Sauerkraut

According to the method of preparation, sauerkraut is divided into the following types: chopped, chopped, cabbage with chopped or chopped, whole cabbage. Each type of cabbage is prepared according to special recipes ^[1] .

Sauerkraut or chopped cabbage is prepared by slightly kneading chopped or chopped cabbage with the addition of salt . The mixture is placed in barrels, covered with a layer of clean cloth and pressed with oppression (cargo) so that the juice comes out on the surface. After a few days (depending on the temperature - 2-7 days), fermentation is completed, and the cabbage is taken out in the cold to avoid peroxidation.

Lactic acid bacteria , always present on the surface of fresh cabbage, ferment sugar from cabbage juice and form lactic acid , which prevents the development of molds .

Sometimes cabbage is brewed in halves, quarters.

The classic recipe (for a capacity of 10 liters): 9 kg of cabbage, 1 kg of carrots, 170-200 g of salt. The yield of finished product is 9 kg.

Famous white cabbage sauerkraut according to the Siberian and Far Eastern recipe, where it is the main product of harvesting for the winter. Unlike other pickles, the color of cabbage is always white with a carrot tint. In Siberia and the Far East carrots are added more, unlike the European part of Russia . The taste of the brine of properly cooked cabbage is sharp-sour, it is impossible for them to get drunk. Cabbage is not soft, not sticky, not gray. Hand picking is especially good for taste. For those who know a lot about cabbage, the appearance of sauerkraut speaks volumes. In appearance, you can judge whether it is worth tasting cabbage. Used to prepare dishes such as vinaigrette and cabbage soup . For pickling, specially selected cabbage with a clean, juicy white sheet, cut only after frost , is easily determined by the sweet taste.

In the cabbage (before pickling) any sour berries ( cranberries , for example) and finely chopped mild vegetables and fruits ( apple , carrots , beets , peppers , etc.) can be added.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to cook sauerkraut without salt. To do this, pour pure water into a container with cabbage and other vegetables prepared for pickling and pressurize the whole mass with oppression. This proves that sodium chloride (sodium chloride) does not participate in the fermentation process, but serves in this case as a preservative. However, cabbage cooked in this way is not stored as long as salted cabbage, and in the heat it can become moldy after a couple of weeks. Also, instead of salt, ground spices are added (interlayer): dill, caraway seeds, pepper seeds.

Sauerkraut is rich in vitamins A , B and C. Preservative effect is provided by salt and lactic acid , the latter also determines the smell of sauerkraut, close to the smell of soaked apples .

Sauerkraut is contraindicated in patients with a stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer ^[2] .

Sauerkraut and Shukrut

Sauerkraut is considered a national dish in Germany and Russia. In English and French , even the German name borrowed from it is used. “Sauerkraut” - “Sauerkraut” (“saurkraut” in English and “shukrut” in French, literally “sour cabbage”). Alsace's kitchen has a shukrut dish - a kind of sauerkraut bigos with pork or seafood.

Cabbage soup

Sauerkraut was widely distributed in Russia (in oak barrels), in Russia and the countries of the former USSR , especially in rural areas. Traditional Russian sour cabbage soup - sauerkraut soup is prepared from it. In an old Russian recipe, cranberries are necessarily added to sauerkraut, which gives the dish not only special sourness and aroma, but also lightens the brine and helps the cabbage - mainly because of the benzoic acid contained in the berries - to retain its properties longer.

Kimchi

Korean traditional dish of kimchi is also a type of sauerkraut, however, it is usually used not cabbage, but Beijing cabbage , and almost always hot red pepper is added.

• Fermentation
• Kimchi
• Soaked apples
• Oppression
• Schanitsa

• Pokhlebkin V.V. Cabbage // Culinary Dictionary. - M .: E, 2015 .-- S. 148-149. - 456 p.
• Kovalev V.M., Mogilny N.P. Cabbage // Russian cuisine: traditions and customs. - M .: Soviet Russia, 1990. - P. 142-146. - 256 s.
• Kovalev N.I. Dishes of the Russian table. - SPb. : Lenizdat, 1995. - S. 18-20. - 317 p.
• Sauerkraut // Brief Encyclopedia of Household. Volume 1. - M .: Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1959. - S. 250—251. - 772 p.

• Sauerkraut season: both benefits and ... harm