Why Was Sauerkraut a Winter Lifeline in Medieval Germany

Comments · 76

• KA

  @katydidiy · 9 months ago

  Sauerkraut kept my great grandmother and her children alive through many winters in Nebraska (sod house) and Wisconsin 1900 to 1920. Also potatoes which both were grown in her garden. She lived to age 80, never spending even one day in a hospital.

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• OU

  @Oudeis000 · 9 months ago

  My Filipino grandfather joined the US Army in WW2 to gain citizenship. He eventually was stationed in Germany for a time and developed a love for pork ribs with sauerkraut, which was passed down to my mother’s regular meal rotation and is one of my favorite meals to this day.

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• JO

  @John-qd5of · 9 months ago

  German sauerkraut is like Korean kimchi. Kimchi was also a winter lifeline that provided some vitamin C that would otherwise be lacking.

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• LA

  @lazarusoverman · 9 months ago (edited)

  I loved this almost as much as sauerkraut. I only say that because the video won't hold off scurvy this winter as well as the kraut will.

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• SU

  @sung-ryulkim6590 · 9 months ago

  Kimchi in Korea did the same thing. Kimchi has a few more ingredients though.

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• DO

  @Doo_Doo_Patrol · 9 months ago

  funny how things get passed down. i had 8 siblings and a german american mother. she only had 1 brother, but was born in 1929 (great depression). still, she canned fruits and vegetables for winter...peaches, pears, plums, tomatoes. we had bushels of apples and baskets of cherries and strawberries, made bread, made clothing. oddly, she didn't ferment food but would buy sauerkraut from time to time. i have 2 jars of it in my fridge and had some tonight before this video. some moms are like squirrels and some are like those animals that take what other animals worked for and squirrelled away, as it were.

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• CA

  @catinthehat906 · 9 months ago

  Sauerkraut also allowed Captain Cook to go on long ocean voyages without his crews getting scurvy.

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• LE

  @letoubib21 · 9 months ago

  <i>Well, most farmers also had other cabbage and turnips in their earth pits, too. But of course, the fermented sauerkraut was especially healthy</i> <b>. . .</b>

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• SV

  @svartroskva3793 · 9 months ago

  Sauerkraut is still normally done in Eastern European households in winter. Although today it&apos;s not a problem to find fresh vegs or sauerkraut in supermarkets, it is still a thing people enjoy eating just like this, or using it for different traditional dishes. Every family has their own recipe for sauerkraut.

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• IT

  @Itsallindica · 8 months ago

  I seem to recall my grandmother telling how her family survived a winter in Saxony after WWI on virtually nothing but rutabagas.

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• TH

  @TheCynthiaRice · 8 months ago

  I am PA Dutch and we made sauerkraut in crocks when I was a kid. &nbsp;I don&apos;t make it as an adult but my local country store still makes it. &nbsp;Still a must have with pork on New Year&apos;s day.

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• JA

  @jackdelvo2702 · 9 months ago (edited)

  As I watch this there is cabbage rolls, sauerkraut, potatoes and white asparagus cooking in the kitchen. Also sauerkraut was layered in barrels with stuffed cabbage filled with ground pork and veil &nbsp;in some areas to preserve meat without smoking. This was my Grandmother’s way and was a family favorite dish at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

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