Fermented vegetables

Fermented vegetables are produced by natural lacto-fermentation: the vegetable, grated or thinly sliced and salted, ferments under the action of naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria. The cabbage works away in the vat under the action of salt and shielded from the air: anaerobic fermentation gives it its slightly acidic taste and digestibility. Nor is this acidity fixed — mild at the start of the harvest, it asserts itself as the season progresses. Choucroute (fermented cabbage) and Süri Rüewe (fermented turnip) are the two great Alsatian representatives of this tradition.