Choucroute

[SaligoBay]

Would this be on your list of Top 20 fave foods?

Bought a pack the other day, it was okay, but not wildly exciting.  It still surprises me that French people eat those plasticky Francfort sossages.

Out shopping this morning, saw a restaurant advertising its plat du jour - choucroute royal for 11 euros.   I think I'll just eat at home. 

[opas]

Cabbage ! I love it, but choucrout is a different kettle of fish to me. It is on offer at the moment in Champion for a silly price,about 30 cents a killo I think. I think perhaps its the `dressing` that ruins it for me , I usually add balsamic to my cabbage mmm yummy, bought two white cabbage in Lidl for 50 c each,and both weigh more than 2.5 killo, so we will be on homemade coleslaw,cabbage gratin and roast diner with  yup you guessed it cabbage, may even try to stuff some leaves.

[letrangere]

Disgusting stuff but did you know there's a choucroute appreciation society and even a lobby board for it in France?  I can understand why it needs the latter, though no amount of lobbying would ever convince me to eat it.  SB's right, it is the vinegar dressing that kills it. 

Cabbage should be stir fried very, very briefly in butter and garlic and drizzled with a soupcon of fresh lemon juice before serving.  It should always be served al dente.

Once read an article about choucroute in a French text book, will see if I can find it for it had some incredible statistics for just how much is consumed.  

M

[Alexis]

I hate choucroute.  Hate lentils too.  Cassoulet?  Bleugh!  I used to buy the tins for OH to heat up when I went swanning off.  After extensive and expensive tuition in the noble art of cooking, he is now able to put a ready meal in the microwave.  Enfin!

I love cabbage though and a couple of times in the winter I will do sausages and cabbage.  Not that keen on sausage or I would do it more!  Difficult?  Moi?

He has just got to master the washing machine and I am home and dry

[Mistral]

I don't like cabbage, so I cook myself potatoes and eat them with the sausages. A friend in Belfort has "choucroute nouvelle" Apparently it has seasons. It's greener and fresher at first and then it gets stronger and more cabbagy. So it all depends on when in the year you buy it. I think this is only something you find in the east of France. it's always the same here. The other thing that surprised me there is that you can buy it uncooked and then you prepare it yourself (most choucroute has been preprepared) In fact the way my friend cooked it actually made it edible. (even pleasant)

Maybe the popularity is linked to the fact that the French see it as a convivial dish. It's best cooked in big quantities and that way you can buy a big range of sausages.