About a month ago, while striding through the refrigerated section at Shop-Rite, I saw something new--Cleveland Krauts. One in particular caught my eye, as it billed itself as a Cleveland-style of kimchi. Kimchi, of course, is the traditional Korean fermented cabbage dish (see one of my very earliest blog posts, July 23, 2012 for more information). Anyway, I was intrigued, and picked up the kimchi approximation, and the caraway seed flavored one.
Sauerkraut is one of the older, and one of the more ubiquitous dishes in the world. Which makes a lot of sense when you think about it. In the long centuries and millennia of no refrigeration, a food that could keep for months at a time was incredibly valuable. Especially one that was nutritious. It's thought that the Chinese first made it, perhaps as long as 2500 years ago. They then introduced it to Europe, who took to it in earnest. Now pretty much every European nation has a type of it, sometimes using their own ingredients, and often with a distinctive name. But, in general, sauerkraut is made by fermenting cabbage, and occasionally adding carrots, caraway seeds, peppers, and beets, and sometimes even sweeter fruit like apples and cranberries. How it's consumed varies too--it can be eaten hot or cold, as a side dish, or in soups and stews, or stuffed into pierogis, or as a condiment, such as on hot dogs or sausages. Nutritionally it's a good source of beneficial gut bacteria, and has a decent amount of Vitamin C. Famous explorer Captain James Cook utilized sauerkraut on his long ocean voyages, since it kept for months, and prevented his crews from contracting scurvy. There are a couple of downsides to eating it, though--it is high in sodium, and it can cause flatuence.
Cleveland Kitchen started out as Cleveland Kraut, back in 2013. In, obviously, Cleveland, Ohio, in the U.S.A. The founders were brothers Drew and Mac Anderson, and their friend Luke Visnic. Their other brother Luke was also involved in some capacity as well. Like many or even most of the companies whose wares I report on, Cleveland Kitchen is very focused on being healthy and environmentally responsible. The company eschews GMOs and gluten, and their stuff is appropriate for vegans, and for those who follow the Keto, paleo, and Whole 30 diet regimens. (The latter one was new to me. Basically adherents cut out alcohol, grains, dairy, added sugars, potato chips/crisps, French fries, and most legumes. And you omit these over 30 days, hence the name.) The company website proclaims that their manufacturing process is energy efficient, and they use recyclables and renewables as much as possible. Also, Cleveland Kitchen uses locally grown ingredients. (I realize I'm immature, but it's gotten to the point that I almost like it when companies don't express a care for ecology, or imagined health benefits and such. A sick part of me wants just once to read that a business only cares about making money, and nothing else.) Alternate sauerkraut flavors include beet red, whiskey dill, curry, roasted garlic, and....kimchi. That's right--the notation on the bag I bought was a bit misleading. It said that this one (named Gnar Gnar for unexplained reasons) was their take on kimchi. But in the past couple of months Cleveland Kitchen introduced a kind called kimchi. So I guess there are two versions of this traditional Korean dish, with the newer one being "kimchi-ier," I guess. While we're on kimchi, the Cleveland Kitchen guys did try to make their version(s) of it authentic--they got their friend Heejung Gumbs, a Korean-American chef at the Korea House Restaurant (also in Cleveland), to help them craft their kimchi-style sauerkrauts.
Cleveland Kitchen, Classic Caraway kraut: Looks like regular sauerkraut, as it's yellow shredded cabbage with seeds. Its texture was more crunchy than the soft sauerkraut I'm used to. Very vinegary. Tried plain it was just okay. However, it was good on a (meatless) hamburger and bun. Those flavors mixed together nicely.
Cleveland Kitchen, Gnar Gnar, kimchi-style kraut: Was similar in appearance to the other one, only with visible green pepper chunks, and no caraway seeds, obviously. Same type of texture. Very spicy, as one would expect. Decent approximation of kimchi, I suppose. Better than the caraway kind. Once again, I had this plain, and then on a vegetarian burger. Plain it was alright, but it was quite tasty on the burger. The spice was a little overpowering plain, but mixed with the bun and burger it was toned down, in a pleasant way.
I should mention that I'm not a big fan of sauerkraut in general. Throughout my life, I've neither loved it, nor loathed it. I'd eat it when offered, but I wasn't nuts for it or anything. So, if you are really into sauerkraut, you might like the Cleveland Kitchen offerings. For example, a friend of mine from Iowa (hi Laura/Blaster), said that when growing up her siblings loved sauerkraut so much that they would sneak it from the fermenting containers in the basement as a treat, instead of scarfing down cookies or candy, like kids in my neck of the woods. But since I can take sauerkraut or leave it, I don't plan to buy this one again. And their version of kimchi wasn't terrible or anything, but not quite as good as the more authentic ones I've had. (Alas, I can't recall the brand names from the store-bought kimchi I've had over the years.)
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