SAUERKRAUT. Cabbage sliced thin and packed closely in barrels, with salt, and some times spices, is called sauerkraut (sour krout). It was formerly one of the specifies against scurvy in long sea voyages, but modern improvement has given better agents, and it is now but little used. It is still, however, regarded with favor as an article of diet in many parts of the coun try, and is prepared as follows. In October, or before severe frosts, the cabbage is to be cut from the stumps, the outside and loose leaves cut off and the heads quartered and thrown into a tub of clear water, from which they should be taken, one piece or more at a time, and placed in a small box, open at top and bottom, and run ning in the grooves of the krout machine, which is about four feet long, one foot wide, and six inches deep. The box runs over three or four knives, sometimes made of old scythes, fixed diagonally across the bottom of the machine. The edges of the knive,s are slightly raised above the level of the bottom, and when the box is moved _backward and forward in the grooves, -and pressure made with a small piece of board cn the cabbage, the latter is cut into thin, small -slices, which drop into the tub beneath the -cutter. As the cabbage is cut, it is transferred to a clean barrel (a pork barrel is preferable) and pounded with a heavy wooden mallet. The more closely it is packed the better; and, with care, from 250 to 300 pounds of cabbage may be put into a barrel of forty gallons. One pint of
fine salt to the barrel is sprinkled with the cab bage as it is packed down. No addition of water is required. Fill the barrel to a point two inches from the top, cover the krout with large -cabbage leaves, and place over the whole a wooden cover small enough to be inserted within the barrel, where it must be kept firmly, by a heavy stone, until the process of fermentation is past. Place the barrel within five or six feet of the kitchen fire, and in a few days fermentation will commence, which may be hastened by the addition of a little blood-warm water; a frothy .scum will rise and run off, when the krout is all right and ready for use, and the barrel may be set in the cellar, porch, or shed. Freezing does it no injury, and it will keep in the cellar until March or April without depreciating, and longer in a cooler place. A barrel of krout can be made in two hours by two men. There are various modes of cooking it, while some prefer it raw, eating it as a salad. It is frequently boiled, three hours or more, with salt pork cut into small pieces. Perhaps the nicest style is to fry it in pork fat or with the gravy from roast pork. For frying, it should be boiled two hours to make it tender. It is a wholesome, hearty food, and is particularly appreciated by men requiring a substantial diet, while it is also relished by many of more fastidious taste.