Assembly Line

How sauerkraut is made

Sauerkraut is just cabbage and salt. Three waves of bacteria take turns souring it.

stations
6
things upstream
21
raw sources
12
steps from the ground
7

The short version

Cabbage is shredded fine, layered with salt and packed down until its own juice covers it. Lactic acid bacteria already on the leaves ferment its sugars in three overlapping phases, dropping the pH until the cabbage is sour and safe. Fully cured sauerkraut keeps for months in a sealed container at 15 °C or below.

  1. Shred the heads

    White cabbage is cut into fine shreds, which exposes lots of surface and lets the juice run once salt hits it.

    Goes in
    Cabbage

  2. Layer with salt

    Salt is spread between layers of cabbage. It draws out water and creates a brine, and the salt favors the right bacteria over spoilage microbes.

    Goes in
    Table salt

  3. Pack under brine

    The salted shreds are packed down so the brine rises over them and keeps out air. Fermentation works best with no oxygen.

  4. Hand over to three bacteria crews

    Bacteria that live on raw cabbage leaves begin turning sugars into acid. In the first phase some bacteria start the souring. Then Leuconostoc takes over once acid levels get too high for the first group. Finally Lactobacillus species finish the sugars and push the pH lower.

  5. Cure until sour

    The kraut keeps fermenting until the acid is high enough that botulism bacteria cannot grow. If it runs too warm, yeasts can leave it soft and poor in flavor.

  6. Pack for sale

    Finished kraut goes into airtight containers. Refrigeration or pasteurization is optional but lengthens its storage life.

    keeps for months at 15 °C or below

    Goes in
    Glass jar
End of the lineSauerkraut

Worth repeating

  • Captain James Cook carried sauerkraut on his voyages to help prevent scurvy.
  • During World War I some American makers relabeled sauerkraut as liberty cabbage to avoid its German name.

Back to the ground

Follow every input upstream and sauerkraut starts as these 12 raw sources.

CabbageRock saltSeawaterSilica sandLimestoneWaterTronaNatural gasAirCornSugarcaneSugar beet

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Keep walking

Tequila 7 stations · 13 raw sources Beer 8 stations · 22 raw sources Champagne 8 stations · 22 raw sources Air freshener 5 stations · 21 raw sources Caramel color 5 stations · 8 raw sources Steel 6 stations · 12 raw sources

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Sources

Cite this page: "How sauerkraut is made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/sauerkraut

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