• Many pathogenic forms of bacteria are sensitive to acidic environments. This is true of both cholera and typhoid. In the early 1950’s, during an epidemic of typhoid fever in Europe, reports emerged showing fresh sauerkraut was an effective agent for killing the bacteria.

• The ancient Romans and Greeks are said to have filled whole cabbages with added salt in the core and placed in a barrel.

They removed the core and filled the hole with salt. Placed the whole heads in the barrel, core side up and filled the barrel with strong brine. Today, we can repeat the process using about 1 cup of fine salt per 1 gallon of water ( = 3.7854118 Liters).

• In ancient Rome, sauerkraut had a reputation as a food that was easy to digest. Tiberius always carried a barrel of sauerkraut during long voyages to the Middle East because the Romans knew that the lactic acid it contained protected them from intestinal infections. Although, the vegetable the Romans extolled was not the modern cabbage. The large leafy plant, more like kale and collards, was headless. The Latin name of the curly leafed kale and its sister, the smoother leafed collard, means “cabbage of the vegetable garden without a head.”

The Roman invaders brought the large leafed cabbage to Britain. Migrating through Europe, transported by merchants, sailors, and armies, it soon sprouted in monastic gardens. In northern and central Europe, the hardy plant thrived better than any other vegetable in the chilly climate. By the end of the Middle Ages, cabbage had become the mainstay of the peasant diet.

• A description of a naturally acidified product, sauerkraut, or choucroute in French, can be found in Le Tresor de santi (1607), which describes it as a German product (Davidson 1999).
• In the 16th century, cabbage came to the rescue during long European winters when little fresh produce was available. The Germanic peoples began “dry curing” shredded cabbage with salt to extract the water from the vegetable and allowing the mixture to ferment, turning the sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid, acting as a preservative and adding the characteristic sour flavor.

The end result was the gift of fermentation – sauerkraut.

• By the 17th century, the cabbage family had taken on the now familiar form. The cabbage, whose leaves were tightly folded to make a head, had evolved through several stages from the scraggly wild plant that grew on the rocky coast-lands of Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Through selectively breeding cabbages for distinctive features, a diverse group was developed.
• Savoy cabbage was considered the best by far in terms of the quality of kraut it made. But as a garden plant, was only half as productive as the drum head.
• Sauerkraut was traditionally very popular in Poland and remains so today. Large-scale production was carried out in special pits lined with wooden planks, or in barrels. The flavor could be varied through various additives. For example, apples, or sometimes pears, were included, or herbs such as caraway seeds or dill were layered with the cabbage. Even oak or cherry leaves were sometimes used.

Herbs commonly used to enhance the flavor of fermented vegetables include horseradish, garlic, bay, mustard seed, juniper berries, ginger, turmeric, fennel and dill.

• “Sauerkraut Suppers” were introduced by the Pennsylvania Dutch, German-speaking immigrants who arrived in the 18th century. The church gatherings became a tradition wherever the newcomers clustered. Sauerkraut anchored Pennsylvania Dutch meals and highlighted festive dinners.
• In Civil War days, when the first Pennsylvania regiments reached Virginia, the natives called them sauerkraut Yankees. The European peasant dish gradually gained wider acceptance until it was branded as alien during World War 1.

• Liberty Cabbage was the alternative name created during World War I, used in reference to Sauerkraut, to avoid using words from the enemy language. A hamburger was referred to as a ‘Liberty Sandwich,’ and German Measles were ‘Liberty Measles.’ The Pennsylvania Dutch and other German speakers were pressed to call sauerkraut “liberty cabbage.”

The poet Charles Zeiger came to its defense:

“‘Liberty Cabbage’ now’s the name

But the thing remains the same.

Has it not the old aroma?

Is not “Liberty” a misnomer?

“Why discard the name as hellish

When the thing itself you relish?

You may flout it and may scold

No name fits like the old.”

Who would have thought: a war of words over the humble fermented cabbage?

• As my name (Stein) suggests, my ancestry is German, and as a child, we feasted on traditional old-country dishes. Being slightly obsessed with all things healthy, prompted me to leave pork knuckle, sausage, schnitzel, schupfnudeln and potato salad behind, one of the staples remains dear to my heart: sauerkraut. But be aware: my version is not the pasteurized, mushy impostor that taught many peeps to hate the stuff. Many commercial sauerkraut is loaded with salt and pasteurized at high temperatures, destroying all the health benefits and taste. Others have been produced with speed and not so good for taste or health … basically, you are eating coleslaw. So go hug and massage a cabbage or two and give it the right environment and time.