The History of Sauerkraut!

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Sauerkraut factory                                                                                                                          Final Product

                                                                                             Mixed Cabbages  

Sauerkraut is the German word for "sour cabbage", because of this, sauerkraut is thought of as a German invention although some believe that it was really invented by the Chinese over 2,000 years ago. Sauerkraut was a regular everyday meal for the men building The Great Wall of China. Supposedly 1,000 years later after Gengis Kahn raided China, the sauerkraut recipe was brought to Europe. Sauerkraut was not even mentioned in American English until 1776. Also, around the time of 1776 Sauerkraut became very famous in Pennsylvania, during the time of William Penn. Sauerkraut became an everyday, very common meal. Even before sauerkraut was mentioned in American English it was very popular to the Dutch. The Dutch were said to be "sea-fearing" traders but whenthey did trade by sea they brought sauerkraut on their ships for meals because it did not require refrigeration and it helped to prevent scurvy among the sailors. Along with preventing scruvy sauerkraut is an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin B. So how do leuconostoc mesenteroides have anything to do with sauerkraut? To answer this question the process of making sauerkraut must first be explained. Salt is placed between layers of finely shredded cabbage; usually this is done in a large crock or wooden tub. At temperatures of 60 degrees fahrenheit or below the sauerkraut is placed under a great amount for pressure which bruises the cabbage and squeezes out all of the juices leaving it to ferment for up to a month. Leuconostoc mesenteroides bacteria is what makes the process of fermentation achievable. The leuconostoc mesenteroides are what gives the sauerkraut its sour taste because of the bacteria's lactic acids that are released during the fermentation. Making sauerkraut is a very interesting, long, and historical process that could not be made possible without leuconostoc mesenteroides.