In Russia, traditionally in the autumn-winter period, pickled cabbage was harvested. Crispy fragrant sour cabbage remains the queen of the festive and everyday table today: simple, without additives, or pickled with carrots or beets, elegant, with thinly chopped onions and sunflower oil. And how many dishes can be prepared from sauerkraut! This is cabbage soup, and Ukrainian borsch, and Polish bigos, Czech stewed sauerkraut with smoked meats, these are pies, pies, dumplings, dumplings, salads, and much, much more.
Pick your recipe
The benefits and harms of sauerkraut
Why is sour cabbage so loved by people? In addition to its excellent taste, sauerkraut has a number of useful properties, making it not only a welcome guest on the table, but also a doctor. From ancient times, sour cabbage was appreciated for its ability to strengthen the body's resistance to various viruses and colds, due to the high content of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in sauerkraut.
In addition, in large quantities in cabbage, prepared by the method of fermentation, contains vitamins of group B, including such important B6 and B9. Sauerkraut also contains rare vitamin U, which promotes the regeneration of stomach tissue, that is, it has the ability to prevent and heal stomach ulcers and 12 duodenal ulcers.
Sour cabbage also contains micro-macro elements necessary for normal human life: it is magnesium and iodine, phosphorus and zinc, iron and calcium, and others. It is a rich source of protein, while the pyridoxine (vitamin B6) contained in this product promotes the breakdown of proteins, making cabbage an easily digestible product. In combination with vitamin B9 (folic acid), pyridoxine helps to normalize blood cholesterol. And in combination with the ability of sauerkraut to improve the digestive system due to its high fiber content, cleanse blood, normalize the pancreas, and with extremely low starch and glucose content, this makes acid cabbage a product that is not only not harmful, but also indicated for everyday use by people, suffering from diabetes.
It is also useful to use sauerkraut for another endocrine disorder - obesity. The fact is that white cabbage contains oxymalonic (tartronic) acid, which is known for its ability to prevent the formation of fat deposits, blocking the breakdown of carbohydrates entering the body. But this substance, alas, cannot fight the already existing fatty deposits. In addition, oxymalonic acid is destroyed by heat treatment, so sauerkraut is better to eat raw to combat excess weight.
Despite the fact that sauerkraut is undeniably good for health, it is not recommended to consume it in large quantities for people suffering from gastritis with high acidity and stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers during periods of exacerbation, pregnant and lactating women, as well as patients undergoing surgery in the organs of the abdominal cavity, as excessive consumption of acid cabbage provokes fermentation in the intestines, flatulence, heartburn and reflux.
How to cook sauerkraut
Option 1. The easiest way to cook - thinly chopped white cabbage is placed in a glass or enamel container, laying quite tightly, pour cold water. Leave the container in a dark warm place for 3-4 days. After that, the container with cabbage can be removed to the refrigerator.
Option 2. To speed up the process of fermentation using table salt. Do it this way: thinly chop white cabbage, sprinkle with a little salt and rub it with your hands. After that, they are placed in glass or enameled dishes, poured with cold water and left in a dark warm place for 1-2 days. It should be remembered that cabbage, like many other products, is better not to add salt than to salt, since the benefits of such cabbage will be doubtful.
What to cook with sauerkraut
Polish bigos
This dish takes a long time to cook and the longer it cooks, the tastier it becomes. To prepare bigos in Polish, you will need fresh and sauerkraut in proportions to taste, dried or fresh mushrooms, fresh and smoked meat of various origin, onions, carrots and tomato paste, as well as vegetable oil or lard. First, heat oil or lard in a cauldron or stewpan, stew fresh meat cut a little in small pieces, add smoked meat chopped in small pieces, stew a little, add chopped onion and carrot, thinly chopped fresh cabbage, chopped mushrooms. You can add a little water in the process, if necessary. Stew until soft, add sour cabbage and tomato paste, salt, spices, sugar to taste, mix thoroughly, add water if necessary, cover and simmer, remove the lid from time to time and stir, adding water if necessary. Stew from 2 to 12 hours.
Dumplings with sauerkraut and mushrooms
Such dumplings are a traditional dish of the Ural cuisine. To prepare the dumplings, take a portion of the dough according to your favorite recipe, sauerkraut and mushrooms. Fry the cabbage, mix with boiled or fried mushrooms, add salt and spices to taste. Dumplings are prepared in the usual way: we sculpt and cook. You can fry raw dumplings, put in a pot, pour in a little broth and simmer in the oven.
Yeast pies with sauerkraut
Take a portion of yeast dough according to your favorite recipe, sauerkraut, can be cut in half with fresh cabbage, if desired, tomato paste, carrots, mushrooms. While the dough is suitable, we extinguish fresh cabbage until soft (if desired, with carrots and chopped mushrooms grated on a coarse grater), add the pickled, optionally tomato paste and simmer until tender. We divide the dough into two parts, one of which is slightly larger than the other. We roll out most of the dough into a layer, put it into a mold, fill on top, cover with the second part of the dough rolled into a layer, pinch the edges with a pigtail. Or we make pies. Bake at a temperature of 200 degrees for about half an hour.
Ukrainian borsch with sour cabbage
To prepare this dish we take sauerkraut in half with fresh, beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, boiled beans, salted lard, tomato paste, vegetable oil and garlic. In a cauldron, we heat the oil, put onion and carrots, chopped into strips, fresh cabbage, diced potatoes, stew until half ready. Separately, cook or bake beets in a peel. Add sauerkraut to the cauldron and simmer until soft, adding a little water if necessary. Add the beans, fill the prepared foods with hot water, bring to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes. Peel the beets, rub on a coarse grater, add tomato paste, salt, spices, sugar to taste. Add this mixture to boiling vegetable soup. Immediately add mashed fat with garlic and remove from heat. Let the borscht be infused for about 10 minutes, but you can’t cover with a lid while the dish is hot, as the borscht will certainly lose color.