Most likely, it’s because you had the fermented stuff. Recipe here, for example. It’s a much more mellow (and slightly fruity or something) acidity. Plus, I like how a lot of their kraut has juniper berries in it. Goes very nice, indeed, with pork or game meats.
One of my favorite soups is a Polish soup called “kapuśniak,” which is made with sauerkraut (preferably the fermented kind), sometimes mixed with regular cabbage, some potatoes, and smoked meats (sausage and/or ribs and/or bacon). So good.
My Go-to Brand is Snowfloss (or Frank’s) Sauerkraut. I think it is made traditionally- nothing but Cabbage, Water, and Salt (maybe some modern chemical salts as a minimum preserve. and I wish it didn’t have that.). As a matter of fact, they grow a lot of the cabbages for that right near me.
I didn’t realize acetobacter was involved in the kraut making process (and other books I’ve consulted don’t seem to mention it at all–just lactobaccilus and pedioccocus as the primary microbes.)
Then that’s good, because sauerkraut has no vinegar in it. You may not like the lactic acid from the fermentation, though.
Cabbage with vinegar is something different, sometimes called pickled cabbage. (Rotkohl is a common German preparation made with red cabbage and vinegar).
I love the stuff. I get it from my dad, who makes his own when he can get enough cheap cabbage. Most store-bought brands aren’t nearly sour enough for me, but some German brands are tolerable when mixed into a recipe.
On edit: That article is the first mention I’ve ever heard of acetic acid being significant in sauerkraut. I’m wondering how accurate it is.
It depends on the brand. Vlasic, for instance, has vinegar.
ETA: Yeah, I’m wondering about the accuracy of the acetic acid, too, but, for all I know, they may purposely introduce acetobacter into their fermentation, but, as far as I know, it’s not usually desired in naturally fermented sauerkraut.
Love it. either in a sort of soup with patato and some kind of meat, which is called Jota. Or with mashed potatoes, peaces of bacon and Indonesian Sambal, this all accompanied by smoked sausage (rookworst in dutch), this we would call a stampot.
I was born and raised in Germany and lived there all my life, so sauerkraut (with either eisbein or kassler) was a staple of my mother’s cooking. Always hated the stuff. Just being remembered of its taste by this thread nearly makes me feel like throwing up. Disgusting.
But I generally loathe the combination of sour and savory, e. g. I’ve always hated sauerbraten as well.
Proper sauerkraut (or " zuurkool" in Dutch) has no vinegar added. It’s just fermented wite cabbage with a bit of salt that developed a bit of lactic acid in the fermenting process, giving it a mild fresh sour taste.
Anyway, I often make a dish with sauerkraut that is bot vegetarian, refined, and keeps well.
Boil potatoes. away from the fire, and mash them up with milk, butter, a packet of boiled sauerkraut, a teensy bit of mustard. And, here’s the secret: lots of tarragon. A very distinctive tasting herb.
With the resulting mixture, cover half a wide flat over dish. Then cover the mixture with either slices of dried and soaked apricot, or banana (one or the other, not both), and slices of brie or camembert cheese. Or any mild cheese. Dust very very lightly with a bit of cinnamon. Cover up with the rest of the sauerkraut mix and cover with a sprinkling of cheese, breadcrumbs and a bit of butter, so as to make a nice crust in the oven.
[slight hijack] Don’t want to derail the thread, but please allow me one question: Is the combination of fruits with spicy food a special Dutch thing? I find apricots or bananas in combination with sauerkraut and cheese at least, say, adventurous. But I remember my then girlfriend ordering a pizza with fruit toppings (oranges, strawberries, bananas) in a restaurant in Noord-Holland many moons ago, and I was startled by this combination then. [/slight hijack]
I have German on both sides of the family but not a lot of sauerkraut was eaten at the table during my growing-up years.
Today from time to time I fix slow-baked smoked sausages on a bed of sauerkraut. I don’t like the overly-vinegary taste either, altho I love the vegetable, and always rinse the sauerkraut before adding it to the baking dish.
The sausages help mitigate it further, but i’d like to find a way to kill it off more even before it bakes. I’m intrigued about the buttery flavor you mentioned. Any idea how he created the taste?
My favorite way is to have it fried with some oil, chopped onions and garlic in pan. Add in a bayleaf, some pepper flakes and black pepper and it’s heaven.
Also, like some have mentioned, it has no vinegar in it. Doesn’t matter if some “brands” have vinegar in it - sauerkraut is not made with vinegar.
I’m 1/4 German and 3/4 Slovak and I’m the shame of my family since I loathe saurkraut. Like others upthread, I can’t even stand the smell.
Turns out that saurkraut is a big thing amongst my friends (really? we’re 30 and saurkraut is a “big thing”??) and I miss out on saurkraut week every year when the one girl’s grandpa makes it at home or something.
When my roommate moved in (technically a tennant) he put this huge jar of kraut in the cuppboard and he said he loved kraut so much and I said sorry dude, no making of kraut here unless I’m not going to be home for 2 days. Seriously.
