When I was growing up, if you were German (and a lot of us in central Wisconsin were), you knew about cabbage, and you especially knew about sauerkraut. If you didn’t like sauerkraut, you got over it, for if you were hungry, especially in the wintertime, you ate sauerkraut.
Along with her tomato seeds, Ma planted cabbage seeds on Saint Patrick’s Day. She grew two varieties, an early maturing variety and a late variety. As the seedlings sprouted and grew in a south window of our kitchen, Ma tended them as lovingly as she cared for newly hatched chicks. She set the cabbage plants out in the garden by late April to early May, as cabbage is a cool weather crop and can even survive a light frost. Ma planted them in a row stretching from one end of the garden to the other and then hoed the little plants regularly, replacing the occasional one that died or succumbed to a hungry rabbit.
By the beginning of September, the early cabbage was ready to harvest, the green heads as large as an adult’s head, plump and firm. Ma made coleslaw and sometimes prepared boiled cabbage from this early variety.
In October the late cabbage was ready, big, leafy, heavy heads that we chopped off with a big butcher knife, tossed into bushel baskets, and carried to the kitchen where our homemade sauerkraut manufactory had been set up. Making sauerkraut was a family project, with Pa working at the cabbage slicer—he said it was too dangerous for us kids to use; Ma tucking the shredded cabbage into the five-gallon Red Wing crock; one of the twins handing heads of cabbage to Pa and the other, following Ma’s directions, sprinkling salt on each layer of shredded cabbage in the crock; and me tamping the cabbage in the crock with a big piece of stovewood. The smell of fresh cabbage filled the room, as we five worked for a couple hours, or until we ran out of cabbage or the crock was full.
By late October we were feasting on sauerkraut at least once a week. Ma had many ways of preparing it: baked sauerkraut, fried sauerkraut, sauerkraut and pork chops, sauerkraut and ham, sauerkraut and pork hocks, sauerkraut cake, and sometimes just a bowl of plain old tart-tasting kraut fresh out of the crock.
The necessary equipment for making sauerkraut consisted of a cabbage slicer (commonly known as a finger shortener because of what could happen if it was not used properly), a five-gallon Red Wing crock, a clean wooden stick, a kitchen plate that fit snugly within the crock, a piece of cheesecloth, and a clean rock that weighed a couple pounds. Here is the process:
1.Remove the coarse outer leaves from the cabbage and discard.
2.Cut the cabbage head into halves and then into quarters.
3.Slice the cabbage into shreds as long as possible and about 1/16-inch thick.
4.Place the shredded cabbage in layers in the crock. For every 3 or 4 pounds of shredded cabbage, sprinkle all over with 2½ tablespoons of noniodized salt (coarse pickling salt is best).
5.After every two or three layers, tamp the shredded cabbage with a clean piece of wood—don’t use anything metal for tamping.
6.Continue filling the container to within 4 or 5 inches of the top. Position the cheesecloth over the cabbage, lapping it over the edge of the crock. Place the snug-fitting dinner plate on top of the cloth.
7.Put the stone on top of the plate. The salt will draw the juice out of the cabbage and make brine, which will rise to the top. Mold may appear on the top of the brine; remove it daily.
8.Store the fermenting kraut in a well-ventilated place with a temperature of 60 to 65 degrees.
9.In three to five days, remove the cover and look at the sauerkraut. Some spoilage may occur on the top inch or so. Remove it. Rinse clean the cloth covering before replacing it.
The kraut should be ready for eating in four to six weeks. It will keep indefinitely in the crock as long as the top is not exposed to air. The kraut can be removed from the crock and canned, as my mother did, or frozen.
Ring Bologna and Sauerkraut Oven Stew
1 large onion, chopped
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon oil
1¾ cups diced tomatoes, undrained
1½ cups (or one 14-ounce can) sauerkraut, undrained
6 small potatoes, peeled and halved
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 pound ring bologna, sliced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a pan, sauté the onion and garlic powder in the oil until tender. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart baking dish. Add the tomatoes, sauerkraut, potatoes, and sugar. Mix gently. Bake for 30 minutes. Place ring bologna slices on top of the vegetables. Cover and bake until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.
Fried Sauerkraut and Wieners
2–3 tablespoons butter
2 cups sauerkraut, drained
Salt and pepper
4 cooked and cut up wieners or sausages
Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the drained sauerkraut. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until browned. Add the cooked wiener pieces.
1½ cups sugar
⅔ cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2½ cups flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
⅔ cup rinsed, drained, and chopped sauerkraut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 × 13-inch pan. Cream sugar and butter together in a large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to the sugar and egg mixture, alternating with the water and ending with water. Stir in the sauerkraut. Pour into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Boiled Cabbage
Remove outer leaves of 1 medium-sized head of fresh green cabbage and wash thoroughly. Cut the cabbage into wedges or shred cabbage and remove the inside core. In a big pot, heat 1 cup water and ½ teaspoon salt to boiling. Add the cabbage. Cover and heat again to boiling. Cook until crisp tender. Shredded cabbage will take about 5 minutes. Wedges of cabbage will take twice as long. Drain and serve.
1 medium head of cabbage
1 large onion
1 large bell pepper sprinkled with salt and pepper
¾ cup vinegar
1½ cups sugar
½ cup cooking oil
A little mustard seed and a little celery seed
Cut up cabbage, onion, and pepper and mix well. Combine vinegar, sugar, oil, and seasonings in a saucepan and heat to boiling. When the liquid boils, pour over the cabbage mixture. Mix together. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Coleslaw Dressing
1 cup hot water
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 cup sugar
½ cup salad oil
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
Dash of pepper
Pour hot water over the celery seed in a quart jar. Add all the other ingredients. Shake well. This will keep a long time in the refrigerator. Mix dressing with shredded cabbage.
1 head red or white cabbage
Salt and pepper
2–3 sour apples
2 tablespoons butter
Boiling water
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
Clean and shred the cabbage. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Slice or grate the apples and add to the cabbage. Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the cabbage and apples. Pour some boiling water over them and cook until tender.
When the cabbage and apples are tender, sprinkle them with the flour. Add brown sugar and vinegar and mix together. Cook a little longer and then serve hot.