I am a planner. I have Gabriela (working title only) planned through thirty stages. I’ve completed work on four and a half. Each stage is divided into six scenes, which contain a mini story arc and I then plan at least three things in each stage. It’s at this finer point that the surprises come in.
Like the Sauerkraut.
And so I found myself researching Sauerkraut.
I didn’t like it when I first tried it but then my half-Ukranian friend showed me how her mother prepared it: fry an onion and a firm apple in a little olive oil, add the Sauerkraut and some cumin seeds and serve with a hot Bratwurst. Delicious.
Gabriela is the arts-loving daughter of a very practical mother and her sister Edith is just like her mother. The three spend a morning making pickles and Sauerkraut. The two girls squabble and the family heirloom Sauerkraut crock gets broken.
My research showed me that Sauerkraut it extremely easy to make. It’s really a matter of shredding the cabbage finely, massaging in salt and keeping it in an airtight container. You can add peppercorns and caraway seeds if you wish or even a little grated carrot. You need to keep an eye of the fermentation. Occasionally it will spoil. It can be frozen once it’s reached the right stage of fermentation for your taste.
Of course Gabriela and her family wouldn’t have had a freezer; the year was 1906. They may have had a nice cool cellar. I expect though they would have eaten the Sauerkraut quite quickly. And they’d have grown the cabbages themselves.
I can see the special Sauerkraut crock in my mind’s eye. It is highly glazed blue. It wouldn’t have had a firm seal like a Kilner jar would. It would be partly sealed by using some of the outer leaves on the cabbage.
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