SAUERKRAUT my first blog post ever

I have been in the habit of keeping our sauerkraut supply full for a couple of years now.  I found a good recipe and have developed more and more efficient methods of crushing the cabbage to extract the liquid.
The ratio of salt to cabbage (or most vegetable roughage) is 3 tablespoons (43grams) salt to 5 pounds of cabbage.  I put all of the salt in a small dish before i begin chopping.
I try to put at least one head of purple cabbage into the mix because then the finish kraut is pink and I like that.  It taste the same as all green, but it looks pretty on the plate or on food.
I find that if I use my chefs knife to finely cut one half of a cabbage head at a time and then sprinkle like percentage of salt on the cabbage while on the cutting board, I can use the back of the knife to smash to cabbage and this starts the crushing of the fibers that is essential to the release of the liquid.  After each cutting I place the cabbage into my crock and then using a cutting board that is the same width s the crock, I smash and rotate until I have gone around a couple times.  I repeat this process until all of the cabbage is done.
Then I place a small plate on the top of the cabbage mass and place a closed mason jar filled with water on top of that.  This compresses the mass and allows the liquid to submerge the entire mass.
At this point I wrap the top with plastic to keep the smell in and set it aside for 4-5 days.  When that time has passed I put all the kraut into quart sized mason jars and place them in storage.
The photos are a combination of two different days of kraut making.  
I have a time-lapse instagram of the chopping at soulchassis.
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