Monday, February 28, 2005

Now I've seen just about everything! But, I haven't tasted it...yet.

I stopped at our local Coop this afternoon to pick up a few groceries, and something really unusual caught my eye while I was looking for prune juice (...it's not for me. Mrs. TBF's mom is coming to visit in a couple of weeks, and Hell hath no fury like Jo without her prune juice!). Actually, it's something I can't even begin to imagine could posess any sort of commercial potential. What is it you ask? Why it's....SAUERKRAUT JUICE. I am not kidding, I saw sauerkraut juice at the grocery store today. I picked it up, I held it in my hand, I considered buying it, and I chickened out. But fret not...I'm sure I'll be buying it soon. Now that I know it exists, it's something I just must try. And when I do - I'll be sure to let you know how it tastes. You know?? All this talk about sauerkraut reminds me of one of my famous brain-freezes from a few years ago.
Shortly after moving to Switzerland, I decided one day that I was going to make some sausages and sauerkraut for dinner. At the time, I could barely count to ten in German and going to the grocery store to look for items I had never bought before always brought on a bit of anxiety because I feared having to ask somebody where a particular item was. It would usually involve me belching out a simple question in what I thought was German but in actuality was more like a cross between Esperanto and one of those tribal African languages with the popping/clicking sounds. Plus, nine times out of ten, the store employee I'd be speaking to was probably French (most of the grocery store employees are), and they wouldn't have the slightest idea what I was saying. So, I walked around Coop for a couple of minutes trying to find sauerkraut without any success. Then, I figured I'd have to actually ask somebody where it was. When I began to rehearse the question in German in my head, I suddenly realized that I had no idea how to say sauerkraut in German. I actually looked in my little German pocket dictionary and I couldn't find it in the English section. This was unbelievable!!!! How could something so German not be in the German dictionary??? Right when I was about to give up, I simultaneously realized that Sauerkraut IS German (DUH!) and I looked up to see it on the shelf in the cooler directly in front of me at eye level. I grabbed a couple of bags, paid for my stuff, and slinked out of the store in disgrace.
So, let's fast-forward about 4½ years. Not only do I know that Sauerkraut is a German word, but I also know that Sauerkraut Saft means sauerkraut juice, it exists, and I'm probably going to be trying it for the first time in the very near future.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

TBF,

I do NOT want to be standing behind you after you consume a liter of Sauerkraut Juice!

Warmest regards,

Perry

Anonymous said...

Hello Mr. Big Finn! I will warn you and I will warn you now.. do not be afraid to just say NO to sauerkraut juice, dood, its nasty. I had some once with my husband on a wild bike trip ... yep, I live on the edge! I think there is some like.. caraway good and healing properties.. but.. my thinking is this.. hey, why not just crunch a few caraway seeds into your musli? Done! ;) Nice blog, I will bookmark you, even though you gave me sauerkraut shivers! Thimble

Thimble said...

Hello Mr. Big Finn! I will warn you and I will warn you now.. do not be afraid to just say NO to sauerkraut juice, dood, its nasty. I had some once with my husband on a wild bike trip ... yep, I live on the edge! I think there is some like.. caraway good and healing properties.. but.. my thinking is this.. hey, why not just crunch a few caraway seeds into your musli? Done! ;) Nice blog, I will bookmark you, even though you gave me sauerkraut shivers! Thimble