How to eat and keep sauerkraut
Quick answer: sauerkraut is shredded cabbage fermented with salt for about 3 weeks, which makes it sour and crunchy. Eat it cold, straight from the jar, as a side: a forkful or two with nyama choma, eggs, githeri or rice and beans, or in a chapati roll. Once opened, keep the jar in the fridge with the cabbage under its juice and use a clean fork. It keeps for months.
Sauerkraut is new to many Kenyan kitchens. Think of it as a sour, crunchy relish, a bit like kachumbari, except that it keeps for months.
What sauerkraut is
Ours is just cabbage and salt. We shred the cabbage, mix it with salt and pack it tight. The salt draws out the cabbage's own juice, and the bacteria that live naturally on cabbage turn its sugars into lactic acid. That's what makes it sour, and what keeps it. It takes about 3 weeks. There's no vinegar, sugar or preservative in it.
Ours is raw: it's never heated or pasteurised, so it keeps fermenting slowly in the jar. That's why it can fizz a little when you open it. Sauerkraut sold in tins or on a warm shelf has usually been heated, so it no longer changes.
How to eat it
- Cold, as a side. A forkful or two (about 2 tablespoons) next to your food is plenty.
- With nyama choma, grilled chicken or fish. The sourness cuts the richness, the way kachumbari does.
- In a chapati roll with eggs, or with a smokie, in place of kachumbari.
- With githeri, rice and beans or ugali and sukuma wiki.
- On sandwiches and burgers, or mixed into a salad with avocado.
- Add it at the end, off the heat. Cooking softens it and stops the fermenting. The flavour is still good, but it won't be crunchy or raw any more.
New to sour food? Start with a little. If it's too sharp or salty for you, rinse a portion in clean water before eating: it tastes milder.
How to keep it
- Unopened: somewhere cool and out of the sun, or in the fridge. Check the best-before date on the label.
- Once opened: always in the fridge, with the lid closed.
- Use a clean, dry fork or spoon every time, never fingers.
- Press the cabbage down so it stays under its juice.
- Kept this way, an opened jar lasts for months. It slowly gets more sour, which is normal.
What's normal, and when to throw it away
Normal:
- A fizz or hiss when you open the jar, or juice pushing up. Open it slowly, over the sink.
- Cloudy juice, and a little white sediment at the bottom.
- A sharp, sour smell.
- The juice level dropping a little as the cabbage settles.
Throw it away if:
- there's fuzzy mould on top, in any colour;
- the cabbage has gone slimy, or pink or brown all through;
- it smells rotten or like yeast instead of sour.
When in doubt, throw it out. If it's one of our jars, send us a photo on WhatsApp so we can check the batch.
What we don't claim
Sauerkraut is food, not medicine. You'll read a lot online about fermented food and health. We don't make health claims about our sauerkraut, and nobody can tell at home what is living in a jar. What we can tell you is what's in it (cabbage and salt), that it's never heated, and how to keep it.
Common questions
Does sauerkraut need to be refrigerated?
Once opened, yes: keep it in the fridge with the cabbage under its juice. Unopened, a cool, dark place is fine until the date on the label.
How long does sauerkraut last once opened?
Months in the fridge, as long as you use a clean fork and keep the cabbage under its juice. It slowly gets more sour.
Why does my sauerkraut fizz?
Because it's raw: it's still fermenting slowly, which makes a little gas. Open the jar slowly, over the sink.
Is sauerkraut the same as kachumbari or pickled cabbage?
No. Kachumbari is fresh and eaten the same day. Pickled cabbage is soaked in vinegar. Sauerkraut is fermented with only salt, which is why it keeps.