Wagner Choucroute: raw fermented sauerkraut from Alsace

Who's behind it

Choucrouterie Meyer Wagner sits in Krautergersheim, the village in Alsace known as the heart of French sauerkraut production. Roughly a quarter of all choucroute in France comes from this region. The company as it now exists came about in 2007, from the merger of two old houses: the Fabrique de choucroute F. Meyer from 1900 and the Choucrouterie Wagner from 1947. At the helm is Jean-Luc Meyer, great-great-grandson of one of the founders. Together the workshops produce around 6,000 tons of fermented cabbage per year, from conventional to organic and with the IGP label.

What makes it truly different

Alsatian sauerkraut is no random fermented cabbage. Since 2018 there's the IGP Choucroute d'Alsace, which codifies the method. The cabbage is grown and harvested in the region, thinly sliced (0.6 to 1 mm), salted at roughly 2 percent and then fermented in closed vats. Depending on temperature that takes 2 weeks to 2 months. It runs entirely on lactic acid bacteria: no heating, no preservation other than salt. That's also how the crue sets itself apart from most supermarket sauerkraut. Crue is raw and keeps its light bite, while Wagner's cuite is already cooked with Riesling, lard, onion, juniper and pepper. The first gives you control, the second saves time.

How to set yourself apart with this

The win sits in the raw crue. Because it's not pre-cooked, you determine acidity, salt and cooking time. Rinse briefly, taste, and cook your own way: gently stewed with white wine for a classic choucroute garnie, or just briefly and crispy as a fresh garnish against something fatty or smoked. Under pan-fried salmon or cod a gently cooked sauerkraut works surprisingly well, and drained and briefly seared you get smokiness that scours against the acidity. Keep the cuite behind the scenes for speed on busy services. Two products, one origin, and a story you can make concrete on the menu: raw fermented, from Krautergersheim, finished in your own kitchen.