Loveland - You put what in my dessert?! : from Alaska, the best sauerkraut and cabbage recipes in the world

People have asked, Why a sauerkraut cookbook?

There is no short answer.

I was born in Palmer, Alaska (the Matanuska Valley) where summer sun shines endlessly, and cabbages grow to 100 pounds. In an annual contest, the winner of the largest cabbage wins $2000.00. It could be said that I have a history with cabbage.

When I was eight, my family moved to Cantwell, Alaska. The temperatures there were colder, the soil poorer, and the chance of growing anything other than flowers was pretty slim. We learned how to survive on the homestead. A homesteader improvised with what they had, or could find since stores were not just down the road. Thats where cabbage came in. It stored well, and if fresh wasnt on hand, a person could make sauerkraut or buy canned. Things were purchased in case lots, so cans of vegetables were the norm for villagers of Alaska.

Cabbage has been heralded as a cancer inhibitor in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, is loaded with vitamin C, only has 11 calories per service, and goes in anything. It can be fried, boiled, baked, frozen, canned, or dried and then ground in a food mill and used to thicken soup. Making it into sauerkraut is an added bonus because it is ready to use, as you will see in my dessert section.

I cant be all wrong about the greatness of cabbage since sauerkraut got its start over 2000 years ago when the laborers building the Great Wall of China pickled cabbage in wine to supplement their diet. Genghis Khan came along and liked it so much he took it back to fortify his Tartars as they plundered their way through Europe. The Germans liked the pickled cabbage and named it sauerkraut, meaning sour cabbage. Captain Cook knew of its importance when he carried sauerkraut on his ships to ward off scurvy.

Sauerkraut is a mainstay in our household. I keep rinsed, drained, chopped (in a food chopper or snipped with scissors) sauerkraut in the refrigerator. It is as important to me as sourdough starter is to an Alaskan homesteader.

After judging a World Federation of Competitive Eaters cabbage eating contest in Palmer a few years ago, I decided this cookbook needed to be written. I felt so sorry for those contestants eating plates of plain, boiled cabbage by the pound. I wish I could have spiced it up for them with a little caraway seed, dill, mint, mustard seed, savory, or tarragon.

Soups and Salads