Sauerkraut or Pickled Cabbage

Sorry, sauerkraut or pickled cabbage? What's the difference in your opinion? (Sincere question: I've always thought they were the same thing.)

In my experience, making sauerkraut is pretty easy: shred a load of cabbage, mix with salt, leave in a cool place.  There's variations on this of course (see: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=sauerkraut+recipe) but that's basically it. Easy.

your question was so outside the usual expat threads that I did some googling, and did find this interesting thread on keeping your kraut cool

http://www.wildfermentation.com/forum/v … t=3195&f=5


I hope you report back if you do this because now I'm curious!

@ pgl I think they are the same thing, but sauerkraut is specifically a German word while pickled cabbage is more general.

I would agree, making it is easy, but does it keep in the Maltese climate?

I've always kept mine in the fridge. I don't think it would be a great idea to keep it anywhere warm...

@ ECS Thanks for the link. Your search was more fruitful than mine. I will shred, crush, salt and add carraway seeds this morning and then leave to ferment. At this time of year, I don't think keeping the temperature down is too much of a problem as my kitchen is still quite cool during the day.

The posts on your link which help me to identify when it has gone bad are particularly useful.

I will report on my success or failure in about two weeks.

@pgl: Thanks. The fridge would be the sensible option but I am too mean to turn it on. I presume in the days before fridges and electricity, sauerkraut was kept in a cellar or other cool room.

That brings me back to my original question.

Ah, OK, fair enough.

GPLW wrote:

@pgl: Thanks. The fridge would be the sensible option but I am too mean to turn it on.

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