How to make sauerkraut at home with just 3 ingredients

• Sauerkraut is simply raw cabbage fermented in salt water brine.
• Massage shredded cabbage and salt together until it releases liquid, then put all of it in a jar.
• Store your jarred cabbage in a cool, dark place to ferment for a few days to a few weeks.

If you've never fermented anything at home before, it can be intimidating to get started. After all, fermentation is the process by which microorganisms like bacteria and yeast break down and transform food, and the word "bacteria" can be scary.

But it's good bacteria in this case (like Lactobacillus), and a simple ferment like sauerkraut is a great introduction to the practice. And you don't need much equipment to get started.

Sauerkraut is simply raw cabbage fermented in a saltwater brine. That salt water creates an environment where bad bacteria can't grow and where good bacteria can thrive.

"It gives life, because it is alive," says chef Luis Apolaya, a chef of over 25 years and founder of Sabor Peruvian Fusion. He's right of course. The microbial life that kickstarts fermentation gives distinct character to all it touches, from wine, to cheese, to vegetables across the board.

Apolaya experiments with his own personal variations on fermented tomatoes, peppers, and onions to create pickled relishes like salsa criolla, a staple of Peruvian cuisine.

Below, Apolaya gives his tips on how to begin fermenting at home, by harnessing the power of bacteria to make your very own homemade sauerkraut.

What you need:

• Fresh cabbage: You can use green or purple. Both work just as well.
• Water
• Salt
• A Mason jar with a new lid, or a fermentation crock if you really want to get fancy
• A large bowl
• Black peppercorn (optional)
• Other shredded vegetables like carrots (optional)
• Herbs and spices like dill, rosemary, thyme, juniper berries, or caraway seeds (optional)

How to make sauerkraut

1. Sanitize your fermentation vessel. This is crucial to ensuring you don't get any bad bacteria in your ferment. Dish soap and hot water will do the trick. If using Mason jars, it is crucial that you use new lids only. Old lids tend to have microscopic warps that allow undesirable microbes to enter. New lids ensure that the seal is tight.

2. Core and shred your cabbage. One cabbage can easily fill two quart-sized mason jars. How finely you shred your cabbage is a matter of preference, though ideally, it will be thick enough to maintain some crunch - aim for strips about half an inch wide.

3. Salt the cabbage. Place the shredded cabbage in a bowl and add salt. The rule of thumb is to add 2 teaspoons of salt per pound of cabbage, but you can adjust to taste. Toss the cabbage together and let it rest for about 15 minutes or until it starts to release its liquid.

4. Massage the cabbage. Use your hands or a tool like a pestle to knead the salted cabbage until it releases its liquid. The salt will pull the liquid out of the cabbage, and the liquid will form the brine. This will take several minutes and will be an arm workout. Your cabbage strips should retain their texture and color.

5. Fill your jars. Keep adding cabbage to the jar until it reaches the bottom of the jar's narrowed top. Be sure to really pack it in, using your fingers or a long wooden spoon to squish it down.

6. Add any flavorings (optional). As you pack in your cabbage, add in any optional ingredients to spice up your ferment like peppercorns, spices, garlic, or fresh herbs.

7. Add the cabbage liquid. Once your jar is well packed, add the liquid you massaged out of the cabbage earlier. Ensure it completely covers all the jar's contents.

8. Top off with additional salt water brine. If the liquid wasn't enough to fully submerge your cabbage, top it off with an additional solution of salt water. Mix ¾ tablespoon of salt to each cup of water you use and top off your jar until all the cabbage is completely submerged.

9. Let it ferment. Seal the jar; store it in a cool, dark place; and check it for bubbles each day. If a white foam starts to form on top, skim it off with a clean spoon.

10. "Burp" your jar daily. The fermentation process releases gasses that need to be let out of the sealed container, otherwise the container will burst. It is best to "burp" your jars daily by unscrewing the lid to let the gasses out. This process can be a little messy, so be sure to have a dishtowel on hand to wipe up any brine that spills out.

11. Taste test often. How long you let the ferment sit is up to you. The longer you let it ferment, the stronger the flavor will be. Taste it each day until it reaches your desired taste, but two to three weeks is typical for sauerkraut. To halt the fermentation process, put the jar in the fridge.

Important: Don't panic if white or green mold begins to form on the surface of your sauerkraut. Simply skim it off as soon as you notice it. This will stop it from penetrating your sauerkraut, keeping it safe to eat. If you see any black, orange, or pink mold, or if your sauerkraut begins to smell bad, discard the batch immediately.

Tips for making the best homemade sauerkraut

There's a lot of room to play with the flavor profiles of sauerkraut, thanks to its simple salt brine. To add a bit more character and depth to your sauerkraut, adding spices, herbs, even other vegetables can go a long way.

• Add other veggies. If you're interested in fermenting a variety of vegetables, cabbage pairs well with other crunchy produce like kohlrabi or carrots. Simply cut them to a similar size as your cabbage and mix them together.
• Add herbs and spices. Herbs and spices like dill, thyme, rosemary, carraway, red pepper, and cumin allow sauerkraut to take on more dimensions beyond salty and funky.
• Use advanced tools. While you can easily ferment with just a mason jar, adding fermentation weights to weigh down your jar's contents ensures that you'll get an even ferment.
• Be patient. Once the fermentation process has begun, it's all a matter of time. Allowing sauerkraut to sit for at least a week will yield a delightfully funky result, but some ferments are known to sit for months at a time.
• Create a clean environment. Using sanitized materials will determine what bacterias have the opportunity to grow in your sauerkraut. Use freshly cleaned everything - knives, cutting boards, bowls, mason jars, even the cabbage you're cutting. Clean the counter and wipe it down with a clean dish towel as you work through the process.
• Pay attention. Once your ferment has been jarred, you must treat it like the living thing that it is. Living things expel waste, or in this case gas. If that gas cannot escape its vessel, it will build up until it explodes. Daily checks of your ferment and a quick burp will prevent this from happening.

Insider's takeaway

While daunting at first glance, fermentation is easy to achieve at home with nothing more than cabbage, salt, water, and a mason jar. Oh, and some patience. To make a simple sauerkraut at home, massage shredded cabbage together with salt until it releases liquid. Pack the cabbage and liquid together in a clean jar, and store it in a cool, dark place to ferment. Check it daily and remove the lid to release any built-up gasses. After a week or so, you'll have sauerkraut!

Know your wine: A beginner's guide to the most common types of wineHow and when to use active dry yeast in your bakingHow to soften butter quicklyHow to ripen avocados quickly without compromising taste or texture