To make sauerkraut, all you really need is cabbage, salt, and a jar with a lid, but you can make your life much easier with a mandoline slicer, vegetable starter culture, and fermenting crock from Cultures for Health. (A copy of Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz will only help the cause.) They carry charming crocks from Poland and Germany, but I love the Fermented Vegetable Master jar because you can keep an eye on your veggies through the glass, and the airlock in the lid adds some space-age chic to your kitchen. Questions? Check out the forums, videos, and how-to articles on their website.