Preserving Carrots by fermenting with a Carrot Ginger Sauerkraut recipe.

It’s darned hot outside and my vegetables are growing (some more than others) – so it’s time to think about what to do with them when they are ready! It’s also barbeque season – too hot to cook inside – so we are serving things like hot dogs and hamburgers with lots of toppings – and lots of salads and sides!

Preserving Carrots as Sauerkraut

Do you like carrots and sauerkraut? Well I do – so we made Carrot Sauerkraut!

We had previously tested three sauerkraut recipes – and enjoyed the results. The other day we posted the Cabbage Garlic and Turmeric Sauerkraut recipe. Sauerkraut is just a method of preserving vegetables by fermenting with a saltwater brine. You can ferment other vegetables – but it’s best to stay away from fruit with higher sugar levels – and just use pre-tested recipes!

Please find below part 2 of 3 – a recipe for Carrots preserved sauerkraut style with ginger. For this recipe we used three large carrots – and made about 8 ounces of carrot sauerkraut!

Sterilize the Jars

We used recycled mason jars (from jarred spaghetti sauce). We are not officially “canning” in this recipe – so when we researched preparing sauerkraut – I didn’t find any sterilization recommendations – but I feel that it is important to sterilize the jars and tools before starting.

We boiled clean glass jars and lids in a large pot – for about 10 minutes. It’s easy, so why not? The fermenting vegetables will create their own bacteria, -you don’t need any extras!

Carrot Ginger Sauerkraut Ingredients

• 3 large carrots – to yield 3 cups when shredded
• 1/2 tsp fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp non-iodized salt (we used Kosher salt, but you can also use non-iodized sea salt or your preferred type)

Carrot Ginger Sauerkraut Directions:

Scrub, peel, shred, mince and mix

Scrub and peel carrots. Shred carrots – we used a cheese grater for this. Mince fresh ginger. Add ginger and salt to carrots.

Release the Sauerkraut Liquid

Stir and massage mixture for five minutes. Set mixture aside for 1/2 hour and then stir and massage again! The salt and massaging or squeezing releases the liquid from the sauerkraut.

Make a Little Brine just in case!

In the event that there is not enough liquid to cover the carrots – create a bowl of brine mixture to have on hand. Mix 1 cup water with 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk to dissolve salt. We made this before we made all of our sauerkraut varieties, and used a tiny bit here and there to top off the jars that had solids not quite covered by the liquid.

Ladle into Jar

Ladle the carrot sauerkraut into a sterilized jar. This recipe gave us about 1/2 of a 16oz. mason jar. Press the carrot mixture down as much as possible in the jar so that the solid mixture is below the liquid. We used the end of a spoon and a rounded ice cream scoop for this. Pour additional brine over top if necessary to cover vegetables.

Seal the Jar with Water Filled Bag

When carrot sauerkraut is submerged, fill a washed Ziploc sandwich bag with 2 fingers or so of water. Gently insert the bag into the jar and pull the edges of the bag back over the mouth of the jar. This should allow the water inside the jar to spread over the surface of the kraut and seal out the air. Screw on lid – loosely to hold bag in place.

Set Aside Sauerkraut

Set sauerkraut jar aside in cool dark place for one week. Place a tray or plate under jars to protect your surfaces, as water may bubble up out of the jars as fermentation takes place. Some of ours overflowed a little!

Test texture and flavour after 7 days. Reseal and set aside if you feel that it could ferment a little longer. We set them aside for 2 weeks in total under a tea towel. When they are ready, remove the bags, screw on jar lids and refrigerate.

This Carrot Ginger Sauerkraut is a nice little preserve – you can use it as a topping on a sandwich or hot dog – or stir it into a salad! It’s easy!

Below is a printable recipe card from RecipesGenerator. Please give it a try!

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