Years ago my landlady told me this story.

The  gas  guy came to read the meter in her basement. He was there a long time and when he finally came upstairs, he told her she had a gas leak but he couldn't find it and they would have to leave the house.

Ho ho. She said was it her saurkraut he was smelling? It was in the tub of an old washing machine to be made and fermented.

I love it. It is the ony way to eat weiners, yum.

In spite of growing up in Kitchener where it's a standard topping/side with sausages and having a German neighbour who made her own, I never got into the stuff. Obviously, homemade by someone who knows how to do it properly is going to be the best, but I can't really go any further since I'm hardly an expert.

Mendalla

I love it! I love it on hotdogs, sausage... I love it in a Rueben sandwich. MMMMM

Sauerkraut is just a light, central European pickle: it's delicious with meats that are sweet/sour like pork (which can be ghastly tasteless) and special meals like Sauerbratten —a fabulous way of preparing roasting beef. 

It's vitamins rich, helps digestion and is just a way to store cabbage through the winter. I prefer it to reguklar cabbage which I find has a flat, taste-suppressing flavour (and smells up a kitchen in a far less pleasing way than sauerkraut). It works with bacon, apples, nuts, potatoes… a great quick, cheap winter meal is mashed poratoes, Frankfurters or other mild sausage (weiners are fine) and sauerkraut. Beer's a perfect accompaniment.

There's very little to making it and it's cheap… and if you cover the crock there's no smell at all to speak of. Don't let the phobic few put you off!

ah Mike, my mouth is watering

I grew up in Kitchener too ... and I say BLECH!  But that's just me!  I think it's more the smell than the taste that affects me.  Lots of folks love it.  

One place we lived, the property owners were an elderly Eastern European couple.  The man, Les, made his own sauerkraut in a big crock of brine in the garage.  We discovered this one day when he offered my husband some - said "Just bring down a bowl to the garage"  We were puzzled - had only seen sauerkraut from a jar in the supermarket. So then he lifted the top off this huge crock, plunged his hand in & came up with a big mound of sauerkraut!! Plopped it into the bowl & was very proud!!   It was actually delicious, I must admit!  

My favourite way to eat it is in pyrizhky (got the spelling using google, it doesn't look right so the word may be off).  Yum!  Perogies are a close second.  I've never actually made it, and I think most of my relatives just bought it.

I do know people who can't eat it because of digestive issues.

Like other fermented foods, bacteria strains are involved, so there are potential health benefits related to these, as well as the compounds they produce.  The issue with it like most natural products is there is no consistency with what you're getting from each batch.

If I had your health issues, personally I would wait before trying to introduce it.  Reintroducing foods you're used to takes time, no need to throw this into the mix so soon.

I agree chemgal . . . it isn't something I'm going to add for a long time (until I am totally healed) - I was just curious about it - something I will try down the road.

I am interested in how to make it when the time comes.

Sauerkraut (like youghurt) is supposed to be very good for establishing/restoring healthy gut flora (bacteria).

Check around for details, but it's just layered, salted shredded cabbage, stored in a sealable crock. I think a good-sized and shaped crock matters: too small and it doesn't work well — I've never been able to afford on "too big" — but  check it out. 

Value Village sometimes has just the thing!

I use it as a side dish or vegetable - an easy way to add that fifth vegetable to the daily total.  Side dish for pork chops, sausage, weiners (great on hot dogs), baked beans.  I buy it in bottles as the local grocery store.   When my son , home from Korea, introduced me to kim chi, the nearest thing I could think to compare it to was sauerkraut.   Both good!

Saurkraut chocolate cake is wonderful. Recipes all over the 'net. You would never guess it's in there, but I guess it kind of defeats the health benefits.

I'm with Mike on this one. We make saurkraut every year. It's not hard, once you get the hang of it.

Actually the whole fermented vegetalble thing, whether saurkraut, or fermented pickles or Kim-Chi is really easy. I recommend "

Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition and Craft of Live-Culture Foods" http://www.amazon.ca/Wild-Fermentation-Flavor-Nutrition-Live-Culture/dp/...

But essentially if you remember 1-2  teaspoons of salt per cup of vegetables, keep the solids under the brine, and skim it occasionally, that's all you need.

Thanks witch . . . someday I'm going to give it a try!

seeler or witch - what is kim chi made out of?