Neighbor News
10 Reasons to Make and Eat your own Sauerkraut
Don't forget to think about adding gut health options in with New Year health goals.
- Sauerkraut is considered a super food because of its high concentration of vitamins, minerals, and probiotics.
- Sauerkraut has high levels of Vitamin C, in fact it was fed to sea voyagers in the 18th century to prevent scurvy.
- Sauerkraut helps your body’s natural collagen production. It’s also loaded with vitamin K2 which assists calcium and other minerals to bind into the bone matrix to strengthen bones.
- It supports your immune system because of it’s antioxidant properties, being high in lutein and zeaxanthin.
- During fermentation, billions of beneficial bacteria are produced. These help control digestion, heal leaky gut, weight regulation, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol.
- Sauerkraut is made chopping cabbage and adding salt then leaving it to ferment at room temperature. Lacto-fermentation is an anaerobic respiration that natural occurs when the natural yeast and sugar from the cabbage break down, converting sugars into lactic acid. This is where the tang comes from, and also it’s natural preservative that gives sauerkraut its long fridge life.
- Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable belonging to the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Close cousins to it include kale, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower.
- 1 cup of shredded Cabbage verses 1/2 cup Sauerkraut: Fiber 1.8g/4.1g; Iron .3mg/2.1mg; Calcium 28mg/44mg; Potassium 119mg/241mg
- You don’t need much! Start by adding a forkful to your diet daily, and work up to about 1/2 cup per day, ideally spread out with each meal. Add it to eggs, salads, with hummus, or just grab a forkful before starting your meal.
- Why should you make your own? As with many things in the grocery store (yogurt, eggs, milk, etc.) nearly all store bought sauerkraut is pasteurized. The process of heating the kraut completely destroys all live probiotics and digestive enzymes.
Interested in learning to make this delicious superfood? The Barn and Pantry in Dixon offers classes often in sauerkraut making, or make your own using their recipe.