 1 oz kosher salt
    • 2 teaspoons lightly toasted wild or conventional caraway seeds

    Instructions

    • Cut each type of vegetable into different shapes for slicing on the mandoline to show off the individuality, you don't have to do this, but it looks pretty to have a variety of shapes. If you don't want to do shave each veg into a different shape, you can just cut paper thin slices, rounds, or you could even just shred or grate it, which will make it's own brine much faster.
    • Combine the shaved vegetables, salt and caraway and pack into a plastic container or a fermenting vessel, then wait for 30 minutes so the vegetables can give off their liquid and start to make a brine.
    • When you can press down on the vegetables and have them just lightly covered with brine, put a weight on top of the vegetables, or cover with 2 thick garbage bags filled with very cold water to keep the mixturre underneath the brine.
    • Put the mixture in a cool dark place away from sunlight, and allow it to ferment for 9 days, checking on it and stirring every other day to help it along, and making sure the brine is always covering the vegetables. If you like the flavor after less or more time, go for it, sometimes I even go as long as 14 days.
    • When serving, you'll want to cook the root veg kraut to soften them up a bit and allow you to introduce other flavors, like meat stock, butter, a piece of ham, etc, as much to flavor them and soften the acetic acid from the fermentation, as to make the vegetables soft and tender for better eating.

    Notes

    Feel free to use a mix of vegetables here. Some of the best are turnips, carrots, rutabaga, parsnips, and winter radishes. Do not use more than 20 % carrots as they contain too much sugar. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 4oz | Calories: 703kcal | Carbohydrates: 167g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 11600mg | Potassium: 5513mg | Fiber: 48g | Sugar: 87g | Vitamin A: 25310IU | Vitamin C: 1293mg | Calcium: 1027mg | Iron: 18mg
    « Fried Cabbage with Bacon, Onion, Garlic and Caraway
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. David L Kramer

      January 30, 2021 at 11:51 am

      5 stars
      What / where is the recipe for the kraut? Do you use 3.5 lbs. of cabbage with 1 ounce of Kosher salt to make the sauerkraut too? Do you add any water or any other ingredients? We lived in Edina, MN for several years and now live in FL. Thank you.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        January 30, 2021 at 11:54 am

        Hi David. Scroll down to see the recipe, it's listed at the bottom of this post. You don't have to add water since the vegetables water will be drawn out by the salt. You can also vacuum seal the vegetables with salt and ferment them that way--some people find that easier. Use 2% salt of the total weight of mass to be fermented for most vegetable ferments like kraut. Basic cabbage kraut is the same.

        Reply

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