Storage

The cabbage is shredded, salted and kneaded, then packed into a stoneware crock with half stones on top. A water lock in the lid lets the gas from the fermentation out without letting air in. After fourteen days the cabbage goes into jars and into the cold.

No sugar or vinegar is added, and the jars are not heat treated. Heat would kill the bacteria, so the sourness you taste is the lactic acid they made.

Once the jar is cold, fermentation almost stops, but the flavour keeps developing. A new jar is fresh and sharp. After two or three months the taste has changed a little and become rounder.

Because the bacteria are alive, a little gas can build up in the jar. It may fizz when you unscrew the lid, and the brine can push up towards the rim. Open it over the sink or a plate the first time.

The jars are a chilled product and belong at 0 to 6 °C, both before and after opening. Use a clean spoon, and press the cabbage back down into the brine when you have taken what you need. The best-before date is written on the label.

All the jars are good with something fatty alongside: melted butter, olive oil, pork rib fat, sour cream, crème fraîche or mayonnaise. It brings out the flavour.