The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1900-09-14
MAKING sAUERKRAUT.
The Methods Employed In Germany
Are Closely Followed in
This Country.


Arecent official communication from
the United States vice consul at Magde-
burg, Germany, brought sauerkraut,
one of the specialties of the place, to
the attention of the reading public.
In this report, says the New York
Tribune, the vice consul says that eff
forts to ascertain how the sauerkraut
was manufactured were unsuccessful,
because the concerns where he asked
for information look upon their proc
ess as valuable business secret which
is their chief stock in trade, and then
he gives, as near as he could ascertain,
the process of manufacturing this pop
ular German article:
s'Take a number of heads of white
cabbage, as fresh as possible, and cut
them into fine, long shreds. Place in
layers in barrels or kegs, strewing salt
over each layer, using one-half q pound
of salt for each 25 cabbages. Press
the mass down with clean feet, wooden
shoes or heavy stamper. Place a
cover on the barrel and upon this lay
a heavy stone. This presses the sauer-
kraut more and conserves it better.
The sauerkraut must then be allowed
to ferment In cellar for from three to
eight days, according to the tempera-
ture Of the room. The barrel should
then be tightly closed and kept in a
cool place, preferably in a cellar.
Fancy grades are produced by pour
ing white wine into the barrels after
they are filed, and apples, chopped
very fine, are also sometimes mixed
with the cabbage"
A local dealer who sells large guam
titles of sauerkraut says TINT the proc
ess as described is correct, except the
bare feet part. That is an old fable
that had its origin on the minstrel
stage, where it took well.
ssThe German" said the delicatessen
man, "when he came to this country
in large numbers In the '40s, did all in
his power to make his new home like
the one he left behind. 1t was not
enough to have German churches, turn
vereins, singing societies and schools;
they had to have their lager beer and
their sauerkraut, which was dearer to
them than baked beans and hard cider
were to their neighbors. AS the Ger
man population increased the cabbage
became q better source of income for
the farmer, because nearly every Ger
man family laid in its stock of sauer-
kraut every fall. Men made it a bust
ness to do the cutting, and with their
board, in which knives were inserted,
made the rounds, preparing the cab
bage for their customers. This man
was known as Der Krauthobler.' The
article was so distinctiyely German
that in the days of know-nothingism
it was not unusual to hear the term
'Sauerkraut Dutchman' used.
"But the American became a con-
sumner of the fermented cabbage as
well as of the Germans lager beer, and
the krauthobler worked for himself
and sold his product by the quart, as
his customers wanted.it. But it wasn't
like mother used to make and to
satisfy the fastidious Germans the
homemade article was imported from
Europe, and the Magdeburg sauerkraut
became popular article in the Ameri-
can grocery business"
There are several large manufactur-
ers of the article in New York, one
of whom said: eve have the same cut
ting and pressing machinery here as
they have in Europe, but the quality
of the cabbage is not quite up to that
of the German article. When we can
get Long Island cabbage at from five
to seven dollars ton we can make
sauerkraut here to sell at Is cents a
gallon, and at that price can keep out
the German article; but when the raw
material costs more than that the Ger
man kraut gives us hard rub, al
though there is an import tax of 40
per cent. on it."
The European article is imported in
large casks and repacked here in small
barrels, and one dealer puts it up in
pound cans, which contain also few
small pieces of German sausage each.