Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut (/ˈsaʊ.ərˌkraʊt/; German: [ˈzaʊ.ɐˌkʁaʊt] ^ⓘ, lit. 'sour cabbage') is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage leaves.

Fermented foods have a long history in many cultures. The Roman writers Cato (in his De agri cultura) and Columella (in his De re Rustica) mentioned preserving cabbages and turnips with salt. According to Wilhelm Holzapfel et al., Plinius the Elder, writing in the first century AD, is reputed to have been the first writer to describe the making of sauerkraut by preserving what the Romans called salt cabbage in earthen vessels. Popular folklore has imagined that sauerkraut was introduced to Europe by the trade networks formed across Eurasia by the Golden Horde. However, according to Mack and Surina (2005), there is no evidence to support this theory, nor any evidence that fermented cabbage arrived from an East Asian source, and there is evidence of sauerkraut production in Europe dating back to the early period of the Western Roman Empire.

Although sauerkraut is from a German word (Sauerkraut), the dish did not originate in Germany. Some claim cabbage fermentation «Suan cai» was already practiced in the days of the building of the Great Wall of China. However, the Romans, as previously noted, pickled forms of cabbage, and were the more likely source of modern-day European sauerkraut. It then took root in Central and Eastern European cuisines, but also in other countries including the Netherlands, where it is known as zuurkool, and France, where the name became choucroute. According to Mack and Surina (2005), the Slavic peoples of Europe likely discovered fermented cabbage on their own. 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" (Albanian: lakër turshi, Azerbaijani: kələm turşusu, Belarusian: квашаная капуста, Czech: kysané zelí, Lithuanian: rauginti kopūstai, Polish: kapusta kiszona/ kapusta kwaszona, Russian: квашеная капуста/кислая капуста, romanized: kvašenaja kapusta, Turkish: lahana turşusu, Romanian: varză murată, Persian: kalam torş, Bulgarian: кисело зеле, Estonian: hapukapsas, Hungarian: savanyúkáposzta, Latvian: skābēti kāposti, Macedonian: расол / кисела зелка, Serbo-Croatian: кисели купус / кисело зеље, kiseli kupus / kiselo zelje, Slovak: kyslá kapusta, Slovene: kislo zelje, Ukrainian: квашена капуста, kvashena kapusta).

Before frozen foods, refrigeration, and cheap transport from warmer areas became readily available in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe, sauerkraut – like other preserved foods – provided a source of certain nutrients (eg, vitamin C) during the winter. Captain James Cook always took a store of sauerkraut on his sea voyages, since experience had taught him it prevented scurvy.

The word "Kraut", derived from this food, is a derogatory term for the German people. During World War I, 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.

Sauerkraut is made by a process of pickling called lactic acid fermentation, analogous to how traditional (not heat-treated) pickled cucumbers and kimchi are made. The cabbage is finely shredded, layered with salt, and left to ferment. Fully cured sauerkraut keeps for several months in an airtight container stored at 15 °C (60 °F) or below. In temperate climates, this allows storage over the full winter and early-spring. Neither refrigeration nor pasteurization is required, although these treatments prolong storage life.^{[citation needed]}

Fermentation by lactobacilli is introduced naturally, as these air-borne bacteria culture on raw cabbage leaves where they grow. Yeasts also are present, and may yield soft sauerkraut of poor flavor when the fermentation temperature is too high. The fermentation process has three phases, collectively sometimes referred to as population dynamics. In the first phase, anaerobic bacteria such as Klebsiella and Enterobacter lead the fermentation, and begin producing an acidic environment that favors later bacteria. The second phase starts as the acid levels become too high for many bacteria, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides and other Leuconostoc species take dominance. In the third phase, various Lactobacillus species, including L. brevis and L. plantarum, ferment any remaining sugars, further lowering the pH. Properly cured sauerkraut is sufficiently acidic to prevent a favorable environment for the growth of Clostridium botulinum, the toxins of which cause botulism.