Sauerkraut

[Lynn Cremona]

Hey Julian,

Historian that you are....Did you ever read the History of Salt by Mark
Kurlansky ? Besides everything you ever wanted to know about salt (not a
bad read from a homeopathic point of view either) he has a bit on
sauerkraut in the book:
"Women would slice the cabbage, scald it in hot water and place it in
barrels----sometimes in wood-lined ditches in the ground. Then men would
pound it with clubs or by stamping their feet to prevent bubbles, which
could cause rot. Women then covered the cabbage with linen and lids
weighted by heavy stones to make sure the vegetable remained completely
submerged. An annual dance marked the occasion when the year's supply of
sauerkraut had been covered. But the work was not finished. The cloth had
to be periodically cleaned, mold scraped off the lids, and water added to
keep the cabbage submerged for two weeks before it could be stored in a
cellar for the entire winter."

How boring are we, buying it in plastic bags !

PS
Any of Kurlansky books are great reads:
Salt A World History
History of Cod
1968 The Year
The Basque History of the World
and a few others I haven't gotten to

There are reviews of his stuff on line if you're interested.

Just thought I'd share a favorite writer with you !

Peace
Lynn Cremona
At 08:08 PM 5/29/2004, you wrote:
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]