Sauerkraut Juice and Brine

For most of the history of this food, the brine was the part cooks kept and everyone else poured down the drain.

It is the liquid the cabbage was fermented in: water drawn out of the vegetable by salt, acidified by the same lactic acid bacteria that made the kraut, carrying the salt and the sourness and the cultures. Nothing else goes into it.

We do not sell it on its own. Every jar arrives packed in its own brine — tip the jar and it is right there, and it is the same liquid, not something skimmed off and bottled.

How people use it. An ounce or two cold, straight from the fridge — an ounce is a shot, not a drink, and it is seriously salty. Splashed into a bloody mary in place of some of the salt and acid. Whisked into a vinaigrette, where it does the job of both vinegar and salt with more depth than either. Poured over boiled potatoes or white beans while they are still warm. Used as the acid in a marinade for pork or chicken.

We are not going to tell you what it does for you — that is between you, your doctor and your own experience. What we will say is that it comes with every jar at no extra cost, and cooks who know about it do not throw it away.