Sauerkraut is finely sliced cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has good keeping qualities and a distinctive sour flavour, both of which result from the lactic acid that forms when bacteria ferment the sugars in the fresh cabbage.
The word comes directly from the German Sauerkraut , which literally translates to sour cabbage. Sauerkraut is a typical dish of German and Polish cuisine. It is also a prominent feature of cuisines from most of the cold regions of Europe, and it is eaten in many parts in the U.S.A. and Canada as well. A similar dish in Manchurian cuisine is also seen in China, where it is known in Mandarin Chinese as suan cai (Chinese: 酸菜, literally "sour vegetable"). It also has been compared to the Korean dish Kimchi.