Sauerkraut hot. Sauerkraut cold. Sauerkraut Salad. Sauerkraut with hot dogs. Sauerkraut is versatile, crisp-ish and delicious.
Shredded cabbage layered with salt in a big crock was the traditional way to prepare sauerkraut. As a little girl, I would accompany my mother, carrying my own little fork, to where the fermenting cabbage was stored. First, my mom removed the dishtowel draped over the crock. Next, she removed a cracked glass plate that served as a lid to keep the cabbage and salt pressed down in the crock. With a long-handled fork, my mom would stir some of the cabbage, jabbing it in various sectors of the sharp-smelling fermenting concoction.
“Are you ready to taste it?” she would ask. Then I was allowed to fork up a yummy taste of the kraut. With her own clean fork, my mom would take a sample.
“It needs a few days more, don’t you think?” she asked me. I always agreed. I was ready to eat anything, anytime, so I knew this would allow for more of the sauerkraut taste tests.
Eventually, my mom would “take up” the sauerkraut from the big crock, pack it into clean jars and processed it for eating during the long winter and spring months. Sometimes, she made sauerkraut salad. Here is her recipe.
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