When to salt cabbage for the winter? How and when to properly salt cabbage

What Russian person does not have a passion for sauerkraut? Probably, there are no such people. This is the first autumn-winter dish, perfectly combined with potatoes, cooked in any form, porridge and meat dishes. The benefits of this salted vegetable can not be said. Everybody knows about this. Well, if someone is not aware, then we will help fill this gap in knowledge. And let's talk about when to salt cabbage best and what time of the year is suitable for this process.

Useful trace elements

First, this delicacy is an excellent source of vitamin C, considered an invaluable ingredient that helps maintain immunity in the winter. Also, in vitamins there are vitamins K and several such that belong to group B. Among them, B1-B3, B6, B12. These elements have wound healing, restorative and other properties that are incredibly important for the nervous system. Also in this product are the following minerals: iron, boron, potassium, silicon, copper and others.

So when to salt?

Many mistresses and owners ask a difficult question: "When to salt cabbage for the winter?" There are several points of view on this score. Supporters of the first claim that this can be done throughout the winter. But it will be better, of course, if we deal with such an important event after the first night frosts, that is, late autumn. Thus, the late cabbage stuck in the frost will lose its bitterness. Store then this dish is much easier.

The second version about when to salt cabbage, says that to engage in similar preparations should be according to the lunar calendar. On the fifth or sixth day after the new moon, the sour vegetable is the most delicious and crunchy. He will be the same if you cook it in the period of the growing moon. The new moon and the waning moon will provoke peroxidation and softening of the white-bellied.

But there is one more little secret about when it is better to salt cabbage. To cook so beloved by many snacks is best in the so-called women's days of the week (Wednesday and Friday), from the beginning of October and always in the period of the growing moon. At this time, the celestial body promotes the reproduction, life and growth of the bacteria necessary for leaven. The waning moon oppresses such processes. Men are encouraged to sour the product in any of the "male" days.

Note! If the girl conceived to do the pickle during the critical days, a delicious cabbage can not wait. In any case, our grandmothers thought so, but people's wisdom should be heeded. Therefore, it is better to give up this idea and wait a bit.

Tableware, salt, cabbage

When we salted cabbage for the winter - we figured it out. Now we have to find out exactly what vegetables, dishes and salt should be, so that the prepared dish turns out delicious, crunchy and useful.

So, we choose cabbage. Preferably choose a fork of mid-late or late varieties. Gourmets are popular with Slava. The late fruits are easy to recognize due to their tight and tight heads. They seem to be stuffed with something. Never buy vegetables for early varieties for pickling. These heads are loose and have a green tint. The quail delicacy will turn out to be the same color, not very pleasant and not conducive to appetite.

The most universal container for sour is considered to be tubs and barrels made of wood. When you need to salt cabbage, it is best to give preference to these containers. By the way, in wooden utensils our grandmothers, great-grandmothers and great-grandmothers always prepared a winter snack. If you managed to get such a rarity, then you are incredibly lucky. If not, then an enamel bucket or a can. The only thing that needs to be done is to check the utensils for chips. Plastic food trays can also come in handy. The only thing you should avoid is aluminum containers. In such shards, cabbage will acquire a metallic taste and a gray tinge.

When choosing a seasoning for pickling heads, pay attention to the stone coarse salt. It is the best among other species. Iodized salt in this case is not good. Although it is useful, but cabbage will make soft.

What else would you add?

Each housewife uses her proven recipe for sauerkraut. And she adds her own, favorite ingredients. But we still tell you what you can add to the snack. When salt cabbage, more or less figured out. Now let's try to clarify which ingredients are suitable for the preparation of the original food. Naturally, it's the heads themselves, and, of course, the salt. But still need carrots. So, ten kilograms of cabbage will require 300 grams of carrots and 200 grams of salt. Such proportions have already been checked and rechecked several thousand times. And if you are a beginner mistress who has gathered for the first time to start a cabbage, then this calculation should be taken as a basis.

But these are the main components. In addition to them in the pickle, you can put apples - whole or cut into large pieces. Antonovka is an ideal option for this. Delicious cabbage, fermented with strong plums, sweet pepper, cranberries, root celery or cranberries will turn out. And to make the dish fragrant, season it with seeds of cumin or dill.

Cooking method

Here comes the moment when you can salt cabbage: the date is just right, all kitchen utensils in place, the products are also available. So everything is ready to proceed directly to the cooking process. We take cabbage and cut it with a knife or shinkuem on a large special grater. If you do everything you need as quickly as possible, then the second device will do the best. If the value is aesthetics, not speed, then take the knife. We cut the heads into two parts, and then shred against the leaves from the center. Now add the crushed product to the prepared large basin.

We rub or cut carrots and other ingredients: apples, berries and so on. All mix and salt. And now the most pleasant thing in the whole process of cooking is to roll up your sleeves and knead the cabbage as if you are kneading the dough. After that, put on the next snack No. 1 oppression and wait until it turns sour.

Sauerkraut as a medicine

A lot of articles are written about useful and medicinal properties of this product. This salad plays the role of a kind of "sanitant of the gastrointestinal tract," because the acetic and lactic acids that are present in it, suppress the growth of putrefactive bacteria. And people who suffer from excess weight, are simply obliged to bring in this diet this low-calorie delicacy, helping to burn fats. It has a lot of fiber. It binds carbohydrates, which contributes to their rapid elimination from the body.

Having dealt with when to salt cabbage, I would like to know what other useful properties it has. A kvadoshenny white-vegetable vegetable contributes to better digestion, regulates acid-base balance, normalizes the level of cholesterol and sugar in the blood.

Caution! It can be dangerous

There are a number of diseases in which the use of sauerkraut can be dangerous. To such ailments are: pancreatic pathologies, renal failure, hypertension and the formation of stones in the gallbladder. A high level of organic acids in this salad can provoke an aggravation of all the diseases described above. Also, experts do not recommend eating a traditional Russian delicacy to those who have problems with the thyroid gland.

Bon Appetit!

How and when to properly salt cabbage - the reader already knows. I would also like to mention that this dish enjoys incredible popularity in Ukraine, Germany and France. Therefore, probably, it would be wrong to say that this is originally Russian food. And it does not really matter where it comes from. The main thing is that it is incredibly tasty and useful. Therefore, eat on health and get vitamins, especially now, when it's winter on the street, and the body so needs the missing trace elements.