Sauerkraut: health benefits, proven recipes and secrets of crunch

This product is familiar to everyone since childhood, but few people think that behind its usual taste there is a centuries-old history and serious health benefits. It is believed that the method of fermenting vegetables was invented in ancient China, then it was mastered by Europeans. Moreover, until the middle of the XIX century, the technology remained the only one for harvesting cabbage and other vegetables for the winter. To this day, it is relevant in connection with the familiar, beloved taste and obvious benefits for the body. What's the special value? We deal with the hygienist of the Minsk Regional Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health Ekaterina GUZOVA.

- This is a low-calorie useful product with a rich vitamin composition, said Ekaterina Guzova. During sourdough, bacteria turn sugar into lactic acid, while the rest of the substances are not destroyed, and the nutritional value increases. This is the rare case where cooking is even more beneficial. Useful qualities have properly fermented cabbage - straw color, with a sour taste and smell. Bad smell, darkened or with an unpleasant taste, the product indicates that it is spoiled and can not be used.

The chemical composition includes vitamins A, E, K, PP, U, as well as groups B.

One of the main useful properties is the content of a high dose of vitamin C, in connection with which it saved sailors and soldiers from scurvy on long expeditions. Sauerkraut is rich in micro and macro elements (potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, copper, selenium, sulfur, fluoride, zinc, iodine), organic acids. In addition, probiotics contain beneficial bacteria, no less than in kefir or yogurt.

Having such a rich composition, sauerkraut helps prevent vitamin deficiency and generally strengthens the immune system, which is especially important in the autumn-winter period, Ekaterina Guzova emphasized: - Fiber and probiotics stimulate the intestines, improve digestion and help recover after taking antibiotics. Lactic acid in the composition improves the absorption of lactose, iron and other nutrients. Potassium and sodium help maintain normal blood pressure. Thanks to vitamins A and E, as well as iodine and nicotinic acid, sauerkraut improves the condition of the skin and hair. Due to the high fiber content and low calorie content, it helps to reduce weight. Include this dish in your diet, especially in the autumn-winter period, and be healthy! How do you make it taste good? Fermentation is not so much about an exact recipe, but about understanding several principles: the right variety, the right salt and the ability to stop fermentation in time. We share proven recipes from classics to the Belarusian version with cranberries and cumin, as well as quick ways if you do not want to wait a week.

The classic version is the same taste to which we are used: crispy, sour, with carrots. The main rule is to use rock salt, not iodized, otherwise the product will become soft. To prepare, take 2 kg of cabbage, 300 g of carrots, 40 g of salt and a teaspoon of sugar if desired. Finely insert cabbage, rub the carrots on a large grater, mix with salt and sugar and remember well with your hands for 7-10 minutes until the juice is released. Tightly hammer into a jar or enameled pan, put pressure on top and leave at room temperature for 3-5 days. It is important twice a day to pierce the contents with a wooden stick to the bottom so that the gas comes out: without this it will be bitter. When the foaming subsides and the taste becomes pleasantly sour, remove it in the cold - in the refrigerator or on the balcony.

The Belarusian version with cumin and cranberries differs from the Russian in two details: cumin gives a warm “grandfather” aroma, and cranberries contain benzoic acid, which works as a natural preservative and helps the workpiece stand all winter. For 3 kg of the main product, take 200 g of carrots, 60 g of rock salt, a teaspoon of cumin, 100 g of cranberries, 3 - 4 bay leaves and 10 peas of black pepper. Cast the cabbage, rub the carrots, remember with salt until the juice appears, add cumin, pepper, laurel and cranberries. Carefully mix, trying not to crush the berries, otherwise the contents will become sour. Place in a jar, tamping so that the juice coats the contents, put pressure and leave for 3-4 days at room temperature, piercing twice a day. Then remove in the cold, full readiness will come in 7-10 days.

If you do not want to keep cans in the apartment and monitor the foam, there is a method of “cold start”: cabbage is poured with cold brine and immediately removed in a cool place, fermentation is slow, but the result is stable, and the vegetable remains crispy for a long time. A three-liter jar needs about 3 kg of cabbage, 1 - 2 carrots, a liter of water, two tablespoons of salt and a tablespoon of sugar. Dissolve salt and sugar in cold water, put cabbage with carrots in a jar, pouring brine as you fill, cover with a capron cover and leave for a day at room temperature to start fermentation. Then clean in a cool place (basement, balcony or refrigerator) for 3-4 days. Delicious will be ready when the bubbles stop appearing.

For a soft, sweetish taste, apples are a good option: they give a delicate sourness and aroma. For a kilogram of the main product, take two sour-sweet apples, 100 g of cranberries, a tablespoon of salt, a teaspoon of sugar and a slice of rye bread to speed up fermentation. Nash, remember with salt and sugar, put rye bread at the bottom of the can, lay cabbage, apple slices and cranberries in layers. Put the pressure on and leave for 3 to 4 days at room temperature, piercing daily and then stored in the refrigerator.

KSTATI

Beneficial bacteria from sauerkraut not only improve digestion, but also, according to some reports, reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, improve the absorption of iron and calcium, and also produce B and K2 vitamins that keep calcium in the bones.

In the Middle Ages, it was used as a cure for hangovers and headaches. Back in the XII century, the German healer Hildegard Bingenskaya claimed that sauerkraut treats ulcers, inflammation, gout and headaches. It was also believed to strengthen the intestines.

The secret of crunch is not in the variety, but in the juice. Many believe that the crunch requires only a dense head. But experts in the processing of fruits and vegetables warn: if the head is strong, and the inner leaves are thin and dry, the cabbage will turn out bitter and hard - there is too little juice for normal fermentation. Ideal is the one whose leaves on the cut are white-cream, juicy and sweet to taste.

For fermentation, a red-boiled and Savoy vegetable is suitable - the main thing is that the leaves are heavy and dense. But the early varieties are categorically not suitable: they are loose and poor in sugar, so they are poorly fermented.

NOTE

The variety matters: take the late varieties with dense white heads, the early vegetable is loose and poorly soured. Salt is only stone. Gas is the enemy of crunch: if you do not release carbon dioxide, the product will acquire a bitter taste and slipperiness. Oppression is mandatory: the contents should be completely covered with brine, and if your juice is not enough, add salted water at the rate of 20 g of salt per liter.