Small batch · Fermented in glass
Sauerkraut that is still alive when it reaches you
Raw, unpasteurized, fermented in glass and shipped cold. No vinegar, no sugar, no heat — cabbage, sea salt and time.
- Raw & unpasteurized
- Ships cold, Mon & Tue
- 30-day replacement
- Made in California
The more jars, the less per jar
From $16.95 a jar down to $11.95. Every flavor costs the same, so mix and match whatever you want to eat. Four jars and up ship free.
Build a box
Kitchen 9-Pack
Kitchen 9-Pack
Household 12-Pack
Household 12-Pack
Why ours has to live in a fridge
The jar on the grocery shelf and the jar in our cooler are not the same food. Here is the difference, line by line.
| Krautery | Shelf-stable sauerkraut | |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | Never heated | Pasteurized so it can sit on a shelf |
| Live cultures | Alive, still fermenting in the jar | None left after pasteurization |
| Sourness from | Fermentation — cabbage, salt, time | Vinegar added after the fact |
| Ingredients | Cabbage, sea salt, one or two vegetables | Often sugar, preservatives, colour |
| Where it lives | The fridge, about 6 months | Room temperature, about a year |
| Texture | Crunchy — it was never cooked | Soft, cooked through |
| Packaging | Glass, with a vented lid | Can, pouch or plastic tub |
How a live ferment gets to you
Cold shipping is expensive and most of what it buys is theatre. Here is what we actually do, and why four jars ship free.
Insulated, not iced
A curbside-recyclable liner and a cold pack in every box — no dry ice, no styrofoam. Live ferments travel safely without refrigeration for days and even weeks.
We ship Monday and Tuesday
Anything dropped off later in the week risks sitting in a carrier warehouse over the weekend. Orders placed Wednesday through Sunday go out the following Monday.
Six months in your fridge
Put it away on arrival and it keeps for about six months, getting a little more sour as it goes. Open the first jar over the sink — live cabbage makes CO₂.
Who we are
We ferment in small batches in glass. Nothing is heated, nothing is dosed with vinegar, nothing is added to hold it steady. Each batch ferments until it is properly sour, then goes cold and stays cold — through our door, through the carrier, into your fridge. It is still fermenting when it gets to you, which is why the lids are vented and why we tell you to open the first one over the sink.
A small operation, family-run, working from recipes that have been in the family longer than any of us — the sour, caraway-scented kraut that has been on tables in Eastern Europe for centuries, made here in California.
Read our storyQuestions people actually ask
Is this pasteurized?
No. Nothing we make is ever heated. Pasteurization is what makes a jar shelf-stable, and it is also what ends the fermentation.
How long does it keep?
About six months refrigerated, unopened. Once open, a few weeks — keep the cabbage pushed under the brine and use a clean fork, and it lasts longer.
Then how does it survive shipping?
Live ferments travel safely without refrigeration for days and even weeks — the brine and the live cultures are what keep them stable. Every box still goes out insulated with a cold pack, Monday and Tuesday only.
The jar hissed when I opened it. Is it spoiled?
No, that is the ferment working. Live cabbage produces CO₂, which is why our lids are vented. Open the first jar over the sink. Mold, slime or a foul smell is a different matter — send a photo and we will replace it.
Is there vinegar in it?
None. No vinegar, no sugar, no preservatives, no starter cultures. Cabbage, sea salt, whatever vegetable or spice the flavor calls for, and time.
Do all the flavors cost the same?
Yes. Every 16 oz jar is $16.95 on its own, and every jar inside a box costs the same as every other jar in that box. Pick what you want to eat.
Where do you ship?
The continental United States. Alaska and Hawaii are not available yet because of the transit time.
Something arrived broken.
Email us a photo within 48 hours of delivery and we will replace the order. Glass and carriers do not always agree, and that is on us, not on you.