I prepared my first batch of sauerkraut yesterday. I'm so excited! It's the beginning of this GAPS diet, to use the juice as a natural probiotic, adding a little to poultry or meat stock (which I will be making tonight).
All I did was slice a head of cabbage, add 2 tablespoons of Himalayan salt and knead it in a large bowl until the cabbage released enough juice to cover it. This process gave me such a wonderful feeling of homemaking, being able to nurture and nourish those that I love with just the products that came from the earth and my two hands. Words can't express my desire to make this natural diet a way of life, for the rest of my life.
The next step was to pack it into a canning jar so that no air was around the cabbage. Then I put a folded cabbage leaf on the top, pressing it down to keep the cabbage under the juice because the fermenting process in anaerobic and I don't want any mold growing on it. Then I put the lid on and covered it with a towel. I'll release some of the built up gasses (carbon dioxide, I think) every other day by loosening the lid, and the juice should be good to use in 5-7 days!
Here's a video and a pic:
