Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut (/ˈsaʊ.ərkraʊt/; German: (listen), 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.Cooked sauerkrautDutch stamppot includes sauerkraut (zuurkool) mashed with potatoes.Pierogi with sauerkrautKapuśniak made with sauerkrautCentral European-style sauerkraut and sausages is a popular snack dish in pubs.Czech Vepřo-knedlo-zeloPickled Eisbein served with sauerkrautAlsacian Choucroute garnie Sauerkraut (/ˈsaʊ.ərkraʊt/; German: (listen), 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, with sauerkraut being one of the most well-known instances of traditional fermented moist cabbage side dishes. The Roman writers Cato (in his De Agri Cultura) and Columella (in his De re Rustica) mentioned preserving cabbages and turnips with salt. Although 'sauerkraut' is a German word, the dish did not originate in Germany. Some claim that the Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan brought it to Europe. Others claim that it originally came from China and the surrounding areas and Europe the Tatars brought it to Europe, and improved upon the original Chinese recipe by fermenting it with salt instead of rice wine. It took root mostly 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. The English name is borrowed from German where it means literally 'sour herb' or '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: kiszona kapusta, Russian: квашеная капуста, tr. kvašenaja kapusta, Ukrainian: квашена капуста) or 'sour cabbage' (Bulgarian: кисело зеле, Czech: kyselé zelí, Estonian: hapukapsas, Finnish: hapankaali, Hungarian: savanyúkáposzta, Latvian: skābēti kāposti, Polish: kwaszona kapusta, Romanian: varză murată, Russian: кислая капуста, tr. kislaya kapusta, Serbo-Croatian: kiseli kupus, Slovak: kyslá kapusta, Slovene: kislo zelje, Ukrainian: кисла капуста, kisla 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 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. 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 that is 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. Neither refrigeration nor pasteurization is required, although these treatments prolong storage life. 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 spp. 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. A 2004 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.