A fast, reliable sauerkraut using 1g of Nourishme Organics' (Lactobacillus plantarum) vegetable starter culture — ferments 2kg of cabbage with a crunchy texture and consistent tang, ready in as little as 5-7 days.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 kilograms organic green or red cabbage, cored and thinly shredded
• 40 grams fine celtic sea salt (non-iodised)
• 1 x Nourishme Organics vegetable starter culture sachet
• 100 ml cold, chlorine-free water (for activating the starter)
• 1 teaspoons caraway or juniper berries (optional, for flavour)

 

STEPS

1. Activate the starter: In a small bowl, sprinkle 1 Nourishme Organics vegetable starter culture sachet over 100 ml  cold, chlorine-free water (for activating the starter) and stir well until dissolved. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to rehydrate while you prep the cabbage.

2. Shred the cabbage: Remove any tough outer leaves from the cabbage and finely shred 2 kilograms green or red cabbage, cored and thinly shredded. Keep one intact outer leaf aside for later.

3. Salt and massage: Place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle over 40 grams fine sea salt (non-iodised), cover with a kitchen towel and set aside for 1 hour. Then, massage firmly by hand for 8-10 minutes, squeezing until the cabbage softens and releases a noticeable pool of its own brine. You can also use a vegetable pounder to extract more water.

4. Add the starter and any spices: Pour the activated starter mixture over the cabbage, add 1 teaspoons caraway or juniper berries (optional, for flavour) if using, and mix thoroughly so the culture is evenly distributed.

5. Pack the jar: Pack the cabbage tightly into a clean fermentation jar, pressing down firmly with a pounder to remove air pockets. The released brine should rise to fully cover the cabbage; top up with a little extra 2% salt brine if needed. Tuck the reserved whole cabbage leaf on top to help keep shreds submerged, then weigh down with a fermentation weight. Leave a 3cm headspace to allow for expansion of the liquid during fermentation.

6. Seal and ferment: Fit an airlock lid (e.g. a Pickle Pipe).  Leave at room temperature (18-22°C) out of direct sunlight to ferment for 5-10 days — the starter culture speeds things up compared to wild fermentation. Taste from day 5; it's ready when pleasantly sour and still crunchy.

7. Refrigerate: Once it reaches the tang you like, seal with a regular lid and move to the fridge, where it will keep for several months and continue to slowly develop flavour.

 

NOTES

The guidance is 1g sachet per 2kg of vegetables, activated in 100ml cold water — scale up the salt (2% of vegetable weight), starter, and water proportionally for larger batches. Always keep vegetables fully submerged under brine to prevent mould, and reserve 100ml of finished brine to use as a starter for your next batch.

Check out our Vegetable Fermentation Kits for all the equipment required.

Our Reuter-i Pro Yoghurt Maker is also suitable for fermenting vegetables

Use our Pure Organic Vegetable Starter Culture containing L plantarum with the tempeh setting for 72 hours.

L. plantarum's optimal growth temperature sits around 30–37°C, notably higher than the natural wild fermentation sweet spot (18–22°C) that relies on Leuconostoc mesenteroides getting a head start at cooler temps before Lactobacillus species take over. By inoculating directly with L. plantarum, you're skipping that successional process entirely — you don't need the cool-temperature phase to let Leuconostoc establish itself first, because you're not relying on it.

Practical implications:

Faster, more predictable fermentation: At 30°C, a robust L. plantarum starter will drive pH down quickly and reliably, often within 3–5 days rather than 2–3 weeks.

Flavor profile shifts: You'll get a more uniformly sour, "cleaner" lactic acid flavor rather than the layered complexity that comes from the wild multi-species succession. Some people prefer this consistency; others find it one-dimensional compared to traditional wild ferments.

Reduced spoilage risk: Because L. plantarum rapidly acidifies the environment, it outcompetes undesirable organisms faster than a wild ferment would at the same temperature — this actually mitigates a lot of the mold/pathogen concerns you'd normally have at 30°C.

Texture: Still a consideration — rapid fermentation at warmer temps can still lead to softer texture, though this is more a function of time/pH curve than bacterial species per se. Keeping salt at 2–2.5% helps preserve crunch regardless.