Prepare 17 lbs. of cabbage by removing the outer leaves. The cabbage is then cut into 4 pcs. or quartered. Remove the core of the cabbage, then rinse very well to remove hidden dirt if present. Cabbage is then allowed to drain very well, then shredded.
Weigh out 5 lbs. of shredded cabbage and sprinkle with three tablespoons of plain salt, free of iodine. Turn the salted cabbage over and over until the salt is evenly distributed with the cabbage Cabbage is then transferred to a crock. If you don't have a crock, you can use a 5 gallon plastic brining bucket. This will easily hold 34 lbs. of cabbage, because that's what I use when making sauerkraut. Crocks are pretty hard to come by these days and a plastic bucket or stainless steel container will also serve the purpose. (there were no plastic buckets or stainless steel in the old days and that's why they used a crock or a wooden
barrel).
After placing the salted cabbage into the container it then has to be pressed down. In fact you can use your fist to punch down the cabbage as I do. In reality you have to bruise the shredded cabbage and then it will release the liquid and come to the top. You can use a meat mallet to punch down the shredded cabbage, if you have one available or anything else that will do the job. Repeat the entire process every time you shred 5 lbs. of cabbage until you are done. By the time you get to the last batch, you will have a liquid coming to the top.
At this point the shredded cabbage has to be covered and weighted down. You can cut a clean piece of wood or plastic to cover almost the whole top and weigh it down with a clean rock or some other weight put into a heavy duty plastic bag. The shredded cabbage has to be held beneath the surface of the board weighing down the cabbage. In other words, a little cabbage juice or liquid must always be left on top to cover the board. Cover the top of container with a cloth to keep out dust or insects. The cabbage is then allowed to ferment from 4 to 5 weeks at room temperature (70 deg.). During this time the sauerkraut will start to emit gas and a foam will form on top as well as extra liquid. This has to be watched daily as the extra liquid and foam have to be removed or a mold can form and ruin the sauerkraut. If you take off too much water or it should evaporate too quickly by itself, you may add extra tap water to keep the board and sauerkraut covered. After a given period of time you can taste a little sauerkraut to see how far it's come along. This is the way plain sauerkraut is made.
Another variation of sauerkraut is to slice some carrots about 1/8 to 1/4" in thickness along with a handful of whole caraway seed placed on top of every layer of 5 lbs. of shredded cabbage after it is punched down.
When sauerkraut reaches the desired sourness you want, it should then be quickly refrigerated to prevent further fermentation. It can be packed in smaller containers or even frozen.
