SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
summergw

Sauerkraut – Yay or Nay

Summer
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago

Homemade sauerkraut is a food, I often crave. I like it as a condiment, soup, salad, baked or in pierogi.
What about you?

Comments (58)

  • Judy Good
    7 years ago

    Love it!

    Summer thanked Judy Good
  • dandyrandylou
    7 years ago

    Have had it both homemade and bought, and will take it any way I can get it. In Maryland sauerkraut is traditional with any turkey dinner. Silver Floss in a jar cooked slowly with ham hocks and apples ..... yum!

    Summer thanked dandyrandylou
  • Related Discussions

    Yay or nay? living room decor

    Q

    Comments (8)
    So pretty! I think a white marble topped rectangular cocktail table would be great (make it 3/4 the length of your sofa for good proportion). And a light wood simple media unit for the tv. Make sure it’s wider than the tv. Get a vintage piece if you can find one- it will have nice character and make your place look well put together. Hopefully you some room for an end table or 2 to put by the chairs and sofa. Then matching lamps for them. Multiple points of lights are needed in a living room.
    ...See More

    Wallpaper, yay or nay?

    Q

    Comments (18)
    Love the paper, but I'm going with a "nay". It is in a small hallway with no lighting over the credenza. Looking at photo #2 with the brick fireplace and the dark chairs, all with in eye shot of the niche, I'm just not feeling it. I would paint all the walls in the niche the same lovely color as your cabinets. Thinking hang art, a canvas, not a print, that gives a nod to brown and brick, the butcher block, and not quite so green...more like the soft blue/green of the cabinets. Install a LED battery picture light.
    ...See More

    Rug-Yay or Nay for sunroom

    Q

    Comments (2)
    Why gray? I see golds and brown and cream colors in the furnishings, though they’re hard to see. Shift gears to lighter warm creamy colors , maybe a bit of soft green mixed in. Them that would look good with somd green houseplants added.
    ...See More

    chronology - buy what you love THEN find a place for it - yay or nay?

    Q

    Comments (11)
    @lomo Thank you. Hmmmm. They do fit my design plan - as I have French pieces. (Leather club chairs, console table, others) - just no place for them to fit - as in have a perfect spot for them now. The spot I did have (dreamt) for them is where I now have a large nice bookcase I also love. They are SO beautiful though I could use them as art in different places (one in foyer, one in dining room corner etc) just wondering if they would lose their impact not grouped together or not wise to spend the money on them.
    ...See More
  • caflowerluver
    7 years ago

    DH loves it, especially German made. I never made homemade. I prefer pickled red cabbage, rotkohl or rotkraut.

    Summer thanked caflowerluver
  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    7 years ago

    I'm a little indifferent to it, will eat it but don't search it out ;0) My FIL made it often. I have his wooden kraut cutter board, someone else in the family has his crocks. My brother in law brings a dish to family dinners that isn't one I look forward to, kraut, tomato, sausage baked to the point of overcooked and losing all its texture. I like a little crisp to my kraut ;0)

    Summer thanked morz8 - Washington Coast
  • colleenoz
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Love it! Even taught DH to like it as well :-)

    Also love kim chee, which is a kind of Korean sauerkraut, which is fermented with a LOT of chilli :-D

    Summer thanked colleenoz
  • Babs Fla
    7 years ago

    Haven't had one in years but I would take wonder bread and put a nice smear of softened butter on both side and then layer heated sauerkraut on top. Slap it together and enjoy....now there's a memory.....

    Summer thanked Babs Fla
  • Adella Bedella
    7 years ago

    Never had homemade, but I love the canned stuff with the little seeds. I eat it with hotdogs or Bratwurst. We recently discovered our little dog loves it too which we found quite hilarious.

    Summer thanked Adella Bedella
  • DawnInCal
    7 years ago

    Cold, yes. Hot, no.

    I like the sauerkraut sold in jars from the refrigerator section of the store better than the canned. It seems like it's not quite as processed. There's a man at the farmer's market who sells homemade sauerkraut and I think I will buy a jar from him this summer.


    Summer thanked DawnInCal
  • Yayagal
    7 years ago

    Love it

    Summer thanked Yayagal
  • angelaid_gw
    7 years ago

    Love it, straight out of the jar or on hot dogs or german sausage dogs.

    Summer thanked angelaid_gw
  • Elmer J Fudd
    7 years ago

    Yay. Love German food, we have several good German restaurants in the area that we enjoy

    Summer thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • Summer
    Original Author
    7 years ago

    The home made is actually very easy to make. It consists of finely shredded cabbage and salt (non iodized) and nothing else. Occasionally, I'll make a small jar with shredded carrots added for a side dish.

    Idstarr - When I buy it, I get the bag type as it's more like home made with no sugar or vinegar added.

    As an added bonus, I find it gives my digestion a boost when it's sluggish.

  • Summer
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Oops, some of you were posting at the same time as I was. (I'm slow)

    Dawn - You will love the farmer's market variety. It is full of probiotics and so good for you. I look for ones with no preservatives and just salt.

    My dear mom made sauerkraut in a crock, as well as, fermented pickles. Yet another food I love. Lol.

  • Rusty
    7 years ago

    I love sauerkraut! Either with or without caraway seeds. And I always read the label to make sure there is no vinegar in it, that ruins in, I think. The only homemade I've ever had was 2 batches that I made a very long time ago. My favorite way to eat it is cooked with spare ribs, a Rueben sandwich is a close second. I've also had some cold sauerkraut salads from salad bars in restaurants a few times that I loved, but never made it that way myself. I don't get to eat it very much anymore. Having to eat a low sodium diet takes a lot of good things off the menu. :^(

    Rusty

    Summer thanked Rusty
  • Summer
    Original Author
    7 years ago

    Rusty - I understand the salt restriction, very well. I use no salt at all in my cooking or on foods, I eat. Everything in moderation! Lol

  • ravencajun Zone 8b TX
    7 years ago

    It's one of the rare things I can say I definitely do not eat I greatly dislike it. My husband likes it, I don't buy it if he wants some he needs to remember to buy it. I like cabbage and I like vinegar slaw never developed a taste for that however.

    Summer thanked ravencajun Zone 8b TX
  • chisue
    7 years ago

    No love, but I should learn to love it because it's so good for the bacteria in our digestive systems.

    Summer thanked chisue
  • stacey_mb
    7 years ago

    I love sauerkraut! DM used to make it regularly. My favorite is sauerkraut perogies.

    Summer thanked stacey_mb
  • Summer
    Original Author
    7 years ago

    stacey_mb - Yes, I love the perogies. I've never seen them on a menu, but then, I rarely eat out.

  • seagrass_gw Cape Cod
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Love sauerkraut, especially in a jar from Germany with Riesling wine can't remember the brand. A group of us just ate lunch at Schmidt's Sausage Haus in German Village (Columbus, OH). I had the bratwurst platter with sauerkraut, German potato salad and a yummy, chunky homemade applesauce. Nice brown mustard on the side. Oh, and a locally brewed dark beer!

    Summer thanked seagrass_gw Cape Cod
  • gadgets
    7 years ago

    Rusty, I like to eat low sodium but I also like sauerkraut. What I do is put it in a colander and keep running cold water over it before I cook it. I don't know how much salt I'm getting rid of but it's enough for me to be able to eat it.

    Summer thanked gadgets
  • stacey_mb
    7 years ago

    Summer - in my experience, homemade perogies are much tastier than those served in restaurants!

    Summer thanked stacey_mb
  • wildchild2x2
    7 years ago

    Yes but the deli style in the pouch is so much better than most canned or jarred. I like to saute it with a little brown sugar and sausage or even hot dogs.

    Really good baked with spareribs too. I have always added a bit of brown sugar. It's what I grew up eating. I do prefer it plain when used as a hot dog topping.

    Summer thanked wildchild2x2
  • golfergrrl
    7 years ago

    Nay, nay, nay, double nay. Yuck

    Summer thanked golfergrrl
  • pekemom
    7 years ago

    Only on a hot dog, and only if I'm in the mood for it, which isn't too often. I have a jar of store bought that lasts a long time.

    Summer thanked pekemom
  • artemis_ma
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Yay, especially home made or as close to that as possible. I like it for the health bennies, and I do like it with pork. I have eaten it in perogies once; I'd be happy to do that again.

    I never add sugar to it. That would bother me.

    Summer thanked artemis_ma
  • jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I love sauerkraut! I eat a big pile of homemade almost every day for lunch with a small salad, sourdough bread I make, meat, and cheese! My family calls me crazy because it smells like sewage- I joke that's it's our German roots haha.

    Summer thanked jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
  • Summer
    Original Author
    7 years ago

    jacoblockcuff - I've never heard it described that way before. But, yes fermented cabbage isn't the greatest smell.

  • anoriginal
    7 years ago

    Kielbasa and sauerkraut. Pork and Sauerkraut... a New Years Day requirement. I'm not crazy about it totally plain. Like it with some sort of meat as a flavoring.

    Summer thanked anoriginal
  • matthias_lang
    7 years ago

    Don't exactly love it, but it is a kitchen essential for us. We make our own in an ancient glass coffee jar that holds about 1.5 gallons. Adult son told me he was making some, too, and would give us a little when we came to visit. To him, "a little" meant a five gallon bucket, though it was only about 4 gallons of actual kraut.

    Try sauerkraut in soup. Try it on pizza.

    Summer thanked matthias_lang
  • marilyn_c
    7 years ago

    I haven't eaten it since I was a kid.

    Summer thanked marilyn_c
  • PKponder TX Z7B
    7 years ago

    Another lover of it here! I too like it cold from the jar, the refrigerated bag is yum too. I didn't know it was good for me too, I just love veggies.

    Summer thanked PKponder TX Z7B
  • cynic
    7 years ago

    No thanks.

    Summer thanked cynic
  • fsajewic
    7 years ago

    Love it. I like it cooked with spareribs or a pork roast with apples and onions or on rubes or hot dogs. Don't think I could do it cold.

    Summer thanked fsajewic
  • jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
    7 years ago

    Fsajewic, I've never tried it with apples and onions! I do eat apples and onions, fried, by themselves though. I'm going to have to try that. Wonder what would happen if I fried the sauerkraut with the apples and onions?

    Summer thanked jacoblockcuff (z5b/6a CNTRL Missouri
  • nicole___
    7 years ago

    Bavarian, with fennel seed. I eat it went trying to cut back on calories.

    Summer thanked nicole___
  • debo_2006
    7 years ago

    Just had some kraut tonight for dinner. Wasn't homemade, but rather, a German style per the jar from Aldi. Very delicious. Love it with pork or Kalbasi too.

    Summer thanked debo_2006
  • jemdandy
    7 years ago

    I like sauerkraut with bratwurst in a big bun.

    My mother made sauerkraut during the summer. She had 2 recipes. The standard one required 2 weeks fermentation time; The second recipe needed only 1 week. She made it in 10 gal glazed jars. After it was finished, she set aside a few servings for immediate use and canned the remainder. Two jugs held almost 20 gallons of kraut. We had plenty of kraut for the rest of the year. It was served with many meat dishes. The following year, she would make only 10 gal of kraut.

    Summer thanked jemdandy
  • Michael
    7 years ago

    Had a few sauerkraut dumplings for lunch today. Paula's Pierogi truck.

    Summer thanked Michael
  • donna_loomis
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Being of German descent I grew up on saurkraut. Mom often made sauerkraut and knoephla. Knoephla are small dense dumplings. While the sauerkraut simmered in its own juices, she would put a pot of water on to boil with some chopped onions and a bit of salt. Then she'd make the dough for the dumplings - equal amount of water and eggs and a bit of salt. Enough flour to make a very soft dough. When the water boiled, she'd take a tablespoon and dip it in the water, then scoop a small amount of dough and dip the spoon into the water again, which helped release the dumplings into the water. When all the dumplings floated, she drained them. Then she'd drain the sauerkraut and mix them together, adding some butter. Browned a few bread cubes in butter and toss those on top. I was in heaven. I still make it occasionally and my husband loves them as well.

    Summer thanked donna_loomis
  • Summer
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Donna - We sometimes had soup ..... chicken, beef, or turkey with those dumplings added at the end. They taste so good in home made soup broth.

  • Annegriet
    7 years ago

    Yay! Love it.

    Summer thanked Annegriet
  • Marilyn Sue McClintock
    7 years ago

    Yes, I like it not often but at times with hot dogs or smoked sausage.

    Sue

    Summer thanked Marilyn Sue McClintock
  • rob333 (zone 7b)
    7 years ago

    Once a year. Oktoberfest with my bratwurst on a bun.

    Summer thanked rob333 (zone 7b)
  • bengardening
    7 years ago

    I love it. When I was growing up and my DD and his brother would make sausage every fall is one of our favorite memories. They would get out a special table that was only used for butchering. Then they made sure all of the knives were very sharp. The they went out and killed the hogs and hung them up with the tractor and loader to clean them out and scrape the hair off. I cannot remember if they waited until the next day after they were cooled to start cutting them up or if they did it the same day. They would bring a half a hog in at a time and cut most of it off the bone and make the other cuts of meat like roasts and hams and bacon. The rest of it was made into sausage. They would grind it all up and then start mixing it with garlic and all of the other spices. They mixed it by hand and after it was mixed good they would fry a patty to see if it was seasoned right and if it wasn't they kept adding more stuff and fried some until they thought it was right. While they were doing this my mom and sometimes some of us girls helped her clean the intestines for the casing to put the sausage in. The had a hand cranked stuffer to make the sausages. When they were all done with it they took all of the meat down to the smoke house and hung it all in there. It was hung on hooks with baler twine and a fire built under it with wood to smoke it. I don't know how long it took to smoke it. A couple of days or a week I think. Then my mother would have to clean everything up and boil the fat to make lard. She also took the backbone of the pig and put in in brine make with TenderQuik and garlic and some other things. It stayed in there for a few days or a week and then she boiled them and we had mashed potatoes and sauerkraut with it. That was one of our favorite meals growing up.

    They made the best sausage. There was blood sausage, liver sausage, head cheese, and regular German Sausage. Of course after it was done smoking it would have to be wrapped and frozen or canned in jars. A woman' work was very hard and never done,

    My dads father would come down sometimes to watch. He never helped anymore but I am sure he is the one who taught them how to do it. All he was worried about by then was that they got done so they could play cards.

    I don't know how many hogs they butchered each fall, but when I think about it, it had to be a lot, for enough for 2 families of 12 and some for my grandparents yet.

    I remember my DM must have asked dad one time why we never had pork chops. He said if we had pork chops we couldn't have the backbone cured meat. We all said we wanted the backbone instead. In German it is called, Lich Massel. I don't know how to spell it. Maybe Moni could help me with that if she know what I am talking about

    Summer thanked bengardening
  • Jasdip
    7 years ago

    Yum! I love it cooked brown and topped on top of a sausage. Lots of sauerkraut and onions. Hubby always hated sauerkraut until he tasted mine. The way he's had it was just heated through, and not browned. Big difference.

    Summer thanked Jasdip
  • User
    7 years ago

    Oh heck yes! One of my favorite ways to eat it is in a cheese, kraut and egg casserole.

    I adore the stuff, plus, it's good for your gut!

    Summer thanked User
  • Summer
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Mimipadv - That's sounds different. I've never had it with egg. Yes, I find it good for my gut, too. Lol

  • User
    7 years ago

    summer, I make a "kitchen sink" egg casserole on weekends, using up what's in the fridge and making it into a dish that can really be for any meal.

    We love it for breakfast.

    One weekend, I had leftover kielbasa and sauerkraut and I threw that in, along with swiss cheese. It's by far our favorite version!


    Summer thanked User