Sauerkraut is high in vitamin B6, K and C. The vitamin C concentration made it useful for sailors looking to avoid scurvy in antiquity. Most people would prefer citrus (to each his own), but cabbage grows in lots of places that citrus does not. And sauerkraut stores well for a journey.
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Yes. Exactly so. Off-growing seasons and long term expeditions and outposts did have to by trial and err develop carry over sources for trace vitamins. I am reading the book āAstoriaā by Peter Stark about the 1811-1813 colony attempt at he mouth of the Columbia River that petered out and failed due to every long winter wet season nutritional lacks sicknesses. Scurvy. Rickets. VAD (vitamin A deficiency).
The British with a far flung sailing Empire - learned to use limes (probably copying the Spanish and Portuguese). Therefore the Brit sailors got nick-named āLimeāeesā.
The Hessians/Germans learned to use sauerkrauts (probably copying the Dutch). Therefore Germans getting tagged as, āKrautsā.
We USA/Canada used; and still use apples as a wintering over supplement. Then the child hated Cod-Liver oil.
āBorschtā ?? for others?
Ha! Native herbs, fungi and wintering over leafy plants, native rose-hips can do the same-same supplementations. The āAstoriansā were very poor at learning and adopting native coping strategies. With the arrogance of civilization and seduced with the God-like power of gunpowder.
Steve unruh
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