Sour kraut is a staple dinner item in our home, so we love making it.  Eric's grandma Minnie gave us her recipe.  We have enjoyed her kraut for years and making it is easy.  Our cabbage didn't do too well this year, but Eric's grandpa Brantie graciously gave us 6 heads of cabbage.  They were all huge, this one is the size of a basketball.

 

 Eric cut up the cabbage and ran it through a food processor.  Cole was his little helper.

I stuffed the jars with the cut up cabbage.  Its important to pack the cabbage really tightly in the jars because the cabbage shrinks during fermentation, just like when it's cooked.  I use a long plastic utensil to stuff it in the jar and then pack it down with a small cup.

 Once the jar is packed tightly, slowly fill it to the top with water.

 

Add a "heaping" teaspoon of canning salt on top and put the lid on tightly.  That's what Eric's grandma said...."heaping."

We put the jars on old cookie sheets because during fermentation liquid seeps out through the top of the jar.  We canned 20 quarts and 1 pint with those 6 large heads of cabbage!!

We place the jars on our front porch and cover completely with towels.  No light can hit the jars.  We leave them outside for at least 23 days to ensure the fermenting is complete.  That's it, your kraut is ready to enjoy.