Homemade Probiotics
Want to boost your gut health without spending a fortune on store-bought probiotics? Learn how to make homemade probiotics in pill form using freeze-dried homemade lacto-fermented sauerkraut! It’s easy, affordable, and packed with probiotic power.
Print
Pin
Cost: varies
Equipment
- Kraut Pounder
- Fermentation Weights Lehman's has fermentation weights with a handle
- Freeze Dryer we recommend Harvest Right
- Spice Grinder
- 100 Separated "00" Capsules buy separated "00" capsules here
- 1 Encapsulator Machine we love our Herb Affair Capsule It Capsule Filler
Ingredients
- 1 medium cabbage
- 1.5 Tablespoons salt we use Redmond Real Salt
Instructions
To Make Homemade Sauerkraut
- Step 1: Slice cabbage in half and remove the core. If you’d like to weigh your cabbage, now is the time to do so.
- Step 2: Slice cabbage into thin strips and place into a bowl.
- Step 3: If you measured your cabbage, you want to add 2% of salt. Or, add about 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons salt for each medium-sized cabbage. Sprinkle the salt over the shredded cabbage and give it a good mix with your hands. I like to drape a towel over the bowl and leave it for about two hours to naturally release the juices. Or, you can pound it with a kraut pounder until the juices are released.
- Step 4: Once your cabbage has released its juices, transfer it to a quart-sized Mason jar and press it into the jar firmly with a kraut pounder (or your clean hands).
- Step 6: Loosely cover with a lid (do not seal down airtight) and place the jar in a bowl to catch any liquid that may overflow during the fermentation process (this usually happens and is completely normal). Place it in a warm location (65-75°F) to ferment for 7-10 days. Once the fermentation process is complete, seal the lid and transfer to the refrigerator until you’re ready for the next step.
- Step 5: Add a fermentation weight to the jar and make sure all pieces of cabbage are covered by the brine.
To Freeze Dry Sauerkraut
- Step 7: Strain out excess liquid into a bowl (reserve this as starter culture for your next batch of sauerkraut!).
- Step 8: Spread sauerkraut onto freeze dryer tray in an even layer.
- Step 9: Slide the tray of sauerkraut into the freeze dryer and seal the door.
- Step 10: If you’re using a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer, you’ll want to tap the “CUSTOMIZE” button.
- Step 11: Reduce the “Dry Temperature” to 95°F.
- Step 12: Tap the “SAVE” button.
- Step 13: Once the sauerkraut is completely freeze dried, remove it from the freeze dryer and transfer to an airtight container with an oxygen absorber, or proceed to the next step. (Learn how to store freeze dried food here.)
- Step 14: Place the freeze dried sauerkraut into the lid of a spice grinder or high-powered blender. Homesteading Hack: At this point, make sure anything the freeze dried sauerkraut comes in contact with is completely dry, otherwise you risk contamination and mold.
- Step 15: Grind or blend the freeze dried sauerkraut until it’s a fine, uniform powder.
- Step 16: Transfer the freeze dried sauerkraut powder into a Mason jar and vacuum seal the lid. Don’t forget to label and date the jar! Or, move directly on to step 17 for making your homemade probiotic capsules.
To Make Homemade Probiotics
- Step 17: Pour your separated “00” capsules into two bowls, tops and bottoms. Fill the capsule machine with the bottom portion of the capsules, making sure they’re properly loaded before moving onto the next step.
- Step 18: Pour a few tablespoons of your sauerkraut powder onto the capsule machine and, using the spreader, fill each capsule. Tamp down the powder in the capsules with the tamping tool and add more probiotic powder (repeat, if necessary, until capsules are full).
- Step 19: Fill the top portion of the capsule machine with the top half of the capsules. Make sure they’re properly loaded before moving onto the next step.
- Step 20: Place the top half of the capsules onto the bottom half and press firmly at the four corners of the capsule machine to make sure all capsules are firmly connected.
- Step 21: You now have 100 probiotic capsules!
- Step 22: Remove the capsules from the machine and place them in a clean, dry Mason jar. Store as many capsules as you’ll use within a month in each jar (for a small family, you may want to use pint or even half-pint-sized Mason jars).
- Step 23: Vacuum seal the lid on any jars you won’t be using right away. Label and date the jars and store them in a cool, dark location for up to a year.
- Step 24: Take 2-4 capsules daily (for adults), 1-2 capsules daily for children who can safely swallow pills, or as directed by your practitioner.
Notes
Tips
- Remember, I'm not a doctor and this is not intended to be medical advice. Always consult your healthcare practitioner when incorporating something new.
- Also, the great thing about these capsules is that it's just sauerkraut! So, if you've had sauerkraut in the past, you may enjoy this easier form.
- Be sure to start slowly with probiotics and listen to your body. A sudden increase in probiotics can cause gas and bloating, so slow and steady is best.
Tried this recipe?We want to see! Tag @homesteadingfamily on Instagram.