Pork and Sauerkraut

by Carole Christman Koch

The Germans can take credit for the name sauerkraut, meaning “sour cabbage,” but they can’t fully take credit for the invention itself.

            The earliest known records of preserving vegetables, through pickling (a lactic acid fermentation), came from China some 4000 plus years ago.  Suan Chi, a type of pickled vegetable, became the preferred method of fermentation.  During the building of the Great Wall (started in 221 BC), laborers, working hard   in remote locations, were fed cabbage fermented in rice wine.

            Many years later, Genghis Kahn (1167-1227), Mongolian warrior and ruler of the largest empire, the Mongol Empire, plundered China (spanning  6 decades into the 13th century), taking with him the recipe for fermented cabbage.

            Historians believe, in the 13th century, the Tartars (Mongolian horsemen), while invading and conquering most of Eastern Europe, brought with them the tradition of pickled cabbage.

Although the Mongols never actually conquered Germany and Poland, their version of pickled cabbage   became most popular in those countries.

            In Germany, instead of using wine they dry cured the kraut by sprinkling salt on the shredded cabbage. This process extracted the water, and the mixture fermented.

            In Europe, cabbage was a popular crop in cold climates.  Families put up barrels of sauerkraut for the long, winter months.  Today, many countries have included cabbage as part of their national cuisine.  Sauerkraut is known throughout Europe and in many parts of the U.S. and Canada.

Not only was sauerkraut an important part of the winter diet of Europeans, but it became a staple in the diet of seafaring men, who were dying of scurvy on long voyages.

            It was the British crown who decided to experiment by sending four large vessels, with a variety of different foods, hoping to find a cure for scurvy.  One of these vessels was navigated by the English explorer, astronomer, Captain James Cook.  He realized certain foods, when eaten, prevented scurvy.  Since sauerkraut was a food that wouldn’t spoil, he ordered barrels of it for the voyage.  Alas, the crew called kraut,  “stuff not fit for human beings to eat.”  Cook then ordered only officers could have kraut and eventually the crew started eating it.  He also stopped at ports to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, and fresh water on his long 3-year (1768-1771) voyage.  He returned with no one dying of scurvy.  Although Vitamin C was not identified until 1912, Cook was awarded the Copley Medal, a high distinction in his time.

            The Pennsylvania Dutch, originally German immigrants, came to America during the 17th and 18th century.  With them came barrels of sauerkraut, recipes, and traditions, such as eating pork and kraut for good luck on New Year’s Day.

            In Sauerkraut Yankees, by William Woys Weaver, the food historian, the folk saying goes “the boar roots forward, the rooster scratches backward,” an ancient Celtic idea that an offering to the god of good luck “would insure a plentiful harvest in the coming year.”

            In Europe, farmers didn’t own much land, thus the raising of pigs, who stayed in a small area.  Another food easily preserved for the winter season was sauerkraut.  Eventually, the Germans adopted the pre-Christian idea of good luck and the kraut went with it and traveled to America.

            Sauerkraut, in its many forms, is enjoyed the world over and has great nutritional value.