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Found out my great grandma's sauerkraut recipe called for a whole cup of sugar
I was digging through a box of old family papers in my parents' attic over the weekend and found a handwritten recipe card from my great grandma. It was for her 'famous' sauerkraut. I've been making my own kraut for about a year now, just cabbage and salt, so I was shocked to see her list called for a full cup of white sugar. I mean, a whole cup! I found it stuffed in a cookbook from 1973. I guess back then they liked it sweet, but that seems wild for a ferment. I tried a tiny batch her way just to see, and it bubbled over like crazy after two days. My kitchen counter was a sticky mess. Has anyone else found an old family ferment recipe that breaks all the modern rules?
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nancy_davis4mo ago
Oh wow, @finley_bennett28 isn't wrong! My aunt used to put sugar in her chili.
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jenny5806mo ago
Just picture your great grandma in her kitchen, absolutely waging war on the natural sour taste. A whole cup of sugar is basically making sweet cabbage soup that happens to fizz. My grandma's pickles called for a full box of brown sugar, and they came out so syrupy you could pour them on pancakes. I guess the old rule was if a food could possibly be sweet, you should definitely make it sweet, even if it's supposed to be a salty fermented thing.
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