Kraut Konundrum....

[Shell]

*I know how to spell 'conundrum'....but it wouldn't be as fun a title!*

Ok, onto the question.....I searched, but couldn't find a specific answer...
Is all sauerkraut considered raw? I know that anything in a jar that doesn't specify raw should be considered cooked, but kraut is fermented, so technically that's not cooked. At least I think that fermenting is the only way to make sauerkraut.....can anyone give me a definite answer? I know I can make my own, but laziness is making me ask this question first, and then I'll make it if I HAVE to......Thanks!!

[SuBu]

A clerk at Whole Foods told me that Bubbie's was raw but I don't know if I can trust that.

[Lavendula]

If it is raw it would not be on the shelf, but in the fridge/ cold deli section. Sealed in a jar on the regular shelf it would have to be heat processed, no matter that it was raw to start. Because it is raw, fermented, not cooked like the contents of a jar of applesuace or beans are before the jar is processed, for shelf life. You can get the raw/ refrigerated kraut in the Whole Foods vegetarian/ vegan deli section. Rejuvenate foods, I think, I just finished a jar, but washed the label off, the are several varieties. It is pretty spendy though @ $9.00 a jar. I think I will risk my husband moving out, and try making my own. I was just waiting for cooler weather, for the fruit flies to leave.

[Shell]

Thanks! It's funny you mentioned Bubbie's, SuBu....that's the brand I was looking at. It IS sold in the refrigerated section of my HFS, so maybe I'll give it a go.....oh, and I had already bought a head of cabbage, so ended up making a one step kraut......ok it wasn't thaaat hard....but harder than going to the store and picking up a jar! Thanks again!

[Lavendula]

Please share the experience, I have my fears and doubts. I have bought 2 jars now and can't keep paying that price. I started mine tonight. I used cabbage, a daikon, a rutabaga, and a gold beet. My mother always talked about her first time, and she thought it was sploiled because it was working, and her mother thought it was funny. I wish she was alive, to give me her experience. She was raised on a farm, and they did and made their own everything, I really miss her stories of growing up, and her simple ways. She would be excited about me making it.

[RawKev]

I'm not sure if kraut and other fermented foods are ever labeled as raw if they are unpasteurized but make sure it says unpasteurized on the label otherwise it may have gone through a heating process.

[tiggerbounce]

Not sure what the labeling standards are, but I would want to know what type of salt they use. My body wages all out war when I have table salt instead of natural sea salt.

My grandma makes both raw and cooked kraut so it definitely can be either. And she adds a bit of sugar to hers. All sorts of variations out there. I made purple kraut w/the purple cabbage once.....very good stuff. And pretty!