Sauerkraut

Step 1: Wash a 2-litre glass jar or crock and its lid in very hot soapy water and rinse well. Keep two clean outer cabbage leaves aside.

Step 2: Quarter 3 ⅓ lb firm white cabbage, cut out the core and shred it as finely as you can with a sharp knife or mandoline. Weigh it and work out 2% of the weight in salt (20 g per kg); adjust 1 oz fine sea salt (no iodine or anti-caking agents) to match.

Step 3: Put the cabbage in a large bowl, sprinkle with the salt and squeeze and massage it hard with your hands for 8–10 minutes, until it has shrunk by half and a pool of juice collects at the bottom. A common mistake is giving up too early: you need that brine to cover the cabbage.

Step 4: Mix in 1 tsp caraway seeds, 6 juniper berries and 1 bay leaf. Pack the cabbage into the jar a handful at a time, pressing each layer down hard with your fist until brine rises above it.

Step 5: Pour in all the juice from the bowl. Cover the surface with the reserved leaves and weigh them down with a small water-filled jar or a clean stone so everything stays under the brine. Leave at least 3 cm of space at the top.

Step 6: Cover loosely (or use an airlock lid) and leave at cool room temperature, 18–68°F, away from sunlight. In the first days it bubbles and smells sharp; press it down daily so it stays submerged.

Step 7: Taste after 2 weeks. It's ready when it's pleasantly sour and the cabbage has turned pale and translucent, usually 2–4 weeks. Then close the jar and keep it in the fridge for up to 6 months. If a white film appears on top, skim it off; anything fuzzy and coloured means throw the batch away.