In the late 18th century, scurvy was killing around 50 percent of British mariners on long-haul journeys – more than shipwrecks, battles and all other diseases combined. Between 1500 and 1800, the illness had claimed roughly two million sailors’ lives. On the disastrous 1740 expedition around Cape Horn led by Commodore George Anson, of the 1,854 men who departed, only 188 returned. The vast majority had died from scurvy.
By the mid-18th century, the Royal Navy was desperate for a remedy. They noticed that, contrary to their struggles, the Dutch were losing hardly any men to the illness. The saving quality of lemons and limes had only recently been discovered (hence the insult “limey” for the British), but it was still difficult to safely store vast quantities of fresh fruit on long journeys. Boiled lemon juice was tested, but proved insufficient (and indeed the process cuts lemons’ Vitamin C content almost in half). But the Dutch seemed to have found a food even more effective for combating scurvy, one which lasted a circumnavigation of the globe: sauerkraut.
By 1768, when Captain James Cook set sail on his first trip around the world, every Dutch ship on similarly long journeys was loaded with it. Cook had noticed this, and he did the same. When his ship, the HMS Endeavour, left harbor, she carried four tons of sauerkraut in her hold. During Cook’s three-year journey, not one member of his crew died of scurvy.
In many cultures around the world, sauerkraut is believed to have mythic powers. There is certainly something alchemical about a food comprised of only a few simple ingredients – cabbage, salt and maybe a few spices – which goes into a jar and, weeks, months or even years later, emerges more nutritious than when it went in. The Romani believe it brings good luck, and many Germans eat it on New Year’s Day hoping for as much fortune as there are pieces of cabbage in the jar. Kimchi, the Korean version of pickled cabbage, is traditionally placed in jars called onggi and buried, where it can last up to five years.
Pickled cabbage in one form or another has been made in East Asia for at least 2,000 years. It is thought that laborers on the Great Wall of China ate cabbage fermented in rice vinegar during the winter when fresh vegetables were scarce. The Romans mention it as far back as the second century bc; in his De Agri Cultura, Cato the Elder described the process of salting sliced cabbage to preserve it.
The Mongol army brought it with them when they conquered what is now Eastern Europe, where it remains a fixture of daily cooking to this day. During the great migrations to America, Europeans brought their recipes (and superstitions) with them. Old Appalachian folklore holds that women must never make pickled cabbage while menstruating, or else it will spoil. Perhaps related to a woman’s monthly cycle, sauerkraut must also never be made during a full moon.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which has been in continuous publication in America since 1792, still recommends planting cabbage during certain zodiac signs. The optimal time is Aries, Taurus and Gemini – the star signs associated with the upper body. According to these traditions, if the crop is planted when the star sign is in the lower body, it will also spoil.
There is some practical basis for these superstitions; like many crops, the best time to plant cabbage for sauerkraut is during the spring and early summer. The subsequent change of weather from summer to the first frost produces sugars which improve fermentation.
It is perhaps not surprising that sauerkraut carries a mystical association, even today. It seems to be sustaining many White House staffers in Trump’s administration, most notably J.D. Vance and RFK Jr. Based on the dubious guidance of health guru Dr. Sean O’Mara, the two men have adopted a strict diet of sauerkraut and red meat, and very little else. “Dr. Sean” proclaims on one of his numerous websites that his diet will “[eliminate] the internal biological drivers of aging and decline.”
Little wonder then that sauerkraut has become so popular in the corridors of the West Wing. Sauerkraut may not turn you into an “ageless leader,” as Dr. Sean claims, but its nutritious, almost magical qualities have been at work for at least the past 2,000 years.
Comments