PCOS Friendly Classic Sauerkraut
Fermented foods have earned a serious reputation for supporting gut health, and that matters a lot when you're managing hormonal imbalances — a healthy microbiome plays a real role in how the body processes and clears excess hormones. This simple two-ingredient kraut (caraway seeds are optional but lovely) skips every additive, preservative, and mystery ingredient you'd find on a grocery store label. The process is just cabbage, salt, time, and your own hands doing the work. Massaging the shredded cabbage until it releases its own brine is genuinely satisfying, and watching the jar bubble away on your counter over the following weeks feels like a small act of kitchen magic. The finished sauerkraut is tangy, crunchy, and deeply savory — incredible piled onto grain bowls, eggs, or eaten straight from the jar. Because you control the fermentation time, you can pull it at a mild, lightly sour stage or let it develop into something more complex and punchy. A batch this size goes a long way, and once it's in the fridge it keeps for months, ready to add a probiotic-rich punch to almost any meal.
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Learn more →Ingredients
16 servings
- 2 lb green cabbage (about 1 medium head), outer leaves removed
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp non-iodized salt (about 2% of cabbage weight)
- 1 tsp caraway seeds (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Quarter the cabbage through the core, cut out and discard the core, then slice each quarter crosswise into thin shreds about 1/8-inch thick using a chef's knife or mandoline. Reserve one or two of the large outer leaves before discarding the rest.
- 2
Transfer the shredded cabbage to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the top and toss to distribute. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then massage and squeeze the cabbage firmly with both hands for 8–10 minutes, until it has released a significant amount of liquid and the shreds feel limp and wet — the brine should pool visibly at the bottom of the bowl.
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