"Gdzie jest barszcz i kwasna kapusta,
tam chata tlusta."
- Polish proverb meaning "Where there is beet soup and sauerkraut, there is
plenty."
History
of Sauerkraut
The word sauerkraut is German for "sour
cabbage" but it wasn't really invented by the Germans. It is believed
laborers building the Great Wall of China over 2,000 years ago began fermenting
shredded cabbage in rice wine to preserve it, so they would have a food source
during the nongrowing season. Genghis Khan and his merry band of marauders
brought it to Europe 1,000 years later.
In the 16th century, the Germanic peoples began dry curing cabbage with salt to extract the water from the vegetable and allowing the mixture to ferment, turning the sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid which served as a preservative. The process remains the same today. When sauerkraut was linked to the absence of scurvy in Dutch seamen, Captain James Cook, the French and other Europeans jumped on the sauerkraut bandwagon.
Early German and Dutch settlers brought their recipes for sauerkraut to the Americas along with a New Year's Day meal tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut for good luck in the coming year.
In the 16th century, the Germanic peoples began dry curing cabbage with salt to extract the water from the vegetable and allowing the mixture to ferment, turning the sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid which served as a preservative. The process remains the same today. When sauerkraut was linked to the absence of scurvy in Dutch seamen, Captain James Cook, the French and other Europeans jumped on the sauerkraut bandwagon.
Early German and Dutch settlers brought their recipes for sauerkraut to the Americas along with a New Year's Day meal tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut for good luck in the coming year.
In the old days, usually in November, Eastern European
families prepared for winter by putting up several barrels of sauerkraut.
Depending on the size of the family and the size of the cabbage, they might
ferment as many as 300 whole heads of cabbage in wooden barrels. Occasionally,
along with the salt, spices like caraway seeds, wine or other vegetables were
added.
By the late 1800s, the cabbage was shredded before being placed in covered crocks. If the family couldn't afford their own shredding tool, a peddler went door-to-door and performed this service for a fee.
By the late 1800s, the cabbage was shredded before being placed in covered crocks. If the family couldn't afford their own shredding tool, a peddler went door-to-door and performed this service for a fee.
After the cabbage had fermented to the household's
liking, it was stored in a cool place and the housewife would pull out as much
as she needed from the crock or barrel and prepare it primarily with pork if it
was available or when times were lean and money scarce.
Sauerkraut by any other
name would taste as great.
Bulgarian: kiselo zele
Croatian-Serbian: kiseli kupus
Czech: kysané zelí
Latvian: skābi kāposti
Lithuanian: rauginti kopūstai
Polish: kiszona kapusta
Romanian: varza murata
Russian: kvashenaya kapusta
Slovak: kyslá kapusta
Slovenian: kislo zelje
Turkish: lâhana turşusu
Ukrainian, Hungarian: savanyú káposzta
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