I used this recipe from Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning and it turned out fabulous.
Sauerkraut in Glass Jars
- firm cabbage
- 10 juniper berries or 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp sea salt per quart jar of cabbage
- quart jars with rubber seals
Scald jars and rubber seals. Grate or slice cabbage and pack firmly with your fist, adding juniper berries or bay leaves as you go. Top off each jar with one tbsp of sea salt and a bit of hot, unchlorinated water. Close each jar and let stand for two to three days in the kitchen, then move to the cellar for a month.
My modifications: I actually used a 3 liter glass jar with rubber seal because I forgot that this called for quart jars, and it worked just fine. I also sprinkled a bit of sea salt on top of each layer of packed cabbage, and a bit more on the top, coming out to about 3 tbsp I think. Then I stood the glass jar in a big tupperware container to catch the liquid that forces its way out in the first few days of fermentation. I kept the jar at room temperature (in a dark and slightly cooler place in my home but I don't have a cellar) for a month and then I moved it to the fridge. I cracked the jar open at the end of August and have been eating it slowly ever since. It's still perfectly good. If you use a big jar to ferment the cabbage in you could transfer it to smaller jars to store and eat out of, but I didn't and it's worked out fine. I think the main thing is that you keep it airtight all the time.
