Let me make this absolutely clear:
Only German plebs eat sauerkraut straight out of the jar. It's an ingredient, like seeded mustard.
If you have "tried" sauerkraut before and you didn't like it, it's probably because you tried eating it straight out of the jar/tin. Don't do that - it will never taste good that way.
You need to a) mix it with other stuff, and b) cook it.
For example, if you want something quick and easy you can fry some onion and apple and mix in the tinned sauerkraut - maybe top it off with some caraway seads or something. It's a great accompaniment to sausages.
Or, as the main meal, you could try stewing it with ham, bacon hocks, pearl barley, extra (fresh) cabbage and some white wine vinegar. Add in a couple of bay leaves and some peppercorns during the cooking (to be removed before eating) and it tastes fabulous. Serve with boiled potatoes and buttered black rye bread.
Or head online and find some other recipe that takes your fancy. Just, please, for taste's sake, don't eat it straight from the jar.
My mother-in-law lives on a farm in northern BC (Canada) and has a real garden -- and she makes her own real garlic dill pickles. They taste nothing like the rubbery commercial product I bring home from the supermarket here in the big city. Sometimes I'll have one straight out of the jar. Mm-m-m-m-m. I guess I am a pickle plebe.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually have sauerkraut straight from the jar. Yes, it is an ingredient. Or the basis for a wonderful side dish. But I think, sometimes, with the right sauerkraut, it could be a delight sampling it straight out of the jar.
Pickles straight from the jar is another matter. Pickled cucumbers are a law unto themselves and are best enjoyed as they are.
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