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Fruit & Vegetables

Sauerkraut--A Thanksgiving Tradition?

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#1 of 15 Posted Nov-4 2:51 PM

From JudyC Posts 7420 Last Nov-21
To All [Msg # 159055.1 ]

Did you know sauerkraut is a tradition in Baltimore?

The tradition that bubbles in Baltimore basements
Homemade sauerkraut for holiday tables starts now

When Doug Wetzel sat down for Thanksgiving dinner soon after he moved to Petaluma, Calif., he surveyed the table. His hosts, who owned the artisanal bakery where he worked, seemed to have everything right: "turkey and stuffing and oven-roasted Brussels sprouts." But when Wetzel asked for the sauerkraut, he says, "they all looked at me like I was crazy."

Wetzel, 26, grew up in Baltimore, where fermented cabbage is as commonplace as cranberry sauce for the November holiday, even for those without German names. "I knew better than to ask for candied yams with marshmallows" at such a spread, says Wetzel, now pastry chef for Gertrude's restaurant at the Baltimore Museum of Art. "But the fact that there was no sauerkraut was kind of a shock."

Richard Kissling, chief officer of A.C. Kissling Sauerkraut in Philadelphia, says his Charm City sales surge each year in early November to five or six times the usual volume. "In Baltimore, it's just one of those traditions," he says. "I don't understand it."

The city's German immigrants accounted for about a quarter of its residents in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. They brought their everyday dish of sauerkraut to the New World. "Whenever people would get together for a special occasion, sauerkraut would be involved," says William Woys Weaver, Pennsylvania food historian and author of the book "Sauerkraut Yankees."

Click here for the rest of this interesting Washington Post article

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#2 of 15 Posted Nov-4 3:54 PM

From Charles C Posts 3749 Last Nov-21
To JudyC [Msg # 159055.2 159055.1 ]

I think it must also be a Polish tradition - or at least for an old friend who makes a large quantity every fall when local cabbage is available. It does not go by the same name of course but it's very similar.

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#3 of 15 Posted Nov-4 7:13 PM

From Diane/ Seattle Posts 9137 Last Nov-17
To Charles C [Msg # 159055.3 159055.2 ]

We always have that sweet and sour red cabbage on Thanksgiving and there are quite a few German monkeys in our family tree.

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#4 of 15 Posted Nov-4 8:03 PM

From JudyC Posts 7420 Last Nov-21
To Diane/ Seattle [Msg # 159055.4 159055.3 ]

I thought of you when I read that. <bg>

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#5 of 15 Posted Nov-5 9:50 AM

From John Crea - WUGNET Posts 19 Last Nov-21
To JudyC [Msg # 159055.5 159055.1 ]

Judy

If folks start NOW to try and make home-made sauerkraut, they will probably be disappointed, as
everything I read/know and have tried indicates that it takes longer than 3-4wks to make real 'kraut with a good bite instead of just salted cabbage

John

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#6 of 15 Posted Nov-5 10:08 AM

From JudyC Posts 7420 Last Nov-21
To John Crea - WUGNET [Msg # 159055.6 159055.5 ]

However long it takes (8 weeks?), I've tried several times and failed. I gave up and bought it for a buck a bag. <g>

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#7 of 15 Posted Nov-5 10:32 AM

From ShirleyD Posts 10036 Last Nov-21
To JudyC [Msg # 159055.7 159055.6 ]

My German grandmother used to make it. She had large stone crocks in her basement. To me, it smelled heavenly down there. She also made beer, wine, whiskey and pickles.

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#8 of 15 Posted Nov-5 10:50 AM

From JudyC Posts 7420 Last Nov-21
To ShirleyD [Msg # 159055.8 159055.7 ]

I have stone crocks too but from the smell I was never sure what I was making was edible. LOL! The German store sells it bulk and they told me mine was probably just fine, all I had to do was skim the top few inches off and discard. Too late, I'd discarded everything by that time. <bg> Oh well, how much sauerkraut can 2 people eat anyway.

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#9 of 15 Posted Nov-5 5:10 PM

From ShirleyD Posts 10036 Last Nov-21
To JudyC [Msg # 159055.9 159055.8 ]

I've never attempted it. The nice packages in the deli are just perfect.

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#10 of 15 Posted Nov-7 1:47 PM

From Diane/ Seattle Posts 9137 Last Nov-17
To ShirleyD [Msg # 159055.10 159055.7 ]

I never met a sauerkraut I didn't like but my favorite is Bubbies which is in the deli case: Product Image

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#11 of 15 Posted Nov-7 4:40 PM

From ShirleyD Posts 10036 Last Nov-21
To Diane/ Seattle [Msg # 159055.11 159055.10 ]

I haven't seen that on the east side of the mountains.

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#12 of 15 Posted Nov-7 4:47 PM

From Diane/ Seattle Posts 9137 Last Nov-17
To ShirleyD [Msg # 159055.12 159055.11 ]

If you are in a Whole Foods, they have it. Here are some of their retail outlets:

Bellevue Atkinsons Market
Boise Boise Co-op
Coeur dAlene Pilgrims Natural Food Market
Hailey Atkinsons Market
Ketchum Atkinsons Market
Lewiston Huckleberrys Natural Market
Moscow Huckleberrys Natural Market, Moscow Coop
Pocatello College Market
Twin Falls Mercias Natural Foods, Natural Way