Perhaps it was the humble cabbage, as much as anything else, that made survival possible in the early local farms and settlements. Cabbage in the form of sauerkraut was one of the few vegetables that could be preserved for winter. Sauerkraut contains a good deal of vitamin C, but it’s questionable how much remained after it was boiled. In any case, it’s safe to say sauerkraut was made in most every Dutch home in the late fall and eaten over the winter, not because they had any inkling about a balanced diet, but because they liked the taste.
According to local food historian Nancy Roan, the conversion of cabbage heads to sauerkraut takes a bit of doing. She notes that the cabbages were first shredded with a “kraut hobbel” or cabbage plane. This cutter was a board with blades fastened in the middle and a box that held the cabbage head as it was slid back and forth over the blades and sliced to fine shreds.
Next, the shredded cabbage was placed in a layer about four inches deep in a five gallon crock, or in early times, a wooden tub or barrel. A handful of salt was sprinkled on top, and the salt and cabbage were stamped with a heavy wooden stamper. The stamping crushed the shreds somewhat, and the salt drew out the liquid from them. Another four to six inch layer of shreds was added with salt and perhaps some caraway seeds, and the stamping repeated.
When the crock or barrel was full to the top, a board or plate was put on the cabbage and weighted down with a heavy stone. The cabbage was held immersed in its own liquids, and a natural fermentation process began. A liquid that some sources called “muddy and fetid” rose to the surface and needed to be skimmed off from time to time and fresh brine added.
After the fermentation was over, the sauerkraut needed to be kept cold or it would spoil. Consequently, early November was the sauerkraut making season, but not just any day would do. Lore held that making sauerkraut when the moon is in the sign of Pisces will cause it to become watery. Also, Professor Don Yoder writes in an article in the 1968 Pennsylvania Folklife, “The other time to avoid when making sauerkraut is the week in which St. Gall’s Day (Oct. 16) falls. Made at this time, it was thought, sauerkraut would become bitter. This is the primitive folk understanding of the word gall which is quite bitter, rather than focusing on St. Gall, a sixth century Irish missionary to the Continent.”
March 17, Saint Gertrude’s Day, was the traditional day to start gardening, so that was the day to sow cabbage seeds in the Grautkutsch.
A local researcher notes about the Grautkutsch: “A necessary part of growing cabbage was the box of earth about three feet off the ground used to start cabbage seedlings early in the spring. For natural warmth it was usually attached to the south side of a building or the south side of the garden fence. It was essentially an aerial cold frame with a window sash cover to retain heat. It was worked up very early in the spring on March 17 known by the Germans as Saint Gertrude’s Day.”
Developing cabbage seeds was a two year process. A cabbage head produces a seed stalk only after the second year of growth. The first year, the gardener would select a few of the largest and finest cabbage heads, pull them up by the roots in November and place them, roots up in a straw lined trench in the garden or field. A mound of leaves and earth would be piled on top, so they would spend the winter in dormancy. Come spring, the cabbages would be replanted and resume their growth cycle ending with a seed stalk bolting from the head.
Many larger farms had a “truck patch” in a field near the barn where cabbages, potatoes, sweet corn and some beans were grown. Liberally manured, the patch was plowed and cultivated with horses (later tractors) while the smaller kitchen garden was always dug by hand. The fenced kitchen garden was much too small for the sometimes hundreds of heads of cabbage needed every year by a large family.
Nancy Roan finds many cabbage related entries in an 1843 diary of Mary Markley Boyer, who grew up in this area but lived in Norristown.
“March 15: Dug our little bed today ready to sow my little cabbage,” one entry said. She was, of course, aiming for March 17. However, on March 17: “Snowed last night, drifted badly, bitter cold.” So, belatedly on March 31: “Sowed our cabbage seed.” She also notes, “November 3: Made sauerkraut and cleaned up the garden” and “November 17: Put celery and cabbage in the cellar. Saved our cabbage seed.”
Fresh cabbage was used in a variety of dishes. Of course, during the growing season heads were cut right out of the field. For winter use, sources record that in the late fall a trench could be dug in the cabbage patch and the cabbages placed therein, covered with oak leaves and earth, and so kept from freezing all winter.
When a youngster, I recall my mother pulling cabbage and celery plants up by the roots and placing them roots down in the wet earth floor of the root cellar. There they remained green and fresh for quite some time.
The Historian is produced by the New Hanover Historical Society. Call Robert Wood at 610-326-4165 with comments.
