The Unveiling

Today is gloomy and foggy, as we await the few inches of wet snow that’s predicted later on.  But this afternoon brought some excitement to my little kitchen, when I lifted the lid off of my brown ceramic crock.  And there it was–Liberty Cabbage!   If you guessed sauerkraut, you’d be right.  The Boleslawiec crock (Poland) was this year’s Christmas gift that my husband and I bought for each other, after doing a little bit of research and finding one for sale on eBay, since it is no longer available elsewhere.  

Three weeks ago, Christmas Day, I was eager to use this lovely, new (to me) crock and make some sauerkraut.  The recipe told me how much salt was needed and how to use the stones to weigh down the cabbage once it was processed and inside the crock.  The neat thing about this pretty piece of pottery is its water seal around the opening–the small trough just needed to be filled before the lid was placed on it.  Water needed to be added about once a week, to make up for evaporation and maintain the seal.  Very clever, whoever came up with that idea!  

I’ve anticipated today for the last week (actually the last three weeks!) and fought the urge to peek into the crock while the fermentation was taking place.  Some recipes I read online said that you can peek and even taste the kraut to see if it’s done fermenting, or done enough to your taste.  But I held out and that made today’s unveiling all the more special.  I’m pleased with the first small trial batch, although I think a few more weeks of fermentation might be better.  I’ll probably start the next batch TOMORROW!  

I like that it’s called Liberty Cabbage–a term from the WWI era.  In a book I recently read which was set in that time, they used the term liberty cabbage instead of sauerkraut because anything German was suspect, especially German immigrants themselves.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of anti-German prejudice and even hatred back then.  To show their patriotism, people scrubbed any references to German in the language and replaced it with “liberty.”  Even German measles were called “Liberty measles”!

I think about the contentious society we live in right now–the left’s censorship and cancel culture, the attempt to make patriotic people look like domestic terrorists, the frightening loss of liberties coming with this new socialist administration. Because of this, I like calling my sauerkraut Liberty Cabbage.  For me, it’s not about disrespecting the Germans (their culture or their food).  I suppose it’s my personal protest and a way to affirm my love of God-given liberty.  Americans are liberty loving people, for the most part.  We treasure our freedoms and should rise up against anyone who will take them. I will continue to speak up for liberty.  I will continue to support President Trump’s successful, righteous MAGA policies.  And, of course, I will continue to make and eat my Liberty Cabbage!  

Yummy sauerkraut recipe here! (hint: double the amount of liberty cabbage–2 bags!)