Classic Sauerkraut (2% Dry-Salt)

Two ingredients, one rule. Cabbage and salt, packed under their own brine, ferment into a bright, clean, lactic sour — crunchy at three weeks, mellower and softer by week six. This is the reference dry-salt ferment everything else in this family builds on.

Ingredients

Salt is 2.0% of cabbage weight (dry-salt). Weigh the shredded cabbage, then multiply by 0.02 for the salt.

Ingredient	1 Jar (1 qt / 1 L)	1 Crock (2 L / ½ gal)
Green cabbage, cored and shredded 2-3 mm	800 g	2000 g
Non-iodized salt (fine sea or pickling)	16 g	40 g
Reserved whole outer leaves (for capping)	1-2	2-3

Yield: about 700 g finished kraut per jar; about 1.75 kg per crock.

Calculated values

Value	Target
Dry-salt % (salt ÷ cabbage weight)	2.0%
Ferment temperature	18-22 °C / 64-72 °F
Time at that temperature	14-28 days
Finished pH	3.4-3.6
Cold storage / arrest	2-4 °C

Let the dry-salt calculator do the arithmetic for any cabbage weight, and estimate your timeline with the ferment predictor.

Readiness window

At 18-22 °C, bubbling peaks in the first week and tapers by week two. Begin tasting around day 10. Most batches reach the 3.4-3.6 band between 14 and 28 days — cooler rooms run to the long end, warmer rooms the short end.

Done when: the kraut is pleasantly, cleanly sour with no raw-cabbage harshness, active bubbling has slowed to a near stop, and a calibrated meter reads pH 3.4-3.6. To arrest, move to the refrigerator at 2-4 °C; flavor keeps developing slowly for months.

Method

Shred and weigh

Peel and reserve 1-2 clean outer leaves. Core and shred the cabbage 2-3 mm thick. Weigh only the shred you will ferment — salt is a percentage of this number.

Salt at 2%

Multiply the cabbage weight by 0.02 (800 g → 16 g salt). Scatter the salt through the shred in a large bowl.

Massage until it weeps

Toss and squeeze for 5-10 minutes. The cell walls rupture and release water until the cabbage goes limp and a pool of brine collects in the bottom of the bowl. See pounding & packing for the mechanics.

Pack under the brine

Press the cabbage firmly into the jar or crock, knuckling out air pockets, until the released brine rises above the shred. Cap with a reserved whole leaf and a weight so nothing floats. Leave 3-4 cm headspace.

Ferment at 18-22 °C

Hold 14-28 days with a loose lid or airlock. If the brine cap dips below the kraut, top up with a 2% brine (20 g salt per litre water). Skim any flat white kahm yeast; it is harmless but off-flavored.

Confirm pH and chill

When the kraut tastes cleanly sour and reads pH 3.4-3.6, transfer to 2-4 °C cold storage.

Variations / mix-ins

Juniper & bay: 6-8 crushed juniper berries and 2 bay leaves per jar — the traditional German profile.
Caraway: 1 tsp caraway seed per jar (the gateway to the caraway & apple variant).
Red cabbage: swap in red cabbage for a magenta kraut; it ferments a touch slower.