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Alsace
The discreet shadow of choucroute — a salt-fermented white turnip, as ancient as choucroute itself but now almost forgotten, which a few artisans and a younger generation are striving to save.
Fermented vegetable from Alsace.
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Süri Rüewe is one of the oldest fermented foods in Alsace. Its first written description appears in the "Kreuterbuch" (Book of Plants) by Hieronymus Bock, published in 1539 — the same year as the earliest known mention of choucroute, proof that the two fermentations are contemporary in Alsatian history rather than one preceding the other.
Almost every Alsatian cookery book published since the 16th century mentions the recipe for salted turnips, bearing witness to an unbroken tradition deeply rooted in the region's peasant cuisine. The product is also known in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where it nonetheless remains relatively rare — nowhere has it developed the deep cultural roots it possesses in Alsace.
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A casualty of food industrialisation and the widespread adoption of choucroute as the benchmark fermented vegetable, Süri Rüewe gradually vanished from Alsatian tables over the course of the 20th century. At its lowest point, only three producers remained to keep its production alive.
Since the early 2020s, a young generation of producers and processors has spearheaded a genuine revival of the product. The France 3 Alsace report dedicated to Gilles Jaeg, a very young 22-year-old farmer taking over production in Geispolsheim from Constant and Cathy Speisser, sparked keen media interest — a sign that the Alsatians' attachment to this product had never truly disappeared.
Süri Rüewe is processed in the same workshops as choucroute — in Krautergersheim, Geispolsheim and Chavannes-sur-l'Étang (in the Sundgau) — but the white turnips that supply them come from other terroirs. Plobsheim, where the water table lies close to the surface in sandy soils, has cultivated turnips for generations; in the Sundgau, Gommersdorf is renowned for the 'Stupfelrüewe', a globe-shaped white turnip with a purple top. The family farm in Bindernheim also supplies one of the three processors with turnips destined for salting.
Today, Süri Rüewe is served in certain Alsatian winstubs and restaurants, notably as a winter daily special. France Bleu Elsass regularly devotes culinary programmes to it, joined by the processors themselves. The Fruits et Légumes d'Alsace (IFLA) page, 'Navet salé, un délicieux légume sauvé de l'oubli !', actively promotes it.
Anecdote: in Alsatian families who perpetuate the tradition, it is said that children used to eat Süri Rüewe raw, straight from the silo by hand — an image that has become emblematic of promotional campaigns for the product.
Appearance
Long, fine, regular white strips, shredded with a "peigne" (a traditional grating tool). Pure white to ivory in colour, slightly translucent after fermentation.
Aroma
Mild and tangy, less pronounced than choucroute. Fresh and slightly sulphurous notes, remarkably gentle.
Taste
More delicate and refined than choucroute, slightly tangy and salty. Subtle turnip flavour in the background. Less acidic, less powerful, "milder" than its cabbage cousin.
Texture
Firm and crunchy when raw — holds its shape better during cooking than choucroute. Never turns mushy.
in buckets or pouches, to cook yourself — the traditional form, sold directly by the choucrouteries
pre-cooked with spices, sold in jars or vacuum packs
for long-term storage out of season
an unusual culinary variation — the Hepp craft distillery (Val-de-Moder, Bas-Rhin) offers a recipe for simmered Süri Rüewe enhanced with a dash of its own AWA whisky, aged in ex-Riesling casks, rather than a drink made from the vegetable itself
of the white turnips in October, delivered fresh to the choucrouterie within days of picking.
the turnips are stored under cover until processing.
the skin is completely removed; the turnip must be pristine white.
, sealed from the air — the product is kept submerged in its own brine.
in buckets, jars or vacuum pouches.
Yield: 1,000 kg of raw turnips yields around 350 kg of finished Süri Rüewe — fermentation causes the turnips to lose nearly two-thirds of their weight in water.
Total annual production in Alsace: estimated, depending on the source, at between 300 and 350 tonnes, shared among the 3 active processors.
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Süri Rüewe is cooked like choucroute, but with a slightly shorter cooking time — around an hour and a half, compared to a longer cooking time for choucroute. It is flavoured with an onion studded with cloves, bay leaves, coriander seeds and juniper berries. It is traditionally accompanied by palette fumée, knacks or saucisses de Strasbourg, all braised with Riesling.
For lovers of contemporary cuisine, it lends itself well to a seafood version (with smoked haddock and king scallops) or served as a raw salad with a light mustard vinaigrette.
Home recipe (jar method, Alsatian family tradition): For a 1-litre jar: 1 kg of peeled turnips finely shredded into thin strips, 20 g of additive-free coarse sea salt. Mix together, pack tightly into the jar to draw up the juices, seal with a rubber gasket. Leave for 5 to 7 days at room temperature, then store at around 14°C. Ready to cook after 1 month — keeps for a very long time.
Süri Rüewe does not hold any official quality label (PDO (AOP), AOC, PGI (IGP), TSG (STG), Label Rouge or organic): neither the page dedicated to it by the Interprofession Fruits & Légumes d'Alsace nor the reports devoted to it mention any recognition process under way or completed.
Family-run
Artisan
Artisan
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