Nope, if you have 50 pounds of cabbage you are going to have a LOT of sauerkraut, it doesn't really shrink down that much.

You certainly can make sauerkraut in small amounts. Shred the cabbage, mix with the appropriate amount of salt and pack it into a quart canning jar, then let it ferment. Easy as can be, as long as you have somewhere to keep it at the right temperature.

How long will it last in the refrigerator? A long, long time, LOL, Grandpa used to just keep a crock full in the basement and go down all winter to get what he wanted.

Sauerkraut is easy, but the first time I said that my very first batch of kraut went bad. It was the only time and it was unseasonably warm, you have to have the right temperature for fermentation.

Here are the instructions I use, from Michigan State University:

SAUERKRAUT

25 lb. cabbage
3/4 cup canning or pickling salt

QUALITY: For the best sauerkraut, use firm heads of
fresh cabbage. Shred cabbage and start kraut between 24 and 48 hours after harvest.

YIELD: About 9 quarts

PROCEDURE: Work with about 5 pounds of cabbage at a
time. Discard outer leaves. Rinse heads under cold running
water and drain. Cut heads in quarters and remove cores.
Shred or slice to a thickness of a quarter. Put cabbage in a suitable fermentation container (see explanation following processing times) and add 3 tablespoons of salt. Mix thoroughly, using clean hands. Pack firmly until salt draws juices from cabbage. Repeat shredding, salting, and packing until all cabbage is in the container. Be sure the
container is deep enough so that its rim is at least 4 or 5 inches above the cabbage. If juice does not cover cabbage, add boiled and cooled brine (1-1/2 tablespoons of salt per quart of water). Add plate and weights, cover container with a clean bath towel. Store at 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit while fermenting. At temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, kraut will be fully fermented in about 3 to 4 weeks; at 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, fermentation may take 5 to 6 weeks. At temperatures lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit kraut may not ferment. Above 75 degrees Fahrenheit, kraut may become soft. If you weigh the cabbage down with a brine-filled bag (6 tablespoons salt to 1 gallon of water), do not disturb the crock until normal fermentation is completed (when bubbling ceases). If you use jars as weight, you will have to check the kraut 2 to 3 times each week and remove scum if it forms. Fully fermented kraut may be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for several months or it may be canned.

SUITABLE CONTAINERS, COVERS AND WEIGHTS FOR FERMENTING FOOD

A 1-gallon container is needed for each 5 pounds of fresh
vegetables. Therefore, a 5-gallon stone crock is of ideal
size for fermenting about 25 pounds of fresh cabbage or
cucumbers. Food-grade plastic and glass containers are
excellent substitutes for stone crocks. Other 1-to 3-
gallon non-food-grade plastic containers may be used if
lined inside with a clean food-grade plastic bag. CAUTION:
Be certain that foods contact only food-grade plastics. Do
not use garbage bags or trash liners. Fermenting sauerkraut in quart and half-gallon Mason jars is an acceptable practice, but may result in more spoilage losses.

So, go for it! It's easy, you can make just a little and store it for months in the refrigerator in the container you use to ferment it in. Good luck.

Annie

Annie's right, its very easy to make and last in the fridge for a long time. I get quite a bit from 5 heads of cabbage, I think one large head would yield a few jars.

For smaller amounts, I've seen most often use 3 tablespoons of salt per 5 pounds of cabbage.

Thanks for the recipe & other advice, sounds easy enough. I have to look around for something appropriate to make it in. I have some old crocks, I think they are too big, but I'm bound to have something. Come to think of it, I believe I have a couple of gallon glass jars...
Thanks again!
Nancy

I make sauerkraut a quart at a time. If I want to "preserve" it, I'll freeze the extra. When sauerkraut is heat processed (home canning), all the good bacteria is killed. I'd also let your son get in on the "fun" for a great food preparation experience. -Grainlady

Sauerkraut
(source: The Splendid Grain - by Rebecca Wood)
Makes about 3-1/2 cups.

1 lg. head cabbage, green or purple
1 T. sea salt
1 T. caraway seeds (optional)
1 to 2 cloves garlic (optional)

Remove any coarse or dry outer cabbage leaves. Cut the cabbage lengthwise into sections. Grate on the small holes of a hand grater or with the small grater blade of a food processor. Mix the cabbage with the salt and caraway seeds and garlic, if using. Pack firmly in a wide-mouthed quart jar, filling almost to the brim.

Use a pint jar small enough to fit inside the wide-mouth jar as a weight. Fill the small jar with water and cover tightly. Place on top of the grated cabbage. Set the jars on a plate to collect any overflow that might occur (I use a glass deep-dish pie plate). A brine will form and rise to the surface within 24 hours. The water-filled jar will keep the cabbage submerged in the brine.

The kraut will be ready in 3-5 days, or when it has a pleasant and tangy fermented flavor and each piece is translucent rather than opaque. Remove the small jar. Wash the sides of the wide-mouthed jar and cover. (May be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 weeks. NOTE: One-quarter-inch grater holes are ideal. Larger cabbage shreds yield inconsistent results with this pickling technique.

I'll bet you could use a Japanese pickle press (I have one of these) to make sauerkraut without a crock, plus you could make Tsukemono pickles, which is what I've done with it, but now I think I want to make sauerkraut or maybe kimchee. I don't want to make huge amounts, however, and I'll wait until I can get cabbage at a Farmers' Market.

Lars

Lars,

I'm very interested in learning about tsukemono, but haven't made any yet. Would this merit a new thread, or would only the two of us be interested?

Jim

Thanks Grainlady,

as always great wisdom. I have done kraut in a 5 gallon crock, but poor DH gets physically ill just by the smell. I didn't even do my New Year's Day Pork und Kraut, so I guess there will not be much prosperity this year.
I tried the quart jar thing before, it didn't work out, but I'll give it another go.

Thanks,
Joan

Joan, as the website says, there is a greater possibility of spoilage when using the jars, but then again, I had a whole ruined batch in a 50 gallon crock, so it does happen.

Definitely try again, and watch the temperature, that's crucial.

Annie

The one time I made sauerkraut, it was just way too salty for my tastes, even after a lot of rinsing. The instructions I used called for pounding the salt into the cabbage. I thought that perhaps with my small batch I'd pounded too much. The recipe called for 2% salt by weight, i.e.
10 lbs x 0.02 = 0.2 lbs = 3.2 oz
10 kg x 0.02 = 0.2 kg = 200 grams

I'd like to incorporate more naturally fermented foods into my diet for the nutrition, I like sauerkraut, and DH will at least eat it on occasion.

Liz,
Without going to look it up, it seems like about the amount that I normally use. Maybe somebody else can weigh in, but I never really pound my cabbage. I just keep lightly salting and pushing the cabbage under the brine, it will eventually form a liquid for you, without having to bruise it that much. I would describe it more as a "packing" process as opposed to a "Pounding" process

Annie,
The reason why I said it didn't work out is because there is NEVER enough kraut for me, it worked great for the jars but I literally could eat it raw every day. But I am a purist about it and every time mom tried to put apple, caraway or some kind of sweetener, I wanted it straight and sour!

LOL, nosnow, I also like it straight, but I'll eat it with apple, with caraway, with brown sugar, or without. I just like it.

Liz, I've always used 3 tablespoons of salt per 5 lbs of cabbage. I never pound the cabbage, I just use my hands to "pack" the shredded cabbage and salt. I do lean into the crock pretty hard, so the cabbage does make "juice" and is submerged in the brine, but I don't pound it.

I find that kraut is kind of salty, I always rinse but Ashley will eat it straight out of the jar and swear it's the best thing ever.

Annie

Obviously, I must be in a minority at not liking sauerkraut :) I may have to try it again. I decided I didn't like it when I was a kid, but tastes do change. I've nibbled the canned stuff & definitely don't like that.
Found a large cookie jar I never use, very crocklike, that I think I will try. Thanks Grainlady for the recipes, I don't think I had seen any with caraway.