Whats Really Going on in Our Sauerkraut ?

Daisy Janes
LEAP Academy
Published in
3 min readJan 31, 2017

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Fermented food was originally created to store food for long periods of time, usually over winter when people had fresh food shortages. According to my research fermenting cabbage actually originates from china and made its way over to Germany through the silk road, where it turned into the traditional staple food called sauerkraut. It is said that it was common for builders of the great wall of china to eat it. Many sailors on long voyages ate sauerkraut, including Captain Cook’s crew because it was known to prevent scurvy. Fermented cabbage is packed with vitamin C and B, giving sailors the vitamins that are hard to get on long trips.

We decided to make sauerkraut and other fermented foods during our LEAP program for a few different reasons, but I joined this group project because I was curious about the process of making the stuff and the science behind what’s really happening when we ferment food. I am also very curious about the health benefits of fermentation. So how does fermenting kraut work ? Well it’s really not a very complicated process. Basic sauerkraut is just cabbage and salt. The bacteria that ferment the cabbage need very little oxygen. The bacteria that makes fermenting kraut possible is called Lactobacilli which is a lactic acid producing bacteria. The first thing that happens in your jar of sauerkraut is the oxygen gets converted into carbon dioxide (aka the little bubbles rising up through the juices). As the oxygen depletes the bacteria become happier and really start working. They raise the acidity higher, and as the pH drops, the high acidity creates an unfriendly environment to any other form of bacteria making it hard for contamination to occur. The bacteria is living off the salt in the jar and the sugar naturally in the cabbage. In a tropical environment such as Bali it takes only about a week for kraut to get completely fermented, sometimes even less.

I have heard many amazing and some even questionable things about how good sauerkraut is for your health. So I decided to do some research to discover what’s really true. I found that what I was skeptical of really was proven to be true. The sauerkraut cabbage juice has cancer fighting properties. It’s because of its isothiocyanate compounds like sulforaphane. As long as you only eat the unpasteurized kraut it is full of good bacteria that will increase the healthy flora in your intestinal tract. Healthy flora means a healthy digestion and stronger immune system to fight infections. Sauerkraut is a great way to get you iron and protect yourself from getting anemia (iron deficiency). Cabbage is well known for its high fiber content, making it great for your digestion. Kraut is full of vitamin A, an important antioxidant, meaning it keeps your skin nice and healthy while diminishing wrinkles and blemishes. Sauerkraut is a pretty incredible food, and is super great for your health, it has many more healing properties than the few I’ve mentioned. But now I feel confident in my basic understanding of kraut’s nutritional and healing values.

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