To call sauerkraut ubiquitous would be a gross understatement – the dish made of fermented cabbage, hailing from central and Eastern Europe has just about reached every corner of the globe. You’ll often catch it piled high atop German sausages, or taken in the same mouthful as a piece of rich pork knuckle. It’s enveloped in the unleavened dough and then boiled in water when making (Polish dumplings), and layered around salty beef pastrami in a classic New York deli-style . It seems wherever cabbage grows, fermentation of it will follow soon enough.
Sandwiches and dumplings aside, if you’re relatively unfamiliar with the rich culinary history of Eastern Europe, sauerkraut soup may have completely passed you by. Despite large-scale immigration from Europe in the years following World War II, Eastern European cuisine sadly isn’t huge in Australia – are still ducking out for or a quick more often than we are for a plate of . And then, even at well-frequented Eastern European restaurants like the Polish in Sydney’s Glebe, or Russian restaurant in Melbourne, it’s quite rare to see sauerkraut soup on the list – but most chefs will make it for you if you ask.
Even in old times when people didn’t have a lot of money, sauerkraut soup was something nearly everyone could make.
Nevertheless, for those holding on to memories of growing up, living, working or travelling in Eastern European countries like Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and Lithuania, sauerkraut soup often becomes an integral part of their experiences. It’s a dish that practically embodies a warm hug during snow-heavy winters, and (if you’re Ilya Shekin from ) it brings to mind images of relatives long-passed. “My great grandparents would pickle cabbage ahead of winter in their little village in Russia before refrigeration existed,” he says. “Sauerkraut soup is nutritious, a good source of vitamins for the long winter.” It’s versatile, easy to make, and it’s stood the test of time – sauerkraut is said to have first appeared in China during the 3rd century when workers needed the energy to build the Great Wall. Whether it appears on menus in Australia or not, Eastern Europeans are clearly on to something.
Sauerkraut soup is made by first making a stock with some kind of meat, usually pork or chicken. Next come the vegetables – celeriac, leek, carrots, fried onion and fried garlic – whatever’s lying around. Once the vegetables are soft (and only then!) in goes the sauerkraut. After the flavours have had time to develop, the soup’s ready to be served with a warm, crusty bread roll.
In Hungary, it’s called Korhelyleves, and it’s made with paprika and sour cream. If you’re German, you may look to caraway seeds to up the aniseed flavour in the soup’s profile. If you’re Polish, you’re making Kapusniak, and you’re probably adding more smoked meats to the broth. Countries in the Balkan region have their own version, too – Serbians use kupus (cabbage) to make sauerkraut and bean soup, while Croatians regularly make sauerkraut and salted pork stew. No matter where you are, sauerkraut soup is said to bring good luck for the year ahead if eaten on New Year’s Day, and, according to Jurgita Cernauskaite of Sydney’s , is an excellent hangover cure.
“Personally for me, Lithuanian sauerkraut soup is one of my favourites, though it has a specific sour taste which some people are not used to,” says Cernauskaite. “It’s been a popular dish in Lithuania for a very long time, possibly because the ingredients are easy to grow, and you can store it and use it all year round. Even in old times when people didn’t have a lot of money, sauerkraut soup was something nearly everyone could make.”
As with any dish that’s been reinterpreted across the world, there’s no hard and fast recipe. But there is one golden rule, as Barbara Szwed from in Melbourne explains. Irrespective of your country’s iteration of sauerkraut soup, one must never, ever use cabbage cured in vinegar in your sauerkraut soup. “I’m telling you, no vinegar,” says Szwed. “I’ve made this mistake before, and the taste was totally different. Vinegar is used in commercial sauerkraut production to hurry the process along – they want to hurry everything in life. But it’s not natural! No vinegar allowed!”
Soup made with store-bought sauerkraut is likely to contain fewer probiotics, too – one more reason to steer clear of the vinegar brine and ferment your own cabbage. Accredited Practising Dietician Charlene Gross the probiotics in sauerkraut can “help encourage good bacteria” when made using traditional methods.
With the current fermentation craze gripping Australia’s food scene showing no signs of waning, maybe we can expect to see sauerkraut soup on more menus in Sydney, Melbourne and beyond.
Want to make your own sauerkraut soup? First make your sauerkraut (using from Gourmet Farmer chef Matthew Evans), then try for meatball, bean and sauerkraut soup.
Lead image: Getty /
