True Facts about Sauerkraut

• Sauerkraut originated approximately 2,000 years ago in China, where it is known as suan cai, with a literal translation of “sour vegetable”.
• It wasn't until 1,000 years later that Genghis Khan plundered China and brought back this recipe for naturally fermented cabbage.
  
  
  
• The Germans, who gave it the name "sauerkraut", learned to make this dish from their native European cabbage, giving us sauerkraut as we know it today.
• In World War I and II, the slang word “kraut” was used to refer to sailors and ultimately all German soldiers because of a long history of German ships being outfitted with sauerkraut as part of daily food rations to prevent the onset of scurvy. 

• Sauerkraut has been used in Europe for centuries to treat stomach ulcers, and its effectiveness for soothing the digestive tract has been well established by numerous studies.
• According to Per Pickle Packers International, Americans consume 387 million pounds of sauerkraut annually, or about 1.25 pounds per person.
• Most people immediately think to buy their sauerkraut in a jar, but for the most basic sauerkraut, all your need to make your own sauerkraut is 1 medium head green cabbage (about 3 pounds) and 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• Sauerkraut is made by a process called lacto-fermentation.
• Lactobacillus is a type of beneficial bacteria present on the surface of the cabbage, which is the same bacteria found in yogurt. 
• When submerged in a brine, the bacteria begin to convert sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid; this is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria.
• Plain sauerkraut is (to most people) not very tasty, but if you doctor it up with bacon, onions and some wine, it is delicious!
• Plain sauerkraut is fat free!
• There are hundreds of ways to use sauerkraut, but our favorite is the ruben sandwich and sauerkraut soup!

Sources:

http://www.sauerkraut.com

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-easy-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193124

http://www.bubbies.com/sauerkraut

https://www.ilovepickles.org/node/221

Great Traditions to be Passed Down

This past weekend was the 3rd International Fair and Wine Tasting that took place at the AAS Clubhouse in Chicago. One of the items that usually sells out the fastest are the home-made German cookies. Last year I did a little trial and error, teaching myself (with a recipe from my best german recipes) to make classic Hazelnut Macaroons. The 2nd attempt was good enough to contribute to the cookie pile, but it is still just amateur hour compared to the magnificent cookies that my grandpa used to make. Here's the video… you can see for yourself why I think I'll focus my energy back in the studio making dirndls, haha!





My Grandpa started learning his trade at the tender age of 11 and throughout the years received multiple awards for his baking (and I would call it artwork). Now 90 years old, he doesn't do anymore baking, but those who know him and tasted his cookies, especially his macaronnen, still crave just a little taste.

Grandpa Jacob's famous Macaronnen

Traditions like baking family cookie recipes and making classic German dinners can unfortunately be lost. I encourage anyone who still has the ability to learn from the older generation about the traditions to do so, because it would be such a shame to loose them. I've spent a lot of time learning the craft of creating traditional Donauschwaben trachten, but in doing so, I didn't put enough (or really any) time learning my grandfather's craft. However… as seen in the above video… I don't think it's quite my calling, but it never hurts to learn from the best.


Now I'd like to hear from you! What kind of family traditions do you carry on? Which traditions do you wish you would have learned? Write your thoughts in the comments and let's get a conversation going… maybe we can even swap some recipes!

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