Friday, January 27, 2017

Sauerkraut: It’s Good for What Ails You

by Marcina Wagner, Reference Librarian

If making sauerkraut is an activity that you would never consider, you can stop reading now because the intention of this article is to persuade you to try it. Eating fermented food is one of the healthiest strategies you can employ, and sauerkraut is one of the easiest and cheapest foods to make in your kitchen. 

We use the sauerkraut recipe minus the juniper berries by Alton Brown; it’s at the foodnetwork.com. This recipe is foolproof; the prep time is 15 minutes, and the wait time is 4 weeks. 

Before we found the recipe, we typically only ate sauerkraut with pork on New Year’s Day. It’s now a year-round dish, and during this time of year, we enjoy a sauerkraut soup adding some chicken broth, potatoes, and onions in addition to frankfurters or sausage. Rye or pumpernickel bread with cultured butter accompanies it. I have even read of making a chocolate cake with sauerkraut. 

The Yocum Library has The Art of Fermentation, a classic reference book, by Sandor Ellix Katz. Pickles will be a logical progression for you. After our trip to Katz’s Deli in NYC, we tried to duplicate their half sours and did a credible job. My next project‐‐‐fermented pickle relish. 

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