My deep, dark, secret love

[Scout26]

I hated it as a child (I mean what child didn't).

Sauerkraut.  I dreaded when my dad would make sauerkraut.


Now, I love it.

However, my love is imperfect, flawed, some would even say perverse.


Ketchup.

Yes, I eat Sauerkraut and sausage with ketchup.   

Mustard(s) are okay, but I usually skip the mustard and just squeeze on a big dlop of ketchup, get a forkful of 'kraut, stab a bit of sausage and run the whole thing through the ketchup on its way to my mouth. 


I feel so dirty..... 

[sumpnz]

A German friend of mine hated it too when he was a kid.  Now he loves it. 

I don't get it.  Just like I don't get kimchi.

[brimic]

Must be a nutritional deficiency. Saurkraut and Kimchi are very high in nutrition. You are missing something in your diet if you start to crave either.

I personally think saurkraut is ok, I know most people either love it or hate it, but I'm just sort of 'meh' about it after eating it all the time as a kid. The big aversion I have to it is the smell of it cooking, its not unpleasant, but it sets off nasty migraines for me.

[grampster]

You gotta add mashed potatoes swamped in butter.  Put the kraut on top of the potatoes, heap it on.  I'm on board with slathering the sausages in ketchup, but also add a bit of horseradish to the mix.

The best sausages are fresh kielbasa boiled in beer.

[Gowen]

I hated it as a child (I mean what child didn't).

Sauerkraut.  I dreaded when my dad would make sauerkraut.


Now, I love it.

However, my love is imperfect, flawed, some would even say perverse.


Ketchup.

Yes, I eat Sauerkraut and sausage with ketchup.   

Mustard(s) are okay, but I usually skip the mustard and just squeeze on a big dlop of ketchup, get a forkful of 'kraut, stab a bit of sausage and run the whole thing through the ketchup on its way to my mouth. 


I feel so dirty..... 

It's so darn easy to make, sea salt and cabbage.  We had to start making our own to get any with good flavor.

[TechMan]

Then you need to go to http://www.sauerkrautfestival.com/.

[Chuck Dye]

Perhaps it helps if you were introduced to sauerkraut as nearly a dessert dish:

Dice and fry a suitable quantity of bacon.  When the bacon is nearly done, add a suitable quantity of diced or slivered onions.  Drain some or all of the bacon fat.  Add a suitable quantity of sauerkraut.  As the 'kraut cooks, add brown sugar and vinegar to taste.  Remember, nothing succeeds like excess!  Caraway seeds may be added, to taste, at any point in the preparation.

Even better is Choucroute Garnie à l'Alsacienne.

[Harold Tuttle]

we found single serving kraut packs at Sams Club

would it be wrong to hand these out this Halloween?

[Gowen]

we found single serving kraut packs at Sams Club

would it be wrong to hand these out this Halloween?

Heck, we handed out taco bell sauce packets to the 20-somethings that came around trick or treating.

[MechAg94]

You gotta add mashed potatoes swamped in butter.  Put the kraut on top of the potatoes, heap it on.  I'm on board with slathering the sausages in ketchup, but also add a bit of horseradish to the mix.

The best sausages are fresh kielbasa boiled in beer.

How can you mess with perfectly good mashed potatoes with lots of butter?

[HankB]

I always liked sauerkraut. Making sauerkraut every fall was a family tradition - 3 generations would get together and shred the cabbage, mix with non-iodized salt, and put it in a large old pickle barrel to ferment, eventually to be bottled. It was always served mixed with bits of fried bacon. Mmmmm . . .  

. . . Ketchup. Yes, I eat Sauerkraut and sausage with ketchup.  

When my mother would make sauerkraut soup, I would add ketchup . . . much to her dismay.

[Thor]

Sauerkraut has to be made with juniper berries and caraway seeds. Otherwise, it's just pickled cabbage......

[seeker_two]

I didn't like sauerkraut as a kid...but, the only kraut I'd tasted at that point was canned.... 

When I tried properly made kraut (stored in glass or ceramic), I loved it and still do....

...and I occasionally have sausage with ketchup...but the proper condiment for kraut and sausage is a good German mustard... 

[Chuck Dye]

...stored in glass or ceramic...

If you are buying your sauerkraut, Clausen's is well worth the premium price.

...juniper berries...

Will a good dose of gin work?

[grampster]

How can you mess with perfectly good mashed potatoes with lots of butter?

You gotta mix in the taters, the butter, the kraut, the horseradish, the ketchup, the fresh kielbasa to make a joyful melange.

[RaspberrySurprise]

Sauerkraut has to be made with juniper berries and caraway seeds. Otherwise, it's just pickled cabbage......

The smell, and even more so the taste, of caraway seeds make me vomit. The smell just makes me feel like I'm going to retch, a strong enough taste of them actually will.

[BridgeRunner]

Weird.  I loved saurkraut as a kid, but now don't like it.  Maybe I just have to try again...

[Scout26]

Weird.  I loved saurkraut as a kid, but now don't like it.  Maybe I just have to try again...

Put some ketchup on it. 

[bedlamite]

Sourkraut is good for cooking brats in, but not much else.

[MechAg94]

You gotta mix in the taters, the butter, the kraut, the horseradish, the ketchup, the fresh kielbasa to make a joyful melange.

I think I misworded that statement I made.  All you really need for mashed potatoes or baked potatoes for that matter is lots of butter.

[bedlamite]

I think I misworded that statement I made.  All you really need for mashed potatoes or baked potatoes for that matter is lots of butter.

A little salt and pepper too, but that's it.

[Harold Tuttle]

and bacon

[Waitone]

Is there any difference in ingredients between 'Murican kraut and genuine Cherman kraut?  'Murican kraut does really weird things to my digestive processes.  No problems with Cherman (eaten while in Chermany) kraut.

[vaskidmark]

It's in the vasser.  And maybe the ingredients and the proportions, too.

There are two Korean joints in town that make kimchi I like - but about 2-3 hours later I am forced to deal with the kimchi from place B.  Place A just keeps giving me good lovin' till the next day when it's all over.

Same with kraut.  Some will let you know where they are and what they are doing to your innards, and others will just make your tummy happy.

stay safe.

[thebaldguy]

I never liked kraut or kimchee in my younger days. I started eating both in my twenties and I really like it now in my mid 40's.

I would put a pork roast with a dark lager in a crockpot with kraut and simmer all day. It's a good German meal when served with good bread.

One of my favorite winter meals is a good instant ramen noodle mix (a good brand from an asian market) with kimchee on the side.