Hans had written:
Indeed, Sourkraut essentially is thinly cut cabbage, stored in airtight
containers (originally wooden barrels) so that it undergoes a lactic
acid fermentation for its preservation, much the same as fodder is
prepared (in countries of cold climate) for cattle during winter. It is,
therefor, the only kind of silage for human nutrition (at least as I
know of).
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To this I want to add:
Nearly perfect descirption - only one necessary item was omitted: salt
is added continuously when pickling the thinly sliced cabbage, it is
necessary to keep everything strictly clean (and salt isn't added to the
silage of cattle ....
Then, by the help of the fermentation, the cabbage gets slightly to
modified sour (lactic acid), but even more important: a relative high
amount of Vit C (ascorbic acid) is preserved: 20 mg/100g. So this was
often an important source for vitamin C during the winter months, when
no fresh vegetables were available (and as far as I know, this source of
Vit C was also used on ships during the long voyages, before the healing
and prophylactic properties of lemon juice against scurvy was detected).
Sauerkraut can be cooked in various ways, not necessarily this means the
'heavy, fatty food' - indeed, it's often used for 'slimming diets' as
100 g only have an energy of 70kJ (17kcal), but only when used raw.
In the rubrics where we have agg. from Sauerkraut we find:
- diarrhea: Bry, Petr
- stomach disordered: Bry
- Generalities: 14 remedies, Bry and Petr in 3rd grade (in the TPB: Bry,
Petr, Puls in the 4th grade).
Just for the info. My old English-German-English dictionary from the
1830s gives the following translation:
"Sauerkraut: salted or pickled cabbage; sour-croute"
Best,
Gaby
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Gaby Rottler
Germany
rottler@curantur.de
http://www.curantur.de
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