Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

by various

lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillales are an order of gram-positive, low-GC, acid-tolerant, generally nonsporulating, nonrespiring, either rod-shaped ( bacilli) or spherical ( cocci) bacteria that share common metabolic and physiological characteristics. These bact ...

. It has a long

shelf life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...

and a distinctive

sour The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

flavor, both of which result from the

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as nat ...

formed when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage leaves.Gil Marks
Encyclopedia of Jewish Food
p. 1052.Joseph Mercola, Brian Vaszily, Kendra Pearsall, Nancy Lee Bentley
Dr. Mercola's Total Health Cookbook & Program
p. 227. It is one of the best-known national dishes in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Although in English-speaking countries it is known under its German name, it is also widely known in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

and other places (see below). For example, in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, () 'sour cabbage' or () 'fermented cabbage' has been a traditional and ubiquitous dish from ancient times.

Overview and history

Fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

foods have a long history in many cultures, with sauerkraut being one of the most well-known instances of traditional fermented moist cabbage side dishes. The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

writers Cato (in his '' De Agri Cultura'') and

Columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

(in his ''

De re Rustica Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

'') mentioned preserving cabbages and

turnips The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ' ...

with salt. Although "sauerkraut" is from a German word (''Sauerkraut''), the dish did not originate in Germany. Some claim fermenting cabbage ''

suan cai ''Suancai'' (also called ''suan tsai'' and Chinese sauerkraut; ) is a traditional Chinese pickled Chinese cabbage (napa cabbage) or Chinese mustard, used for a variety of purposes. Suancai is a unique form of paocai, due to the ingredients used ...

'' was already practised in the days of the building of the

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic gro ...

and that the practice was likely transmitted from China to Europe by the

Tartars Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bound ...

. However, the Romans, as previously noted, pickled forms of cabbage, and were the more likely source of modern-day sauerkraut It then took root in Central and

Eastern European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

cuisines, but also in other countries including the Netherlands, where it is known as ''zuurkool'', and France, where the name became ''choucroute''. The English name is borrowed from German where it means "sour cabbage". The names in Slavic and other Central and Eastern European languages have similar meanings with the German word: "fermented cabbage" ( sq, lakër turshi, az, kələm turşusu, be, квашаная капуста, cs, kysané zelí, lt, rauginti kopūstai, rus, квашеная капуста, kvašenaja kapusta, Turkısh: lahana turşusu, ro, varză murată, Persian: kalam torş, uk, квашена капуста) or "sour cabbage" ( bg, кисело зеле, et, hapukapsas, fi, hapankaali, hu, savanyúkáposzta, lv, skābēti kāposti, mk, расол / кисела зелка, pl, kapusta kiszona, rus, кислая капуста, kislaya kapusta, sh-Cyrl-Latn, кисели купус / кисело зелје, kiseli kupus / kiselo zelje, sk, kyslá kapusta, sl, kislo zelje, uk, кисла капуста, ''kysla kapusta''). Before frozen foods, refrigeration, and cheap transport from warmer areas became readily available in Northern, Central, and

, sauerkraut – like other preserved foods – provided a source of nutrients during the winter. Captain James Cook always took a store of sauerkraut on his sea voyages, since experience had taught him it prevented

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

. The word "''

Kraut ''Kraut'' is a German word recorded in English from 1918 onwards as an ethnic slur for a German, particularly a German soldier during World War I and World War II. Its earlier meaning in English was as a synonym for sauerkraut, a traditional Cen ...

''", derived from this food, is a derogatory term for the German people. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, due to concerns the American public would reject a product with a German name, American sauerkraut makers relabeled their product as "liberty cabbage" for the duration of the war.New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Production

pickling Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is cal ...

lactic acid fermentation Lactic acid fermentation is a metabolic process by which glucose or other six-carbon sugars (also, disaccharides of six-carbon sugars, e.g. sucrose or lactose) are converted into cellular energy and the metabolite lactate, which is lactic acid i ...

A 2004 Genomics, genomic study found an unexpectedly large diversity of lactic acid bacteria in sauerkraut, and that previous studies had oversimplified this diversity. ''Weissella'' was found to be a major organism in the initial, heterofermentative stage, up to day 7. It was also found that ''Lactobacillus brevis'' and ''Pediococcus pentosaceus'' had smaller population numbers in the first 14 days than previous studies had reported. The Dutch sauerkraut industry found that inoculating a new batch of sauerkraut with an old batch resulted in an excessively sour product. This sourdough process is known as "backslopping" or "inoculum enrichment"; when used in making sauerkraut, first- and second-stage population dynamics, important to developing flavor, are bypassed. This is due primarily to the greater initial activity of species ''L. plantarum''.

Regional varieties

In Azerbaijani cuisine, Azerbaijani, Belarusian cuisine, Belarusian, Estonian cuisine, Estonian, Latvian cuisine, Latvian, Lithuanian cuisine, Lithuanian, Moravian cuisine, Moravian, Polish cuisine, Polish, Russian cuisine, Russian, and Ukrainian cuisine, chopped cabbage is often pickled together with shredded carrots. Other ingredients may include caraway seeds, whole or quartered apples for additional flavor or cranberry for flavor and better keeping (the benzoic acid in cranberries is a common preservative). Sometimes the finely chopped outer green cabbage leaves are fermented for special "grey" schi. Bell peppers and beets are added in some recipes for color. The resulting sauerkraut salad is typically served cold, as ''zakuski'' or a side dish. A homemade type of very mild sauerkraut is available, where white cabbage is pickled with salt in a refrigerator for only three to seven days. This process results in very little lactic acid production. Sometimes in Russia double fermentation is used, with the initial step producing an exceptionally sour product, which is then "corrected" by adding 30-50% more fresh cabbage and fermenting the mix again. The flavor additives like apples, beets, cranberries, and sometimes even watermelons are usually introduced at this step. Sauerkraut may be used as a filling for Polish cuisine, Polish ''pierogi'', Ukrainian ''varenyky'', Russian ''pirogi'' and ''pirozhki''. Sauerkraut is also the central ingredient in traditional soups, such as ''shchi'' (a national dish of Russia), ''cabbage soup, kwaśnica'' (Poland), ''Cabbage soup, kapustnica'' (Slovak cuisine, Slovakia), and ''Cabbage soup, zelňačka'' (Czech cuisine, Czech Republic resp. Moravian). It is an ingredient of Polish ''bigos'' (a hunter's stew). In German cuisine, Germany and Austrian cuisine, Austria, cooked sauerkraut is often flavored with Juniper berry, juniper berries or caraway seeds; apples and white wine are added in popular variations. In South Tyrol, it is made with Juniper berries, Extra-virgin olive oil and smoked pancetta. Traditionally it is served warm, with pork (e.g. ''eisbein'', ''schweinshaxe'', ''Kassler'') or sausages (smoked or fried sausages, ''Frankfurter Würstchen'', Vienna sausages, black pudding), accompanied typically by roasted or steamed potatoes or dumplings (''knödel'' or ''schupfnudel''). Similar recipes are common in other Central European cuisines. The Czech cuisine, Czech national dish ''vepřo knedlo zelo'' consists of roast pork with ''Knödel, knedliky'' and sauerkraut. In Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, North Macedonia and Slovenia, usually the whole cabbage heads are pickled. Such produce is used for many dishes, from a simple salad made of chopped cabbage and sprinkled with paprika, to cabbage rolls. In northern parts of Serbia and Croatia, it is often added to the bean soup. In central Serbia, a local specialty called "wedding cabbage" is made by slowly stewing roughly cut cabbage with at least three kinds of meats, lean, fatty, and smoked. In Romania , the local type of sauerkraut
varza murata
= whole pickled cabbage heads) are used as wrap for the national dish called "Sarma (food), Sarmale", a Turkish-inspired roll, made of pickled cabbage leaves with minced pork and rice, having its own personality and very distinct in taste from its Ottoman predecessor. In France, sauerkraut is the main ingredient of the Alsatian cuisine, Alsatian meal ''choucroute garnie'' (French language, French for "dressed sauerkraut"), sauerkraut with sausages (Strasbourg sausages, smoked Morteau Sausage, Morteau or Montbéliard sausages), charcuterie (bacon, ham, etc.), and often potatoes. In Chile it is called ''chucrut'' and is a common topping for sandwiches and hotdogs, especially for completos. Sauerkraut, along with pork, is eaten traditionally in Pennsylvania on New Year's Day. The tradition, started by the Pennsylvania Dutch, is thought to bring good luck for the upcoming year. Sauerkraut is also used in Cuisine of the United States, American cuisine as a condiment upon various foods, such as sandwiches and hot dogs. In Maryland, particularly in Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore, sauerkraut is a traditional accompaniment for the Thanksgiving turkey. File:Sauerkraut 2.jpg, Cooked sauerkraut File:Zuurkool in pan.jpg, Dutch ''zuurkoolstamppot'' includes sauerkraut mashed with potatoes and is traditionally served with rookworst File:08023 dumplings stuffed with sauerkraut.JPG, ''Pierogi'' with sauerkraut File:Cabbage Soup Kapuśniak 01.JPG, ''Cabbage soup, Kapuśniak'' made with sauerkraut File:Czech sausages and sauerkraut at restaurant Poseidon, Helsinki (bright).jpg, Central European-style sauerkraut and sausages is a popular snack dish in pubs. File:VeproKnedloZelo-00.jpg, Czech ''Vepřo-knedlo-zelo'' File:Eisbein-2.jpg, Pickled ''Eisbein'' served with sauerkraut File:Choucroute-p1030190.jpg, Alsatian ''Choucroute garnie'' As Europeans, especially Germans, emigrated to other countries, many of them continued making and eating sauerkraut around the world.

Health effects

Benefits

Many health benefits have been claimed for sauerkraut: * It is a high source of vitamins Vitamin C, C and Vitamin K, K; the fermentation process increases the bioavailability of nutrients rendering sauerkraut even more nutritious than the original cabbage. It is also low in food energy and high in calcium and magnesium, and it is a very good source of dietary fiber, folate, iron, potassium, copper and manganese. * If unpasteurized and uncooked, sauerkraut also contains live Lactobacillus, lactobacilli and beneficial microbes and is rich in enzymes. Fiber and probiotics improve digestion and promote the growth of healthy bowel flora, protecting against many diseases of the digestive tract. * During the American Civil War, the physician John Jay Terrell (1829–1922) was able to successfully reduce the death rate from disease among prisoners of war; he attributed this to feeding his patients raw sauerkraut. * Sauerkraut and its juice is a time-honored folk remedy for Aphthous stomatitis, canker sores. The treatment is to rinse the mouth with sauerkraut juice for about 30 seconds several times a day, or place a wad of sauerkraut against the affected area for a minute or so before chewing and swallowing the sauerkraut. * In 2002, the ''Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry'' reported that Finnish researchers found the isothiocyanates produced in sauerkraut fermentation inhibit the growth of cancer cells in test tube and animal studies. A Polish study in 2010 concluded that "Enzyme induction and inhibition, induction of the key detoxifying enzymes by cabbage juices, particularly sauerkraut, may be responsible for their chemopreventive activity demonstrated by epidemiological studies and in animal models".

Disadvantages

Excessive consumption of sauerkraut may lead to bloating and flatulence due to the trisaccharide raffinose, which the human small intestine cannot break down. This does not negatively affect long-term health, although it might be uncomfortable. Additionally, sauerkraut has a very high content of Salt, sodium.

Similar foods

Many other vegetables are preserved by a similar process: * ''Achaar'' in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan * ''Atsara'' in the Philippines * ''Brovada'' in northern Italy * ''Curtido'' in El Salvador * Dill pickles in eastern and central Europe * ''Encurtido'' in Nicaragua * ''Kimchi'' in Korea * Silage, a feed for cattle * ''Suan cai'' in northeastern China * ''Tsukemono'' in Japan * Whole sour cabbage, Kiseli kupus in Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and Bulgaria

References

Bibliography

* ''USDA Canning guides'', Volume 7 * * * * *

External links

Laboratory Exercise in Sauerkraut Fermentation

Fermenting food since before H. sapiens appeared.
''The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition''
Crunchy pickled cabbage: video-tutorial

Fermentation Tips for Beginners
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