How to shred cabbage

Kraut, coleslaw and cabbage salad season is upon us (or nearly past if you live in Austin like me). I’ve meant to share my tips for shredding a whole head of cabbage without a kraut slicer for a long time. 

1. Peel off any wayward leaves, ones that don’t cling to the head. Slice your cabbage in half like so.

2. Remove the cores from both halves.

4. Flip the halves over and begin to cut them with a sharp 8”-chef’s knife. Go as slowly as you need to here, there’s no ‘Chopped’ camera nor timer to race. Make slow, even cuts with your knife to produce finely shredded strips. The first few cuts will be toughest to keep thin since they’re at an angle. Give them an extra few slices separately if you want all the shreds to be evenly thin.

Use cutting action that’s like a paper slicer. The tip of your knife shouldn’t come off the board. If you can’t make this happen then move the cabbage and board closer to you or move your set-up to a shorter work space so you can slice down on the cabbage with more control.

Check out my super-small batch fermented sauerkraut recipe on Edible Austin’s website. (I usually double or triple it since we breeze through a pint of kraut in just a few days, and it keeps indefinitely in the fridge once fermented.)

Comments

[Brianna]

Great timing! I was just going to experiment with cabbage and Asian noodles for dinner tonight. And, the small batch kraut recipe is awesome because I love it and the hubs won't touch it.

[Hilah]

Great tip! It's tricky to get cabbage super thin.
Have you ever made kraut with shredded beets? I have a ton and Chris is not that crazy about beets, but he loves sauerkraut.

[Kate]

Hilah, I have fermented shredded beets before, but I don't really love their flavor after they sour. (Learned the hard way, 2 quarts of shredded, fermented beets later...) I sometimes throw beets into a shredded ferment mixture with other veggies where those flavors can dominate.