The Great Lakes Kraut Company of Shortsville, NY, issued a press release today reminding everyone of a "long-held Pennsylvania Dutch tradition" of eating sauerkraut on New Year's Day to bring good luck for the rest of the new year.

I've never heard of such "tradition", though I'm not Pennsylvania Dutch. But I do like sauerkraut though...

Eating Sauerkraut on New Year's Day is a long-held Pennsylvania Dutch tradition that's believed to bring good luck throughout the upcoming year. The traditional meal usually also includes pork to represent rooting into the New Year. "This year we're ready. We've produced more than 130,000 tons of Sauerkraut to meet the demand. And we provide Sauerkraut connoisseurs plenty of ideas for preparing Sauerkraut recipes at our web site, sauerkrautnews.com," added Downs.

The company also mentions recent studies showing that chemical compounds in sauerkraut and cruciferous vegetables offer the body improved cancer-fighting abilities.

So does this mean sauerkraut is a health food? Sauerkraut also contains a lot of sodium, so would that make it a junk food? Or, is it somewhere in between?

Labels: Sauerkraut