I was born and raised in Maryland, as was my mother and her parents. I don’t recall whether we’ve had sauerkraut at Thanksgiving before, since I despise the stuff.
However, this year she cooked up some sauerkraut and ate it with her turkey, explaining to our out-of-state guests that this was a “Maryland thing”. They had apparently encountered other Marylanders who did the same and weren’t fazed in the least, but I was floored. Any other Marylanders/people who know Marylanders heard of this before? My mom’s from Bawlmer, if that helps.
My family’s from the Midwest originally, but we moved to Baltimore when I was five. We never had sauerkraut with Thanksgiving, but it was always just my family for dinner, unless one set of grandparents came to town. We never knew about the whole “sauerkraut with turkey” thing they have going on here.
When my sister was in high school, she brought her Baltimore-born-and-bred boyfriend (now husband) to Thanksgiving dinner, and he looked at all the food on the table, and asked, “Where’s the sauerkraut?” He was shocked that we had stuffing, potatoes, corn and cranberries, but no sauerkraut!
It’s a staple now for family Thanksgivings, but I never eat the stuff. I just don’t like it.
I grew up outside of Baltimore, and we never had sauerkraut at our Thanksgiving, that I remember. But my parents weren’t native Baltimorons, so maybe they just never picked it up.
I’m from the D.C. suburbs of Maryland, and I can assure you that I had no idea about this ‘tradition’. Definitely sounds like a Baltimore or a Pennsylvania/Maryland Dutch kind of thing.
My family settled in Glen Burnie in the late '70s, and we never had sauerkraut at Thanksgiving. Maybe because both parents were from north Jersey, and many Thanksgivings were spent up there? I don’t remember hearing about sauerkraut and turkey from any of my Maryland native friends, either.
I don’t like sauerkraut, so if it is a Bawlmer thing I’m glad it passed us by.
My family has nine generations in Montgomery County, Maryland. I was having a little conversation with my aunt this week via email. I was telling her about the Thanksgiving celebration I was putting on for my friends here in Australia and I told her what the menu was going to be. She was shocked that I wasn’t having sauerkraut; she said all Marylanders would have sauerkraut at their Thanksgiving dinner and “what would your father think”? (All this was very jokey and, in fact, my dad’s from Pittsburgh) I never knew sauerkraut was a Maryland thing - I thought it was just my family thing.
Anyway, I hate sauerkraut, to the point that I couldn’t even have it sitting near me on the table all those Thanksgivings growing up - the smell makes me queasy. So, this is one Marylander who isn’t going to carry on that tradition. I did make shrimp for everyone and liberally used my Old Bay that I had shipped over here, so I don’t feel too bad.
We live in Baltimore (Dundalk, actually) and I’ve heard of it quite often. My in-laws don’t do it, though - he’s from Texas and she’s from Massachusetts. Lots of other things that are odd to me, but no sauerkraut - which is fine with me.
I vaguely recall having sauerkraut at some big family dinners when my grandparents were alive. It may have been Thanksgiving or Christmas or both. I’m pretty sure it was my paternal grandparents because I don’t think we ever had it again on a holiday after they passed. My grandfather was German/Scottish from Pennsylvania, my grandmother was 100% Italian whose parents had immigrated so I’m pretty sure the sauerkraut wasn’t her idea. She made very few Italian dishes because Grandpa wasn’t very fond of them but she adapted to “American” cooking pretty well. I inherited her recipe box and there is a recipe for making your own sauerkraut which involved a lot of cabbage and stomping it. I don’t think I’ll be trying that recipe.
My maternal grandfather was also Pennsylvania German but he died before I was born. Grandma was 100% Boston Irish and couldn’t cook at all so I don’t think it came from that side.
I am one of those weirdos who likes sauerkraut. I will even eat cold leftovers right out of the fridge or right out of the can. I had sauerkraut for Thanksgiving this year because I had made kielbasa and sauerkraut the night before and I worked all Thanksgiving day so I couldn’t go to any T-giving dinners, so I had the leftovers.
Wow, very interesting. My mom’s mother was from Western MD and had family in Pennsylvania, so maybe that’s where the connection comes in. I’ll have to ask my mom which one of her parents insisted on it. My grandfather was still alive when I was a kid and I don’t recall having it at the dinners he attended, so maybe it comes from my grandmother.
Could be. Pennsylvania Dutch are big with the 'kraut. I’ve lived in Maryland my whole life, and I eat sauerkraut - but I’ve never had it with turkey. *blech
I can’t think of anyone else I know who serves it at Thanksgiving either.
My one grandmother was PA Dutch, and I don’t remember her serving it with turkey. She served it with everything else though so I could be mis-remembering.
I don’t like the stuff much, myself (I’ll eat a tiny bit if it’s on the table), but my mother used to like to tell about when she was young (maybe in her teens) and living in Baltimore; her mom would send her to Lexington Market to buy fresh sauerkraut; the vendor would wrap paper into a cone, then pile it high with sauerkraut. My mother would head home, on her rollerskates, eating 'kraut out of the cone all along the way. A cone that had started out heaped high at the beginning of her journey would be level by the time she got it home.
Another sauerkraut incident: when my oldest daughter was about two, my oldest sister gave her a taste of 'kraut. My daughter’s reaction? “Ewww. I don’t like those 'skettis” (She associated it with spaghetti because it was in strings, I imagine).
I grew up in the DC area (Bowie), and we never had sauerkraut with turkey. Our Thanksgiving dinners were always cooked by my grandmother, who was from Nebraska.
