It is quite fascinating how a community’s culture, history and traditions are so deep rooted around food. They serve as a record of how a group of people live and what their day to day life is like. Food preservation traditions also tell us so much about how communities adapt to their environment and the seasons.
Our friend Maria Dokshina shares food preservation methods from Russia and a traditional homemade sauerkraut recipe using red cabbages.
From Maria,
The traditions of Russian food preservation methods are rooted deep into the soil of vast fertile fields, dark spruce forests and overflowing lakes as far in time as the first footsteps of the Slavic tribes appeared in Eastern Europe at the VII-IX centuries (CE). But surely they were present here long before the chronicles can tell us.
As much of the northern hemisphere is beginning to get blanked in snow, harsh winters are visiting every region of the lands, especially the most northern ones. The available produce is not as abundant as in summer months, if at all. When the crops planted in spring are finally harvested in autumn, people living in have to work fast and wise to preserve enough for the winter if they want to make it through the cold months.
Food Preservation In Russia
These are some examples of food conservations/preservation practiced in Russia:
- Milling grains into the flour (to bake loaves of bread later) or preserving them (to cook porridge).
- Pressing oils from seeds (to gain these extra needed fats).
- Drying berries and leaves of raspberry and black currant bushes (to steep them later in hot water for that nourishing drink that warms both body and soul).
- Pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, beets, and onions (to accompany the main dish of potato mash that is made from potatoes and salted butter stored in a root cellar during the whole winter).
- Fermenting cabbage with garlic and carrot (to serve with warming and strong spirits).
- Drying apples, pears, apricots, and plums (to have something sweet along with black tea).
- Picking and drying wild forest mushrooms (to use in hot soups and stews).
This is how many villages still survive in rural areas, but surely big cities have gone far from this style of living. Nevertheless, people in Russia cherish their land and many people have a countryside house called “dacha” apart from a flat in the city. Usually, the land around these houses is 3 to 6 times bigger than the house itself. These properties located not too far from the city, but where nature is abundant, the air is clean from traffic and the noise of the city completely turned off. These lands usually can be bought as a piece of the village, so the traditions spread easily there as the community is usually small and tight where most people know each other.
Every spring the seed markets are filled with many passionate women and some men whose artistic culinary voice is awakened from the winter and ready for the new experiments in the soil and in the kitchen. Many printed and online magazines along with gardening books share new technics of growing even more exciting vegetables every year. When found in their gardens and on the kitchens of countryside houses Russians are the most dedicated, mindful, creative and kind people! This creativity is also sometimes fed by a feeling of competition among the neighbors – Who is making the best apple jam? The best pickled cucumbers? The most delicious samogon (the home-distilled vodka made from fermented sorghum, rye or wheat)? The list goes on and on and participants will always feel like they are the winners!
The most popular preserved foods are pickled cucumbers and sour cabbage! I share a simple and delicious recipe for the last one.
Sour cabbage (known worldwide as sauerkraut) is widespread in Eastern and Central Europe, not only in Germany. Many countries, including Russia, consider this invention as their own but no one can tell for sure who was the first to make it.
What is Sour Cabbage?
Sour cabbage or Sauerkraut is a product of lactic-acid fermentation. Lactobacillus bacteria present on fresh vegetables and fruits are employed here to create an acidic condition inside the jar thus transforming the taste and texture of cabbage. These bacteria multiply creating a beneficial probiotic for humans and also preserving the cabbage from harmful microorganisms that cannot thrive in highly acidic environments.
If made properly, in a free from bacteria environment, and put in an air-tight jar, it can be stored in a dark cool place for up to 12 months.
Red Sour Cabbage (Sauerkraut) Recipe
I share my version of sour cabbage with beets, carrot and ginger. This recipe is similar to the one that my grandparents would always have on hand during the winter, the difference is that they would always make it from white cabbage. I serve it with potato mash and mushroom gravy, the combo made in heaven. Most Russian people though, men especially, would say that this combination is nothing without vodka, but you can choose for yourself. I personally prepare a small batch of the 3L jar of red sour cabbage and treat every guest who comes for dinner with it, so in about 1 month the jar is completely gone and it is time to make a new one, just with another flavor now, maybe ginger?
Ingredients:
- 2 big or 3 medium red cabbage heads
- 1 big carrot
- 3 medium beets
- Ginger root (to taste)
- Salt (2% of the total weight of all vegetables)
- Any spices and herbs that you like
Utensils:
- Huge bowl
- Sharp knife
- Grater
- 3L jar
- Glass weights (200g)
- Something to gently press the air out from the fermenting cabbage (a potato masher, a blender stick or a glass bottle)
Method:
- Keep the environment and all utensils clean during the whole process. In terms of sterilization, I prefer using a dishwasher – put all your jars, bowls and utensils in for a hot cycle, carefully take them out and let the water completely evaporate afterward.
- Remove old and dirty leaves from the cabbage. Wash in cold water and drain well. Preserve a few fresh and clean outer leaves for topping the contents in the jar. Remove the cores and slice the cabbage thinly, using the food processor or a knife. Put the cabbage in a clean bowl, cover with salt and start massaging it with your two clean hands. Use your body weight to press. Work out the cabbage for 7-10 minutes, until the vegetable starts to release its juices.
- Shred washed and peeled beets, carrots, and ginger. Mix them into the cabbage.
- Squeeze the vegetables with your hands, let the liquid remain in the bowl and push the contents down into the 3L jar (or 3x1L jars if you prefer smaller batches) very firmly. Remove as much air as you can by pushing. Fold the outer cabbage leaf so it would cover the contents of the jar and place it inside, press, place a glass weight on top and cover the jar with the vegetable brine from the bowl leaving at least 2cm space between the liquid and the rim of the jar. Close the lid but leave a small aperture to let the carbon dioxide to escape as it will be increased inside the jar.
- Label the jar with the date. Place the jar out of the direct sunlight in a dark cool place (15°C-20°C) on a tray to catch any liquid that might come out.
- With a clean utensil press the contents of the jar every 12-24 hours to remove air pockets, clean the bubbles, close the lid and place back. Start checking the taste after 3-4 days. But be sure to only use a clean fork and don’t put it back into the jar after the fork has been in your mouth.
My personal favorite is sour cabbage fermented for 2 weeks, but you can hold it for up to 1 month. After you are happy with the result, cover the lid tightly, store it in a fridge and enjoy whenever you want.
Thanks you so much Maria for not only sharing a bit about the fermentation process but also the history and culture of food preservation in Russian society. It is fascinating to read but communities around the world adjust to the seasons from a dietary and culinary perspective. And that red sour cabbage looks so colorful and delicious -perfect for a cold, dreary winter day, right?
Maria Dokshina is a founder of the plant-based food blog Planty_ and a certified ICE chef. Apart from writing about food and a healthy lifestyle, she is studying holistic nutrition and creating inspiring wholesome recipes to serve both body and soul.
{Words and images by Maria Dokshina; Website: Planty_; Instagram: @planty_ }
